Low sponsorship, but ok money

[David Noll]

I know there is a post on similar lines but my situation is a bit different...
My team has the money we need to operate 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. Because our money goes towards parts and tools (barely) the students have to pay for hotels and airlines, etc; and we have problems retaining a mentor with the meager salary we can offer them for the huge time commitment we require.
Any suggestion on how to approach or find industrial supply or metal for our needs?
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?

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.