Low sponsorship, but ok money

[ChuckDickerson]

My team has the money we need to operate

Wonderful! So what’s the problem again?

but we don't have sponsors for materials, instead of getting people to donate/reduce price on tools and metal we have to shell out the majority of our budget to buy this stuff.

Oh, now I see. Uh, you sound like you are in much better shape than most teams already. At least you have the money to shell out on materials and tools.

Because our money goes towards parts and tools (barely) the students have to pay for hotels and airlines, etc;

Many teams operate this way. We fundraise as much as we can but it is never enough. The shortfall is divided up and each student on our team pays their part to travel to competition.

and we have problems retaining a mentor with the meager salary we can offer them for the huge time commitment we require.

Are you serious? You pay your "mentors"? Uh, isn't the definition of a mentor someone who volunteers? If you pay them aren't they now just professional consultants? I can't tell you how much money I spend out of my pocket each year for the team including tools, materials, and travel costs. I can't imagine getting paid money to do this. My payment is the joy I get from being a part of it.

Any suggestion on how to approach or find industrial supply or metal for our needs?

As mentioned above start with the phonebook. As with most teams we purchase most all of our materials but sometimes work a little educational discount into the deal. The great folks at our local Fastenal generously donated some aluminum to us this year, which was a first for us. Sometimes it takes years to develop these relationships. Once you have them, do whatever it takes to keep them.

Also, and a bit aside, I noticed a lot of people talking about CNC mills; we would not have the finances for a good CNC mill unless we didn't build a robot for a year. Is it normal for teams to get one?

No CNC required. For power tools we have a floor standing drill press, a bench drill press, a bandsaw, a tablesaw (used for wood only), a cheapo 10" mitersaw (for metal cutting), a 12" mitersaw (used for wood only), a 1" belt sander, a 4" belt sander, and 3 cordless drills. Most all of these have been purchased by myself and either donated to the team or on "indefinite loan". The same goes for most of our hand tools. I say this only to give you and idea what sort of commitment many mentors have for their teams. I guess I am still struggling with the concept of paying a mentor rather than the other way around. BTW: We do have access to a full R&D machine shop with zillion $ CNC equipment and can have them make pretty much whatever we would like but due to liability reasons the students aren't allowed to use the machine tools so the students prefer to do it themselves with the tools we have.

I'm leaving my team this year and heading to college, so I'm hoping to fix/set up somethings for next year so it's easier on my post-decessors. Any suggestions about money management would also be appreciated.

Again, uh, IIRC Team 555 was the only team that went to 4 regionals and is going to the Championships as well. I really can't even imagine ever having enough funds to make it to 5 competitions in one year. By my math that is $23,000 in entry fees alone. Not knowing any of the details about Team 555's financial situation, but since you asked, my suggestion on money management might be to consider going to a few less competitions next year. But whatever you do don't cut out the Bayou Regional. We loved you guys and would sure miss you if you aren't there next year!