Other Fundraising Opportunities
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FIRST works with many companies to create grant opportunities for teams each year. These start mid-summer and many close by mid-October. More information can be found about them .
For many grants, and company corporate giving applications, the questions asked stay the same from year to year. We save copies of these applications to reference later. This makes it easier for new members to understand the tone and style of writing a grant and can help generate ideas for future application answers. Additionally, we have learned that companies appreciate when you have a specific goal in mind for their grant. At the beginning of the year we often create a wishlist and order it by priority so that we can provide these details to potential sponsors.
We love our sponsors, but being self-sustaining is a great goal for all FRC teams. To help with this mission we host our Junior Bot summer camps as a major fundraiser and partner with local businesses to provide additional opportunities for our students.
When deciding to host your own event or camp, it is important to set a price point that is good for the community and good for the team. With our Junior Bots camps we work to reduce or cost by reusing materials, finding free locations, and using word of mouth publicity to help us keep costs low. This makes it easier on our campers paying registration fees but allows us to make the money needed to pay for competition registration.
In addition to Junior Bots, we also have worked concessions at the University of Iowa, hosted fundraiser nights at Pizza Ranch, and sold light bulbs to raise money. Many fast food restaurants have their own fundraiser night system to help raise money for your team. In the future we would like to create a fan merch store for friends and family to purchase cheap 167 t-shirts as a passive fundraiser.
Outreach events are all about getting involved in your community and spreading the message of FIRST; however, they can come with fundraising opportunities. We have a QR code on one of our team poster boards that individuals can use to donate to our team through PayPal. This is not a major money maker for our team, but can add up to a big impact over the year. Most donations through this method are alumni, family friends, or others who recognize us from previous events.
Outreach events are also a major way to advertise your team. This can include getting new sponsors, mentors, or students. Having a sponsorship brochure on hand is always a good idea.