Team 2064 and Grant Ideas- (needed)

[kngscrpn24]

Recently I was assigned the task of finding grants, and writing them for the team. I've been with our two-year-old team from the start, so I have the knowledge. I'm also a good english student and an avid reader. What I dont have, however, is the knowledge of what grants to go for, and how to go about procuring them. I searched "grants" in google and received more than I ever wanted to know. How much of this is accurate or scam, I do not know- so I came to the FIRST community. So, if anyone reading this could help guide me through the grant process, I would be eternally grateful.

Okay, so this may sound rushed, but I have a paper due in a couple minutes. sorry.

[Rick TYler]

1. Find a good local library.
2. Go (in person) to the reference desk.
3. Ask them for help.
4. Apply for lots of grants.

It's not hard -- just a lot of work. Ask me how I know

[JYang]

See if your state has government sponsored grants for technology. Browse tehcnology websites to see if they have sponro programs.

Also, call corporations in your local area and ask if they have a grant application that you can fill out; its better to have local sponsors than random ones. And don't hesitate to ask anyone... our team had a bakery sponsor us a few years ago

And if all else fails, try and hold fundraisers... they might seem like nothing but sometimes they can bring in more money than grants

GL!

[nzamorski]

FIRST has some companies which offerer grants/sponsorships to teams here: http://usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=7024

I would also suggest putting together a letter explaining your team and what FIRST is to give to companies. I did this earlier in the season and got a great response. I have found that our team has received many sponsorships with connections people have with companies(ie. parents work there etc.). Find out if people on your team have these connections and then give them information to pass on. We put a letter, CD, and page about levels of sponsorship in a folder to give out. By doing this it helps to make your team present yourself as being very professional. Our team has received thousands of dollars by doing this.

Look through the phonebook for local engineering companies and manufacturing companies. These companies are usually willing to at least listen to you. Companies love presentations given by students. Once a company hears from the students what the program is about they are more apt to help the program. Also if you can invite these different companies to come to see your team either building the robot or at competition they become very impressed with the program. After they see what the team does they want to help in anyway possible.

As far as grants goes I am hoping to start writing some as soon as the season ends. I have found numerous community grants in our area. Try talking to your school administration about groups that offer grants. We have education foundations etc. in our area which give all of their funds to the school district.

If you have other questions let me know.

[kngscrpn24]

Thank you so much. I never knew any of this stuff, and hopefully, we can get our 2-year team some funding.