What to do when you lose support from your school?

[mega900997]

Hey everyone,
Team 263 Sachem Aftershock is in a bit of trouble now. Tomorrow, 5/21, is our school districts budget vote and will decide the future of our robotics team. If it does not pass, we will lose all funding and support from the school and potentially our build area/robotics room. We are facing the same conditions we faced back in 2005 when the team lost funding from the school and couldn't compete in the 2006 season.

We are hoping that the budget passes, but if it doesn't, what have other teams done when they lost support from the school and/or their build area?

[Victor4400]

You should explain to your school why FIRST is important to you and show them your achievments but if thats useless try to work with another team to work with them. New York its an area with a lot of teams. Good luck preserving your team

[mega900997]

Originally Posted by Victor4400

You should explain to your school why FIRST is important to you and show them your achievments

Thanks, but we've already done this and what our school district is giving right now is very generous. If the budget does not pass, all afterschool clubs and district wide teams such as marching band, cheerleading and our dance team get eliminated along with the robotics team and only varsity sports stay(all middle school and JV sports are eliminated).

[electroken]

Originally Posted by mega900997

If the budget does not pass, all afterschool clubs and district wide teams such as marching band, cheerleading and our dance team get eliminated along with the robotics team and only varsity sports stay(all middle school and JV sports are eliminated).

The Shelton High School robotics team is considered a varsity sport, and team members can even letter in it, resulting in some unusual looks from the football players. Perhaps getting the team reclassified as a varsity sport is the answer?

[Clem1640]

1640 lost school support in stages. First funding, later space. What we did was:

1) Develop adequate fundraising capabilities. Fundraising comprises soliciting donations from corporate sponsors & grants and fundraising events which everyone participates in.

2) Incorporated so that there was en entity to control assetts, contract liability insurance,...

3) We open enrolement to students outside our school district

4) We maintained close connections to the school board, district administration and teachers.

All of this takes dedicated adult leadership. It cannot be executed otherwise.

[JohnBoucher]

If you have existing outside funding and you want/need to breakaway from the school, be mindful of how that funding feels about that. Our funding has made it clear that they believe this program belongs in the school.

If you do not have outside funding, then find space that works for you.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

If you have existing outside funding and you want/need to breakaway from the school, be mindful of how that funding feels about that. Our funding has made it clear that they believe this program belongs in the school.

If you do not have outside funding, then find space that works for you.

Amen to that. B+L has a policy that they will not sponsor non-school teams -- an issue that I hope will never come up when it comes to B+L-sponsored teams!

As for the statement that "as of now" you [the OP] don't have a team, that shouldn't be true, either. The school's fiscal year hasn't ended yet, so you're still operating on last year's budget... Which will carry through the second vote at the least.

[Billfred]

1902 and 1501 both formed as 4-H clubs after they lost the ability to work with their local schools and have made it work for nearly a decade now. Those numbers weren't the numbers the schools used, but the people transferred over (and that's what counts, isn't it?). Look up your county extension agent to start the dialogue sooner rather than later.

Several Canadian teams became community-based teams after a big teacher's union strike this year. Different rules up there, but it's been done.

If you do lose the money, don't automatically assume you're dead in the water. Some teams make it happen without direct money from the school, but keep the use of a space on campus (to say nothing of field trip status for regionals, which can be significant time out of school). Every team has their own situation, but I'd definitely suggest trying to find a way within the schools before cutting bait.

[Ivan Helmrich]

I want to echo Billfred's suggestion. Our team lost funding from our school a number of years ago. We struggled for a couple of years then contacted 4-H. While we haven't received a lot of money that way, we are able to get more sponsors because some of them will not give money directly to a school but will to a 4-H club. I can honestly say we are much better off because the team is now in control of our finances and are not at the whim of the school or district.

We have been able to hold onto our build space in the school though. If you do lose the funding, try to hold onto the build space. If they don't have to provide funding, the school may be willing to let you keep the space. I know I'd have a bigger problem finding replacement space than replacement funding.

Good luck.

Ivan

[asteb27]

Our team doesn't receive any funding from the school. We are able to use a shop in the school to work. Keep your head up, and look for sponsors. you'll find a way

[MrJohnston]

Our team is thriving with over 100 active members, is based out of a school and receives virtually no money from the district. 95% of our funding is from private sources - we have about 200 donors.

