How much do you need to raise?

[Dan Petrovic]

1) None

2) The local regional is free because we take a bus there. It's like 15-20 minutes to drive there from our school. But for the one we travel to, the students can fundraise as much as they want. The more they fundraise, the less they have to pay out of their pockets.

3) No. If no one fundraises anything, then they all just have to pay for their travel. But I'm sure if we don't raise at least $4000 dollars then we aren't going to a second competition. None of the money we get from sponsors goes to students, only a couple of mentors for travel.

4) Sponsors, Lego Summer camps, Lego Meet, FRC Off-season event, Mall Gift-wrapping, Simon Mall Gift of Giving tickets. Last year we had an iPod raffle, but that didn't go as well as planned. We made half as much as we hoped to make. Maybe other teams would like to try it out.

The Lego Summer Camp is definately one of our biggest fundraisers. We had 18 campers this year who came in for a week at $200 each. Every year 166 gives out a $4000 dollar scholarship to one senior for outstanding efforts on their 3 or 4 years of being on the team. After that one Lego Camp, we pretty much had the scholarship covered.

[Wayne C.]

Here is the scoop for team 25

a.How much does each team member need to fundraise to be on the team (in net dollars, not candy bars sold)?
to be a member you must 1.) maintain academic grades 2.) do 10 hrs. of community service prior to Jan 1st 3.) be a part of a team committee 4.) attend team meetings and events 5.) fund raise for yourself and the team- goal $350 and 6.) get your parents involved in the team

b.How much does each team member need to fundraise to travel to each competition? we shoot for $350/season per member. Generally some "active" amount of fund raising is looked for. Many kids end up supplementing travel out of pocket.

c.Are the travel expenses separate from the team's budget? the budget includes team and travel expenses- both are connected

d.How do you fundraise your money?
Hawaiian shirt sales, fund raisers, holding events, various sales- we work all year for the funds. Much of the travel funding comes from the families. Our shirt sales alone this year netted over 2K.


We are very fortunate to have Bristol-Myers Squibb for our corporate sponsor and they have always supported us quite well. But the team is also proud to claim that $40,000 of our operating expenses for last year came from the efforts of our network of parents and families. We work VERY HARD all year long to insure our viability in the competition season.

For the younger teams out there reading this- it sounds like a lot of $. But if you divide it up amongst 60 or so students it barely covers one long distance trip. It took years to build the team to this level. In 2000 we began the season with $68.

There is no single way to fund a team. But I can tell you from experience, if you set the teams mind on a goal they will find a way to achieve it.

WC