Dealing with Finances

[Hero]

This question is about money. We have a new situation for our team, and we are trying to find out how other teams handle it.

FIRST is completely extracurricular in my school. We don't have a class or a budget from anywhere. We are completely dependent on sponsors and students paying for expenses if needed. We have operated the last 11 years (since inception) by funneling our money through our education foundation. This allows us to obtain money quickly and easily instead of having to do check requests and POs through the school, which can take weeks for us. We have recently been told that policies have changed and that we can no longer do this. This year, our team has 9 students. Usually we hover around 20, but we had some issues. If we were to do a booster club, we have to have a board and committed people that are always accessible to get us money. As you know in FRC, you can't wait 3 weeks for a part when the build season is only 6 weeks long. If we have to end up going the route of a club account and using POs, we will have to shut down our robotics program.

Our question is how do other teams handle their finances? What is your accountability system if you are in a public school? Any input would be helpful.