Hi, our school is starting VEX EDR this year and are looking for sponsorships and ways to raise money. Has anyone else been in this position before, and if so what kinds of things did you do in order to raise money to fund yourselves and do you know companies that sponsor VEX teams?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Atlantis
local companies, local grants. Some of our best have come from restaurant cards from places like PDQ. They sell you $10/cards for a few bucks and you sell them for $7 each. Worked out great for us. Also, make sure you can get associated with a 501.c.3, helps a lot and some parents’ companies will match donations.
Re: 501(c)(3)
If your organization is associated with a public school, in many states, this means that all donations are tax-deductible. From some cursory research, this also appears to be the case in the EU. Since you’re a new team, you can also apply for grants directly through the RECF; our organization has gotten over $4500 in new team grants this way
Doesn’t the website say that RECF grants are only available in the US? Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be applicable for this then. Do you know any other sponsors that aren’t specific to countries?
There are even some large companies such as BestBuy that will offer you grants. Try looking on their grant pages. We used to sell coupon booklets for $20 and make a profit of $10, but I don’t remember where our coach got them from, and that was from middle school. Luckily I’m still in contact with him, so I’ll ask him where he got those books from when I see him next.
look for large companies in the state and send them letters explaining what you do, how many people you play against and around, and ask them to sponsor you. Lots of large companies have money set aside for that kind of thing, you just need to convince them that you will get their company enough exposure to do them some good. Also, t-shirt fundraisers are good. Even doing shirts for other school organizations (ex. football, basketball, track, etc)
How many teams do you as a school, sign up to compete for each season? I have signed up two teams for my school and I plan to rotate which students actually go to the contests. This way more students gain the excitement and experience of an actual contest.
Also, does your class/club pay for the national entry fees or does your school?
Thanks!
We went from 4 teams first year, then 6 second and third, last year 8 teams, this year back down to 6. We raise all of our funds and pay for Worlds expenses through fundraising. A lot of work for our middle school teams to promote the club, but the community is very supportive of the program.