Hello. My team is desperate for money (let’s just say that as of now there will be no team next year), so I thought I would ask you helpful people for the names of any major companies or organizations that have given any of your teams large grants this year or in past years. As long as the application deadline for the grant has not yet closed (and will not open again soon) or you need a connection inside the business to apply, I want to hear any high-paying companies you can remember. Thank you.
And yes, I have seen that Fundraising Toolkit. After the build season, we are going to try our hand at fundraising. I have also already contacted local businesses and some major companies.
When you say “next year” are you referring to 4 days from now or 2020? I’m afraid that trying to find sponsors for the 2019 season at this stage will be a difficult affair. Any grant applications specifically designed for FRC will almost certainly have closed by now, and general STEM grants are not likely to have a turnaround time quick enough turnaround. Most FRC grants open in either the late summer or sometime in the fall (application periods vary) and are *awarded *sometime in the October-December time frame. For example, NASA grant applications were open until September 30th, and grants were scheduled to be announced November 11th.
I would suggest reaching out to Kenneth St. Hilaire, the senior mentor for New Hampshire. They may be able to provide some assistance to you in identifying local companies you can turn to for support. Contact info for FIRST senior mentors can be found here:
You can find a list of all the sponsors for any team on thebluealliance.com on that teams page. If you want to get a list relevant companies to reach out to for sponsorship search for teams in your area specifically.
To secure sponsorships I recommend that you use any personal connections your team might have before you cold call companies. Try to track down all the alumni, mentors, and parents on your team that are currently working for any companies that could sponsor your team. Having connections to direct you to the right person and get your foot in the door makes all the difference. This is not to say that cold calling/emailing companies will not lead to sponsorships just that the success rate when you have a connection is much higher.
Feel free to message me if you any other questions.
As far as I can remember, except for the NASA/JC Penney grants the first few years, all of 3946’s major corporate/agency sponsors (over $1k per year) have either employed mentors or a team member’s family members, or have a significant facility in/very near to Slidell (or both). Corporations certainly seem to prefer to support the communities where they operate.