TL;DR: have someone on your team fill out this survey about your team’s finances.
This is designed to capture information similar to what would recorded on an IRS Form 990 (filed by 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in the United States) or a CRA Form T3010 (filed by registered charities in Canada).
My team does not file IRS Form 990 or CRA Form T3010. Can I still fill out the survey?
Yes! The survey is designed to be filled out by all teams.
Why is this survey is different than the one you posted before?
This survey is slightly modified from one that I put out in January. This updated survey is simpler, supports fiscal years that do not align with calendar years, supports currencies other than USD, supports organizations that sponsor multiple robotics teams, and supports the reporting of non-traditional revenue like endowments and other investment income. All of these changes were requested last cycle.
Why is this survey is similar to the one you posted last time?
This survey is sent out periodically to take a financial snapshot. We need snapshots from multiple teams over multiple years to identify trends and themes.
Why are you collecting this information now?
Many educational organizations use fiscal years aligned with the school year. Many school years have recently ended or will end soon.
Why are you collecting this information? Shouldn’t FIRST/VEX collect this information?
FIRST, VEX, and other organizations that run robotics competitions do not currently collect this information. It is believed that researching this information will strongly benefit the robotics community.
Doesn’t a survey on Chief Delphi suffer from bias?
It is likely that the survey results will suffer from various kinds of bias. This is a problem with any self-report survey. However, a self-report survey is the only ethical way to collect this data.
A large and diverse sample set is the best way to counteract the potential for bias, so please share the survey with teams that do not normally participate on Chief Delphi.
Will you share survey results with the community?
Assuming sufficient response rates, I will prepare a report and share it on Chief Delphi. Survey data may be released in aggregate and/or anonymized form.