Team Sponsorships

[MrJohnston]

Things to emphasize in the packet:
* Preparing students for careers in STEM
* How much major companies - especially Boeing and NASA support the program
* Hands on training for kids with professional mentors
* How teams do a lot of outreach to young kids (elementary and middle schools)

Other ideas:
Make sure your team and robot are visible. We have picked up sponsors by going to parades, participating in local community events (think: farmers' market, county fair, whatever you have)... Do you have a local rotary?

We do a letter-writing campaign in which every one of our team members writes a letter to six people or businesses they know requesting support. WE include the school's tax-id number (non profit status) and highlights of our program. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends are obvious. However, we found that family doctors, dentists and, especially, orthodontists can be quite generous..... Some states have grants that you can apply for directly from the Department of Education....

Just being present and showing off your robot at an elementary or middle school science fair can lead to sponsors... Basically, the more you interact with the community, the more the community will interact with you.

[*Rachelle*]

I'm not sure what your team has already done or tried, but these are things that FRC Team 3787 has been doing.

Search for grants through the internet. Search terms would include "STEM Grants" or "FIRST Robotics Grants." The team I am apart of is in Washington and we have a Washington FIRST website. It has a list of FRC Grants teams can apply for as well as many other resources. Does South Carolina have a website like this? Also, some companies do material grants, so make a wish list of items your team may want or need.

Getting the team known in your community is another big thing. Get yourselves known in the local newspaper, volunteer and setting a display during local events (County fair, school assemblies, etc.). When the community is familiar with you they are more likely to interact with your team and want to help your team succeed.

If you create a packet list some accomplishments and goals of the team. MrJohnston has a good list for you

I hope this helped you guys out a bit!

[Isaac501]

Sponsors are giving you money. They want more than a warm-fuzzy at the end of the day.

- Put their logos on the robot - the more money, the bigger the logo
- Put their logos on Team Shirts - see above
- When having special events where mentors from sponsors or employees of sponsors are present, make sure to thank them graciously and enthusiastically.
- Put the sponsors listed on your website (if you have one)
- Publish a newsletter that can be distributed to the sponsor companies showing progress of build, other projects, etc.


Most of the time when teams lose sponsors it is because they stop having a working relationship and just take the sponsorship for granted. The bigwhigs at the companies understand value propositions. Present them with a viable one.

[cadandcookies]

One other suggestion that I don't believe has been mentioned is to try to set up some sort of demo at whatever businesses are around you-- for my team, after we've made "first contact"-- that is, met in person at an event, emailed back and forth, or talked over the phone, we always try to set up some sort of in-person demo or presentation on our team and the benefits of FIRST robotics. I can't remember the last time we managed to meet a sponsor in person that we didn't end up with some sort of sponsorship.

If you can get the kids on your team in front of some executives/managers/whatever-the-business-has, it becomes a lot more interesting to them and therefore increases your chances of getting something.

[daniel_dsouza]

For our team, it is hard to find companies willing to give you money.

NOTE: Orbital is an exception, but that required an inside contact.

However, businesses are open to give us services (ex. machine shop time, aluminum extrusion, discounted hardware, experienced mentors).

Try to build up relationships at first, and develop good connections within the company.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Jonathon,
Please remember that their are small opportunities out there that many teams ignore while they are looking for the big sponsor. Many small town teams try to get local businesses involved even if it means only $25, every little bit helps. The small business owner knows it is good to promote local students because it comes back to them in business. You can also solicit them for a donation of goods or services for a raffle which brings in money through the sale of the tickets.

[George C]

You could also try service clubs such as Optimists, Rotary or whatever you have in your area. Optimists has a focus on youth. We've had a great relationship with them for a few years now. A partnership is better than a sponsorship. We're planning to help them with their annual Christmas tree sale this year. It will help them and help us become better-known in the community. This past summer we started a relationship with Rotary by participating in their Rib-fest. Have a look as well at our FIRST Community program at http://1334.ca/first-community-challenge.

[ebarker]

PM me...

next idea: PM me... 2 days has past since the OP

[RoboMom]

Some ideas here under "Sponsors and Fundraising" http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm

Also, there is a separate subforum for Fundraising here on cd, under Team Organization. Check out the great ideas already posted, esp. the stickies at the top.

[brrian27]

This is our first year of actively seeking sponsors and it's gone pretty well so far.

We've created a presentation outlining what robotics is, history, our team, goals, sponsorship benefits, etc. that is adaptable to basically any company we may want to pursue. Having a presentation can really "wow" sponsors when they see the incredible things we do.

Also, we've created a sponsorship plan with varying levels of rewards based on how much is donated. This helps a sponsor know both sides of the team-sponsor relationship.

Something we're in the process of doing is creating a wishlist with specific items that we need. This could include event registration, mechanical parts, wants, time, etc. This helps a sponsor know exactly what is needed.

And to find sponsors, just look for connections in the community. Perhaps a student's dad works at a large company or someone had a part-time job at the grocery store. Anyone can be a sponsor if you market yourself correctly.

Good luck!