Hey everyone! I’m Lyric, a freshman on team 10416, the Radical Raccoons. We’re a rookie team from the Pacific Northwest that just finished our first season. We’ve been working with our mentors on sponsorships, but since all of our team members are new to this, it has been a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to start and what works. I know many of you have more experience with this, so I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share any advice, tips, or resources that helped your team with fundraising or reaching out to sponsors. Even the smallest pieces of advice could go a long way for us. Thank you so much in advance! 
@lynn
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This is an amazing resource for trying to find what grants and sponsorships are available and how to get them.
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In Washington, all FRC teams are eligible for a grant from the state each year(can’t remember what it’s called), i don’t know how you apply for it, but it’s one of our bigger sponsorships each year.
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OSPI Grant is what you’re likely thinking of. IIRC this is tied to registering in PNW, though it is possible to miss the deadline (ive heard of at least 1 team doing that recently.)
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My team had some luck with local car dealerships and some small hardware stores. If you give them a call explaining the competition and that their name is on the car and if you have a website see if you can send it over. I think NASA hosts a grant for rookie teams, I don’t remember for how many years. I’d suggest also reaching out to your local school district to see if they could cover the registration fee. We presented at board meetings for 2 years before we got any money but that was a good source.
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Start slowly. There are multiple things you should do as far as fundraising
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Establish a target goal
What are you realistically going to need as far as spending? 2 District Events? DCMP? Worlds? Robot Parts? Team Registration? Outreach? Do remember to set that +some leeway for spares and other expenditures -
Ask parents of team members, check mentors, school admin. Highly recommending to check with your school admin if they can sponsor. Definitely utilize the parents to see if the companies they work at offer any sponsorship. And the resource as @Zakk_J mentioned, that is a very good one from the Eagles and the POBots, double recommending it
I also recommend stuff like the Rotary Club, as depending on the chapter, offers grants (they have been very kind to offer our team some funding), Best Buy/Walmart good too. NASA…
Wishing you all the best of luck in the competitive PNW district! Don’t panic, you got this!
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