Edina Robotics FIRST® Team 1816 The Green Machine
Fundraising and Sponsorship
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• 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
Remember – start early!
No one will want to fundraise during build season!
Step 1: Finding Potential Targets
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• Prepare a Sponsorship Folder or Packet
• Include: – Benefits of sponsoring a FIRST Team – specifically yours!
– Information about FIRST
– Team information
• Name of robot, school, etc.
• Brief team overview
• Team giveaway item (button, t-shirt, etc.)
– Sponsorship Level Information (spell out what sponsors receive for different levels of sponsorship)
– Specific request for sponsorship. State what you’d like, in terms of dollars or donations
Step 2: Preparing Your Marketing Materials
FIRST Team 1816: The Green
Machine At a Glance: • Entering our 11th year, started in autumn of 2005 • Based at Edina High School, Edina MN • Average team size from year to year is 37 students, grades
10-12 • Award-winning team: 4 Chairman’s Awards, 3 Engineering
Inspiration Awards, 2015 National Woodie Flower’s Award – Mentor Mark Lawrence
• 36% of our team is non-Caucasian (double our school’s percentage); over 1/3 of our team members are women
• 22 Multi-year sponsors including Medtronic and Dow.
To bring the message of FIRST and STEM to new audiences To strengthen other FIRST teams To maintain a strong foundation of FIRST in Minnesota
Mission
Statement:
Who we Are:
Edina Robotics FIRST team 1816 competes in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. This pre-college, varsity-level competition encourages students to delve deeply into many aspects of STEM, including design, build , and programming.
What We’ve Done:
We’ve inspired others to engage in STEM via FIRST Robotics Outreach and Activities: • in 2016, we support and/or mentor 6 FIRST Tech Challenge, 10 FIRST Lego League, and 7 Jr
FIRST Lego League teams, most based in Edina • Inspired the formation of and/or mentor more than 22 FIRST Robotics (high school) teams • Developed, created, and hosted more than 90 outreach events, activities, and
collaborations in the 2015 season • Achieved recognition of FIRST as a varsity sport in the state of Minnesota • Volunteered for 6,000+ hours over 5 years, from LEGO camps to park cleanups
Your Support:
The US needs to produce over 1 million STEM workers by 2022 to remain globally competitive. Funding p re-college STEM programs such as FIRST are one of the best ways to reach students in grades K-12 and to inspire lifelong excitement and interest in STEM fields. 89% of team graduates have pursued STEM in college and to date 71% have pursued STEM careers.
Contact Us:
www.edinarobotics.com [email protected]
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• Request meeting with the executive who has responsibility for community outreach or handles community sponsorships – Call (If you have a contact)
– Face-to-face
– Tweet
• 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 many companies
Step 3: Making Contact
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• 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 team’s other sponsors
– Remember
• Eye contact
• Stay organized
• Be clear and concise
• Be yourself!
Step 3: Making Contact
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• What to do if a company doesn’t respond? – After 3-4 business days, re-contact the company
– Send an email or call the executive
• Remind them of the meeting or information you sent out
• 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
Step 4: The Follow Up
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• Put their logo everywhere (pit signs, robot, website, social media, etc.)
• 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 TIMS by your team’s main contact. This information is used in the FIRST Program Books distributed at competitions.
Step 5: Thank and Reward
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• 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
Step 6: Engage
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• 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.
Miscellaneous
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• Located on the FIRST website: http://archive.firstinspires.org/roboticsprograms/first-fundraising-toolkit
• Comprehensive overview of how to raise funds
– Primarily for FRC
– Also includes FTC materials
FIRST Fundraising Toolkit
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• Materials from MN FRC teams
– 1816: fundraising presentation
– 2175: business plan
– 2177: sponsor phone call
– 2220: starting a booster club
– 2470: fundraising plan
Local Teams
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• Bake sales
• Silent auctions
• Open House
• Concessions stands
• Rummage/Garage sale
• Collecting recyclables
• Bagging groceries for tips
• Car washes
• Restaurant fundraising nights (Chipotle, Noodles, etc.)
• Seasonal sales
• Get creative!
Fundraisers
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• Websites can be an effective way to – Communicate
– Advertise
– Show sponsors how much your team appreciates their support
• Social Media: Be selective – Facebook
– Snapchat
– YouTube
Websites and Social Media
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Screenshots
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Sponsorship Levels (cont.)
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• Do – Stay organized
– Be professional (and gracious)
– Ask many companies
– Use your website
– Represent FIRST well
Do’s and Don’t’s
• Don’t – Get discouraged
– Pester companies
– Lose information
– Think little work will be highly rewarded
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• Contact The Green Machine at edinarobotics.com/contact• Facebook: The Green Machine
• Twitter @FIRSTteam1816
• Other resources– www.firstinspires.org (fundraising toolkit)
– www.chiefdelphi.com
Questions?
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