I’m finding it very hard to post on this subject. My experiences obviously greatly differ from the others who posted. Rather than disagree or disregard their posts, I am trying to learn from theirs.
When I help coaches set up teams, outside of our organization, this is what some of what I suggest: I thought it may help you understand the process. I didn’t go into a ton of detail, but anyone can PM me if they have a specific question. I skipped a lot of things not related to this post.
- Once the coaches are in place the first thing I would suggest to them is to get a 501©3- In fact I wouldn’t suggest a FTC being formed without one. Especially now with the EZ Form.
https://www.irs.gov/uac/About-Form-1023EZ
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The coaches start with those instructions. Everything has been streamlined by the IRS including forming the governing body and bylaws.
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Once the application has been approved the new team is now a legal nonprofit.
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!!! Just because the IRS/US recognizes a team as legal doesn’t mean your state has. So be sure to have someone qualified check state laws before going forward.
Now the possibilities for raising money have expanded exponentially. Here are some of the things you can consider (in addition to what you already suggested):
Coaches and (likely) parents can check with their employers about:
• Matching donations
• $/hour donations for every hour worked for the team
• Reimbursement for receipts
• Donations to the team because the employee works there
• Companies that sponsor FIRST often have slush funds for divisions and if their employees donate hours or have children on the team you can apply for
Also, take a look at:
• Amazon Smiles
• ****** there may also be rookie grants done by your state. Likely those will be done by xxFIRST (where xx = your state) at the beginning of the FTC season each year as funds become available.
• Don’t forget to look at the names of sponsors as the team goes to events. If, for example, your team is going to be going to W Event and QWERTY is a big sponsor and they are just down the road from your team – go to their website and look and see if they donate to local team.
• There are more grants out there too
• Companies may sponsor scholarships
• Companies may sponsor scholarships for underprivileged students
• Business may give you discounts on parts and/or services
(this one is not necessarily related to the nonprofit)
That is just the tip of the provably icberg… Companies will be much more likely to donate, and donate more, when they can receive a tax write off (which they can if the team is 501©3.) So the team, or you, can direct mail, or canvass, etc to raise money. Have bake sales, car washes, things to raise awareness for your team name – so when you ask for donations they know who you are. This also means getting publicly, if you can, about forming the team, what the team does, community outreach, etc.
It is possible to fundraise without a 501©3, but companies will donate much less and shy away from donations when they cannot receive a tax write off.
There are other ways of a team being financially secure besides raising money. One of which is to not spend the money in the first place. To that end, consider:
• Would your FRC team share space? Rent space to them?
• Can they find a community college (or something similar) to use as a meeting place that will give them free, or greatly discounted rent. The cc gets community service out of the deal. Which, by the way, most are required to have x many hours of.
• I noted asking local businesses that you regularly do business with for discounts
• Apply for a state sales tax exemption (don’t pay state sales tax)
I guess I should note that the field is a major problem for our FTC teams - way more than our FRC (who can practice inside, in the hall, in the parking lot). Especially this year with those massive things in the corners! What was FIRST Thinking! Storage space is an issue for our teams - might be for yours, and should be taken into account when finding a place.
I think all of this is too big for an Eagle Project. But, any single part would likely work and develop your leadership skills. Ask you troop leader / committee if your idea (or one of these parts) of fundraising would work for your project after the coaches are done with the nonprofit part.
As I understand Eagle Scout projects you have two goals that must be met: help another community organization, develop you leadership skills. Meanwhile you should be the admin of the project and most of the work should be done by others. So I would think that any part you picked, or group of parts, that met those requirements would work. Helping form a team sounds like it makes the community stronger.
