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2019 Season
Fundraising and Sponsorship
You Have A Team - You Need a Budget
● FIRST teams need money!
○ Event Registration Fees (Regionals and Championship)
○ Off-Season Event Fees
○ Robot Fabrication
○ Branding and Marketing
○ Transportation
○ Hotels
○ Food!
Remember – start early! No one will want to fundraise during build season!
Sponsorships
Step 1 - Finding Potential Sponsors
● Anyone can sponsor a FIRST Team
● Potential donors are everywhere
○ Local businesses and retailers
○ Parents’ employers (and friends!)
○ Technology companies
○ Any major employer, regardless of trade
If they don't respond
● What to do if a company doesn’t respond
○ After 3-4 business days, re-contact the company
○ Send an email or call the representative
■ Offer to answer any questions
■ Give them more info about sponsorship benefits
■ Always thank them for their time and interest
You don’t want to pester a company, but you don’t want them to forget
about you either
● Prepare a sponsorship presentation
● Prepare print materials such as brochures and business cards to
give to potential sponsors
○ Print materials such as brochures should highlight
■ Who you are
■ What you do
■ How their money will be used
■ Any other important information
● Have a professional team contact not related to any one student
○ Our team uses [email protected]
Step 2 - Preparing Your Marketing Materials
● Practice your presentation
○ Send a small group to represent the team (3-4 people)
○ Wear your team uniform
○ Talk about
■ Your team
■ Why you need their sponsorship
■ What’s in it for them, as a sponsor
■ Other fundraising you’ve done, and the results
■ Maybe mention names of other team sponsors
● Remember
○ Eye contact
○ Stay organized
○ Be clear and concise
○ Be yourself
Step 2 - Preparing Your Marketing Materials
Step 3 - Making contact● Request meeting with the representative who has responsibility for
community outreach or handles community sponsorships
○ Call (if you have contact)
○ Face-to-face
● If the executive can’t meet with you immediately, make sure you
mail or drop off the information packet and your contact information
for follow-up
● Always offer a presentation and robot demo
● Contact a large number of diverse companies
Step 4 - follow up
● 1 day after your meeting follow up
○ Send an email thanking them
■ Ask when you would be able to do a robot demo
■ Offer to have them come to competitions or other events
■ Offer to answer any questions
Step 5 - Thank and Reward● Display their logo dependent on sponsorship level (pit signs, robot,
website, social media, etc.) Ask for EPS file of logo
● Gift baskets (team shirts, pictures, buttons, etc.)
● Build a relationship
○ Keep them updated on your progress
○ Offer to present to their employees at corporate events
● Represent them well – mention them by name when interviewed by
the media
● Sponsors on-board by December should be entered into your
team’s FIRST dashboard the main contact. This information is used
in the FIRST Program Books distributed at competitions.
Step 6 - Engage
● Maintain an ongoing dialog with your sponsors
○ Ask if your team can attend company events and bring a robot
○ Join them for community service events
○ Invite sponsors to your team’s outreach events
In Kind Donations
● Not all sponsorships involve money! Sponsors can also:
○ Supply mentors and volunteers
○ Offer workspace and storage
○ Supply materials and equipment
○ Donate food
○ Offer a discount on needed materials and items
Often, businesses are happy to offer “in-kind” goods and services. Add
up the value of their donations to determine sponsorship level.
Fundraising
Fundraisers
● Car washes
● Open House
● Rummage/Garage sale
● Collecting recyclables
● Bagging groceries for tips
● Restaurant fundraising nights (Chipotle, Noodles, etc.)
● Get creative!
Websites and Social Media
● Websites can be an effective way to
○ Communicate
○ Advertise
○ Show sponsors how much your team appreciates their support
● Social Media:
○ Snapchat
○ YouTube
Sponsorship Levels
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Sponsorship Levels
Here’s the body text
Overall Do’s and Don’ts
● Do○ Stay organized
○ Be professional (and
gracious)
○ Ask many companies
○ Use your website
○ Represent FIRST well
● Don’t○ Get discouraged
○ Pester companies
○ Lose information
○ Think little work will be
highly rewarded
Contact Us & Questions?● Contact The Green Machine: https://edinarobotics.com/contact/
● Facebook: Team 1816 The Green Machine
● Twitter: @FIRSTteam1816
● Other resources
○ https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/fundraising-toolkit
■ Comprehensive overview of how to raise funds
● Primarily for FRC
● Also includes FTC materials
