Sponsors, Ideas, and Many Things

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Spartan151

...and the team just created could rely on the grants, and we'd work a joint partnership.

I guess I'm just living in the days of old. A couple of the team members decided to go behind everyone's backs and discuss merger deals with the rookie team. That would mean the end of 2065 and the rise of a new team. This also means the full startup grant again (I would assume). Now, I don't know the intricacies of this, but I, as most of the veteran staff, would suppose that we would basically be doing no hard work whatsoever and getting most of everything handed to us. ...

I would just like to respond to one part of your concerns. I need to point out that the startup grants for rookie teams (whether they be from NASA, Kleiner Perkins, Annenberg, or anyone else) are NOT entitlements. There is no guarantee that a rookie team will automatically receive a grant. For example, in the case of the NASA grants all applications are put through a competitive evaluation process, and only the best and well-prepared applications (based on the established selection criteria) are selected for award. That is usually less than half of the applications. So all new rookie teams would be well advised to have alternative funding plans in place should they not be selected.

-dave


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[JesseK]

I believe every team goes through a rebuilding process, and I'd highly recommend against starting over again. It takes a lot to redefine the image of your team to your community and to other FIRST teams once you've merged and then split from another team.

If you define your levels of success early and drive for that success, you can't go wrong. Aiming to do everything in the game with the bot or extending on community outreach just may not be possible if you don't have the support or manpower. So if you only define your success as making it through the build and competition seasons in one piece, then you'll have successfully made it through your rebuilding year.

We had one of those this past year, and with some dedication and focus we merited alot more success than our initial outlook encompassed. A couple of weeks ago, it felt like this coming year would be more of the same due to school administration and teacher changes, yet as of this week a couple of things have worked themselves out and made our future a bit less hazy. That said, I'd recommend that you hang in there and keep pushing for your goals. Keep your goals simple so that you don't burn your sponsors or your mentors out and things should improve from there. I've found that defining roles with simple unambiguous expectations is one of the best ways to encourage more mentors to participate, so maybe you could try the same in your recruitment drive.

Hope this helps.

[wendymom]

Exploding Bacon has never gotten a rookie grant from anyone. Our first year we formed after the NASA rookie grants were awarded. We never qualified after that. One thing we learned last year was to not put all your eggs in one basket. We have been fortunate our first two years to be fully funded (15K)by one main sponsor. Last year, two weeks before payment was due, they let us know that couldnt fund us again. We were forced to scramble and diversify to get small amounts from lots of different companies. We actually ended up raising more than the original 15K. Now if one sponsor pulls out we aren't in as bad a position. Don't discount anyone. A team in South Florida is sponsored by a car wash another team gets checks from a hair salon. Contact your local VFW, Kiwannis Club, Lions Club, Toastmasters Club and anyone else you can think of.

Check the rookie rules. Like said in above posts....if you have more than 5 students from previous teams.....you don't qualify as a rookie, at least according to last years rules.