asking for tool donations

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by BSV

By "fundraise", I am talking specifically about selling stuff (e.g. the LED lightbulb FIRST fundraiser, etc.)
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So if anyone does have suggestions beyond what we are already doing (and that we are allowed to do), I would definitely love to hear them!

3946 formed a "Booster Club" to raise money. While our school didn't forbid fund raisers or donations, our access to the money we raised was often tangled in red tape (you have to prove that yes, there really is only one source for a second roboRIO). A number of the mentors and parents formed a 501(c)(3) whose purpose was to support the activities of a specific educational function, that is, FRC team 3946. We got the idea from the "band booster" organizations which support the bands. It's not a trivial task to set this up, but it has proven very useful, especially when we found ourselves needing to raise and spend money quickly to go to CMP. (And yes, while mentors and parents probably get the bulk of the number of dollars that come in (especially through our employers), the student team members present, sell, or otherwise act as "face forward" for most of the booster club's fund raising activities.) We prefer to accept money through the booster club when we can, but still take in plenty that goes directly to the school board from some of our big national sponsors.

[protoserge]

I prefer to have mentors ask in an organized fashion. As long as your efforts are coordinated, it shouldn't matter who (mentors or students) ask. If finding a local store, ask to speak with the manager and initiate a conversation about the team, your plans, and how to form a partnership.

Find products you want to buy that are made by small and medium sized businesses and email their company. I've been successful in this on a few cases.

I format my emails as first a background of who I am on the team, the name of the team, and direct them to our website to learn more about the team and FIRST. I then clearly state that I am asking for sponsorship from them and if they would be willing to donate product x, y, and z. There is no need to make a drawn-out statement about how you help advertise the company, provide a great program for the students, etc. It is just a conversation starter and the more concise it is, the better.

[tylerc102]

I sent this to the original poster, but we just finished up setting up for our summer camps this year to the tune of 172 students that will be attending and almost gaining six figures in revenue.

If there is any advice we can give to teams that are trying to start up there own camps, feel free to shoot me a PM or email at tyler@team3128.org