FIRST Fundraising Toolkit

[ehochstein]

Hey everyone, it looks as if the new FIRST Fundraising Toolkit has been released! 2470 went through this toolkit a little early on in order to participate in the recorded webinars and we felt it went great! It is a very powerful tool for any team to use to raise funds. I have linked the toolkit below and would be happy to answer any questions on experiences my team had with it.

Section 1 is about creating your fundraising plan and identifying your needs, section 2 is about researching and identifying community resources and the third section is about putting together team documentation to hand out to sponsors.

It looks as if we'll have a couple more sections coming out in the coming months as well.

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...aising-toolkit

Thanks go to the Argosy Foundation and Renee Becker for putting this together!

The Argosy Foundation is honored to help new rookie teams get off the ground, with the intention that teams will be able to acquire self-sustainability through the process. With this in mind, the Foundation has separately funded a new project to guide teams as they learn the art of raising funds. As a result, a Team Fundraising Toolkit is now available to assist any FIRST team with raising money.

The toolkit was created by FIRST Senior Mentor, Renee Becker, and is geared primarily towards older students who participate in FRC and FTC; however, FLL Coaches may find valuable information in the toolkit for their teams, too. Topics covered include writing a team business and fundraising plan (a requirement to receive a rookie grant), community analyses, how to approach a potential Sponsor, how to recognize and thank Sponsors, ideas for community fundraisers, and much more.

The toolkit is presented in PDF format, and a series of informational webinars will be conducted featuring successful FRC veteran teams. Additional information will be posted to the toolkit as we move through the season, as well as after the FIRST Championship.

[Taylor]

I got to see the primary author of this project present the toolkit at a workshop over the weekend. It is definitely well-researched, well-thought-out, and well-constructed. After compiling the best practices of many successful teams, the plans were tested by multiple teams in varying situations.
It appears to me that the title may be misleading - this document isn't just for fundraising. It covers all non-technical aspects of a successful, sustaining FIRST team.
I plan to spend a good portion of my fall break poring over this document, adjusting it to our specific needs, and letting our newfound organization propel the CyberCards to a successful future.
Thank you Renee for putting this together, and thank you Evan for promoting it to the masses.

[Jimmy Nichols]

Originally Posted by Taylor

I got to see the primary author of this project present the toolkit at a workshop over the weekend. It is definitely well-researched, well-thought-out, and well-constructed. After compiling the best practices of many successful teams, the plans were tested by multiple teams in varying situations.
It appears to me that the title may be misleading - this document isn't just for fundraising. It covers all non-technical aspects of a successful, sustaining FIRST team.
I plan to spend a good portion of my fall break poring over this document, adjusting it to our specific needs, and letting our newfound organization propel the CyberCards to a successful future.
Thank you Renee for putting this together, and thank you Evan for promoting it to the masses.

We held a workshop that presented aspects of the toolkit to attending teams at the Ohio FRC State Championship on Saturday, Sept 28th. It was well received. Maybe you could do something similar at Cage Match

http://www.youtube.com/user/LakotaRobotics