Should Sponsors ask to be recognized?

[Bill Moore]

These posts describe sponsors as some entity separate from the team, but I don't think that is appropriate in many cases. When you have a major donor, that corporation becomes more of a "silent partner" than a detached sponsor. Donors not only provide some funding for teams, but also space for building the robot, machine shops to fabricate parts, and networks of engineers and mentors to train and guide the students. They are not detached in any sense of the term.

We would be insulting a partner who contributed so much to the success of the program (regardless of the robot's record), if we failed to make note of their contribution by recognizing them in some manner. Our FIRST program is only 6 years old, but our engineering program for high school students is over 30 years old. The first 24+ years the company didn't have a robot to put its' name on, but the company still supported the ideals that FIRST is trying to bring into the culture.