Some places you can look for funding if the distict cuts you off:

*ASB funding, in most states, is separate from school funding. Make sure you are an official ASB club and you will have every right to request money from the school's ASB. This also means that if you have a faculty advisor s/he would be eligible for whatever pay is associated with running a club.

* Establishing a booster club will allow you to raise money largely outside the juristiction of the school district. This money can be used to do almost anything with few strings attached.

* The school's PTA may just be a source of funding.

* Many districts have a non-profit foundation that specifically gives funding to educational endeavors that supplement and enhance district curriculum, but are not actually part of the curriculum.

* Have your club members write letters requesting funds to family, friends and acquaintances. We do this - and enclose a formal letter describing the club and provinding our non-profit number. We get a response from about 1/3 such letters, most for about $25. However, we occassionally get donations of $100, $200, or $500. Local, familiy -owned businesses can be very generous. (Your kids' orthodontists, for instance!). Aunts, uncles and grandparents thrilled to see the kids participate in a constructive activity that can lead to a great future can be very generious.

* Arrange to bring your robot to science fairs, local engineering firms, rotaries, etc. can lead to sponsorships. I have also heard of groups standing in front of their local groceries wtih videos of competitions (selling light bulbs!!!), etc. doing well.

The fact is that what we are doing is very favorable in the eyes of the community - once people learn what we are doing.

[Chief Hedgehog]

As a coach of a rookie team that never gained funding from our local district, I can only offer a limited view.

The task to secure funding seemed daunting at first, but after we started the process, it became obvious that our local industry and organizations were more than willing to help in our funding. In our initial push we were able to gain support from our local Lions Clubs, Rotories, etc. We found niches in local events that would pay for our services (such as parking duties, etc).

We also requested a meeting from our local industries and showcased what FIRST can do for it's local school district and the graduates from the FIRST Robotics team.

We wrote grants for NASA, and a few local enterprises, and before long we had enough funding To fund our first two years. Once the local industries understood the scope and sequence, they were hooked. Not only did they invest in the program, they invested personel. In a short time we had the backing of our industry in terms of money and mentors.

Case in point, if our district supported us, we would have been able to fund a robotics team - with limitations of a $6500 fee and the obligatory coaching salary.

But since we had to go out on our own, we gained support from our local base - and every time we were mentioned in our local paper, so were our sponsors. By the time we reached regionals, we had over 15 sponsors that dedicated $500 or more, and that netted over $21,000 for our first year.

[mega900997]

Originally Posted by Victor4400

You should explain to your school why FIRST is important to you and show them your achievments

Thanks, but we've already done this and what our school district is giving right now is very generous. If the budget does not pass, all afterschool clubs and district wide teams such as marching band, cheerleading and our dance team get eliminated along with the robotics team and only varsity sports stay(all middle school and JV sports are eliminated).

Originally Posted by Billfred

If you do lose the money, don't automatically assume you're dead in the water. Some teams make it happen without direct money from the school.

We're planning on using this summer to gain more sponsors and we have one very last resort measure in place. We see ourselves that we can sustain ourselves without the school, but we don't want to lose our build space and have no place to go and lose access to all of our tools.

Thanks for the suggestions. Anymore are welcome and I will post the verdict of the budget when it is released.

[JamesCH95]

Fund-raise like nobodies business between now and kickoff and you should easily have enough to field a robot at one or two regional events.

In 2010 team 95 worked out of a classroom and fielded a robot made with minimal machining support (5 or 10 parts total, I think). It was the best robot we could buy and assemble from McMaster and AndyMark! It wound up mid-pack at CT.

Do not give up hope if the school cannot/does not financially support your team. This is exactly the contingency situation that our homework was for this year: diversify your sponsor base!

[Jon Stratis]

Even if you lose funding and build space from the school, there are many other sources of funding, and many other places you can build a robot! Here in MN, we've had robots built in garages and barn's in the past (and yes, we did have to wear gloves to keep our finders from freezing to the frame!)... I'm sure you can convince someone to donate a space to you - a local business, an empty warehouse, a parent, anyone really works. Just make sure you work with the school to make it happen. Obviously it's a less than desirable situation for everyone involved... let your administrators know that you know they were put in a tough situation, and that you're trying to find the best way to keep the team alive while still meeting any rules they have for extracurriculars.