How to raise money for championship in a matter of weeks

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by jrmarenda

Our rookie team (1887) happened to be a member of the winning alliance at the Portland Regional which qualified us for the championship in Atlanta. The problem is, we never imagined that this would happen and have less than $1000 left in our budget. We decided to ship the robot to nationals but have no idea how we will raise the money we need.

I am sure that this happens to teams every year. How do people go about getting thousands of dollars in a matter of days? Do you require the students to pay for their own trip? Even so, we still need to raise the money for registration and shipping. If any of you have been in this situation, please give me some pointers as soon as possible.

I have searched and read a lot of the posts concerning fundraising, but most of them are operating under the assumption that you have months to plan, not weeks. We were fortunate enough to have done this during the first week of regionals therefore giving us more time, but the task is still daunting to say the least.

Even if you personally have never faced this and you know a team that has faced it, let me know how I can contact that team. Thank you.



On a similar note, we would like to give the cheesy poofs a huge thank you for their help this weekend. Even before choosing us as your alliance partner, we had the benefit of being pitted next door to you. All of you were more than willing to help us and loan us the various tools and supplies that we had neglected to bring. There is absolutely no way that we would be in this situation if it was not for you. Good luck at Silicon Valley and we'll see you in Atlanta

Congratulations on qualifying for the big dance!

Given the time crunch you're on, you really just need to pound the bricks. Try to ask your sponsors for a few more bucks, mentioning that their initial contribution had quite a bang for the buck. If you've got some press contacts, use them to let the community know of your problem. Odd connections will get you everywhere.

That said, don't neglect relatively easy money from selling things. Team 1020 had a fundraiser where they duct-taped teachers to a wall at their school, and it ran them just the cost of duct tape and a few trash bags. The white paper is on CD somewhere. If your school's got any sporting events that folks go to, consider holding it there with photos (and video, if you have it) and a very roomy bucket. (Bigger is better on the bucket. You know how they say smaller plates will reduce your portions if you're trying to lose weight? You want the exact opposite. Get a five-gallon bucket.)

Best of luck in your fundraising quest!