Raising Money For Championship

[crowbarthegreat]

Hi, I'm Jaden, team captain for team 2733 the Pigmice. This year we have been invited to championships, but due to a small budget, we may not be able to go or only team members that can pay for themselves can go. This is our first year going to Championships and I would hate to turn down the opportunity due to budget.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to lower the cost or raise some money? Cheap housing? Sponsors that might donate? Tips in general? We are setting up a GoFundMe page now, but I don't think that will be enough.

[pilleya]

Have you guys registered for Championship yet?

[crowbarthegreat]

We have until Monday to see if we can afford it, we just found out about going today. So we haven't registered yet.

[pilleya]

Ahh, so you guys were on the Waitlist. I would get in contact with all your pre-existing sponsors. Although might be a bit difficult since it is the weekend.

It looks like you have a fair few corporate sponsors, according to TBA. Crowdfunding takes time and you haven't got very much time, try contact your sponsors. Explain how this is a major achievement for your team, etc.

[crowbarthegreat]

Thank you for that advice! I'm hoping that a few will be generous enough to donate so we can go. If not, we'll see what happens.

[Billfred]

This won't be helpful advice for the present, but the best time to raise Championship money is the fall--it can also serve as survival money if fundraising or sponsorships vanish on you. Even with our support, I still get nervous when the 4901 account goes below $5k.

[crowbarthegreat]

We just set up a Go Fund Me account, here it is

https://www.gofundme.com/eczftrmg

Thank you!

[Gravity]

Make sure you recontact your sponsors. Let them know that you have advanced to Championships and it is an invaluable opportunity for the team. Most sponsors will be happy to donate if they know their name is actually getting out there.

- Gravity

[Type]

Originally Posted by Billfred

This won't be helpful advice for the present, but the best time to raise Championship money is the fall--it can also serve as survival money if fundraising or sponsorships vanish on you. Even with our support, I still get nervous when the 4901 account goes below $5k.

My team keeps a similar attitude. We try to keep around that much money so that we are set incase of travel or we need to order more parts all of a sudden. I believe most teams could keep a similar attitude, even though it wouldn't really help at this point for World's.

[Trying to Help]

We're a small team too. We were beyond thrilled to find that we made it to the Championships on Saturday at the New England District Championships. We had a gofundme page already started because we'd had to raise money to get there!

We met on Sunday and decided that we would meet tonight and make the final call. Today was fundraising central. It does help that this week is spring vacation so students have time.

We're a team in a pretty rural area so many of the things that other teams might suggest won't work for us. Maybe they'll give you an idea or two.

What we've lined up or done so far:

- Asked neighbors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. for donations.
- Asked large technology companies in the area for donations where large = about 100-200 employees.
- Agreed to paint someone's fence in May. It must be a pretty big fence because we're getting a very nice donation.
- Called and emailed the local newspaper. I think this might be generating some donations on our gofundme page.
- Planned a demo and bake sale at the local Tractor Supply Store.
- Planned to help out at the recycling center on Saturday and ask for donations.
- Already had an open house to raise awareness and generate donations in preparation for the district championships.
- Students went around to businesses in a larger town (6200 people) and asked for donations.

You could also consider asking your regional director if they know of any sources of money. I did and learned some about how the NEFIRST runs financially.

Best of luck! I completely feel your need!

Brighid

[DonRotolo]

In addition to the above:

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Most teams here are also struggling with funding, so your plea, while valid, is not as likely to be fruitful.

However, not all is lost! There are may resources devoted to fundraising, including short-notice needs: Use the Search function. And, FIRST has a great Fundraising Toolkit you should review: http://www.firstinspires.org/resourc...aising-toolkit

Congratulations and good luck!