Big Big Problem

[Beth Sweet]

Well, I pretty much doubt that any other group in your school has anywhere near the kind of budget that your team runs on. Perhaps it would be appropriate to talk to your school's administration and remind them that this is a program that makes their students exceptionally prepared for the real world, gives them a real step up and if they don't allow your group to solicit sponsorship, they will be shutting down your program.

If they still are not interested in changing their policy, my best advice would be to pull your affiliation with the school. Get the students and just don't affiliate yourself with them. If the school leaves you no other choice, you've gotta do it.

[sanddrag]

Say you are the Larryville High School Robotics Club/Team. What you should do, is form the Larryville Robotics Enthusiasts Group. By form, I mean not much more than call yourselves by that name and make sure it is not affiliated with the school except that students from the school are part of it. Then when you are fundraising, you are the Larryville Robotics Enthusiasts Group and then they collect all the money and make one big donation to the Larryville High School Robotics Club/Team which builds the robot.

Basically, just disassociate yourselves from the school for only the purposes of fundraising, and then have that disassociated group relay the money to the school club/team. You may want to have that group become a nonprofit though.

[Wayne C.]

Have your parents get together and create a parents booster/ support group and in the future have them incorporate and go for 401-C3 status. Given that they will have a much higher per child cost if you CAN'T accept donations it is in their interest to do so.

I would also go to the school administration and school board with a lot of FIRST info and expense information. Have all the parents available to force the issue home. Maybe the school board would jump at the opportunity to please the parents for just a few thousand dollars.....

Or they might back off when the sponsors make their offers and the parents are insistent..

Usually schools don't want kids going door to door soliciting money from the community. It is dangerous for the kids and makes the school look bad (since defeating school budgets is the biggest part of community involvement schools see). But frankly, parents approach adults better and you really should get them moving.

A team needs adults. Make sure it is their team as much as yours.

WC