Making Thousands of Dollars Appear Out of Thin Air For Your Team

1
Making Thousands of Dollars Appear Out of Thin
Air For Your Team

• Wayne Cokeley (Team 25) and Lauralynne Cokeley
  (Team 1089)

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Two Ways to Bring in Money For a Team

• Fund Raising
• Grants and Sponsorship

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Fund Raising

• Short term- quick return
• Team 25s FR Guidelines
• A. little or no initial investment
• B. high return profit- at least 50, better at
  100
• C. student friendly, team friendly
• D. market to different customer bases- not the
  parents every time

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Year Round FR Preparation for the Season

• Our 2007 Calendar
• January- ad sales for BB show
• February- finish ad sales, build season
• March- competitions, BB show preps
• April- Car wash
• May- BB show- gate, Car wash
• June- Car Wash
• July- Summer Lego Camp, Car wash
• August- Hawaiian Shirt Sale
• September- Hawaiian Shirt Sale, Heritage Day
  concession
• October- Hawaiian Shirt Sale
• November- BE Tournament, Night of Giving tix sale
• December- off for the holidays, prep for build
  season

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Fund Raising Tallies for 2007

• Body Building Show- overall 2500
• Car washes (total) - 2000 (slow year)
• Lego Camp- 1200
• Hawaiian Shirt Sale- 2800
• Brunswick Eruption Tournament- 6500
• Night of Giving Tickets- 600
• Total for Yearly Fundraising- 15,600
• Work crew- 30 students, 20 adults

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How Do You Get a Fundraiser Going?

• Have a goal- how much? by when?
• Make a believable plan- the team needs to believe
  the goal is reachable before it will commit the
  time to reach it
• Build excitement- prizes, contests, ultimate
  prize
• Warrant involvement- everybody involved, parents
  involved
• Target your Fundraisers

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Parent Groups

• Parent Groups are essential if the team is to
  grow large and travel frequently
• The team must be as fun for the parents as for
  the students
• RPM- Robot Parent Mentors
• Run by parents
• Both social and supportive
• Labor force for making fund raisers happen
• Force behind students to keep them moving

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How do you motivate parents?

• Hold a meeting and spell out the teams goals and
  activities
• Offer opportunities for parental Involvement
• Have signups ready
• Plan events to make parents a part of the team.
  Show them their kids succeeding.
• Let parents show their best to the team
• Fun events and trips

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Sources for Ideas

• FR Team Development- NEMO !!
• http//www.firstnemo.org/

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Fund Raising Ideas

• http//www.fundraiserhelp.com/ - has a huge idea
  list with many interesting concepts
• http//www.easy-fundraising-ideas.com/ - a
  marketing company with many available FR types
• http//www.childline.org.uk/AtoZoffundraisingideas
  .asp - a glossary of different ideas
• www.FIRSTRINOS.org- soon to be posted source for
  new teams
• http//www.usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?
  id7024 - the Presidents Circle- FIRSTs
  support of teams by teams

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Grants and Sponsorship

• Grants are more long term and less reliable than
  fund raisers
• Corporate connections are helpful
• Parents, School Boards, Local Politicians offer
  connections
• Many large companies have Volunteerism Reward
  Grants for their Employees
• Be prepared for Matching Grants

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What Can Sponsors Do For A Team?

• Of course
• Direct interaction with students and tech people
• Merchandise
• Food
• Dont dismiss a sponsor because they do not have
  engineers

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Make an Introduction Package

• Every team needs an introduction sheet
• CD with excited kids and robots
• FIRST information from FIRST resources
• Drop off materials and set a follow up- HR people
  or Community Relations seem the best
• Have a set goal when you approach a sponsor
• Get potential sponsors to a FIRST event- in or
  off season. Treat as VIP

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Who Can Find Us A Major Sponsor?

• Politicians
• School Boards
• Chamber of Commerce
• Parents
• Press
• Regional Committee
• Cold Canvassing- invite to events as guest

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Double Duty Appearances

• Public relations
• Display boards
• Brochures
• PR Packet
• Appearances for fun, familiarization and profit
• Provide a Service

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Educating Sponsors

• It takes at least a season to educate a sponsor-
  probably more so than a student
• Respect the sponsors time
• Say Thanks- and be sure to highlight the sponsor
  in publicity on the team
• Develop a Press Policy

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Grants?

• Educational institutions can accept grants
• Grants are written according to set formats- see
  their style sheets
• Have a set goal in mind when you write a grant- a
  project or a figure is easier to sell
• Expect a major lag time in processing grants
• You will likely need the following ready at
  minimum
• Budget for 2-3 years (projected)
• Essays highlighting grant use and need
• Biographies and credentials of workers
• Supporting letters from recipient school
• Business Plan is helpful

18
Grant Sources

• Many major companies have grants (500 Project)
• Check the FIRST Presidents Circle page above for
  a list of grants for schools.
• Private Grants are sometimes available from
  philanthropists

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The Fortune 500 Project

• Dean Kamen made a comment.
• A link to explore-
• http//spreadsheets.google.com/pub?keypjYwV89WZsD
  T8INoH17myVAgid0
• Let us know..