Budget

[mk17]

Hi,

I am brand new to FSAE and in charge of sponsership for my team. I was just curiouse if anyone would be willing to share there teams budget for this year and tips on getting sponsers would be great.

Thanks,

MK

[mk17]

Hi,

I am brand new to FSAE and in charge of sponsership for my team. I was just curiouse if anyone would be willing to share there teams budget for this year and tips on getting sponsers would be great.

Thanks,

MK

[Chase]

A good presentation is always a plus.
Bring whatever you can give away to likely sponsors, Info CDs, photos, etc.
and basically try everything you think may be of use for whatever area is lacking. Like if you need a CNC sponsor find the ones local to you and anybody is normally willing to sponsor you through money. It may surprise you what kinds of places you can get sponsored from.
To retain sponsors offer them incintives like prominent sticker locations on the car etc.
Have a set of different levels of sponsorship
i.e. Gold, Silver, Platinum etc. each having extra benefits.

Hope this gives you guys a bit of help.

[EgyptianMagician]

1. Go grab some high density foam.
2. Decide on a rough body design
3. Carve out the design (hot wire)
4. Coat it in acrylic base paint, and add details, tires etc....
5. Get some light white paper, print out some logos (school etc...) and use a colour laser, cut 'em out, glue 'em on ...

Then you have a somewhat tangible item to show people... something they can hold, or walk around etc...

Don't be shy, make it full size, half size, quater size, whatever make it big.

Have two types of presentations, one technical and one a little bit dummed down (for less technical members of the coorporate community). When possible always ask for parts/service, very very important.

Spend time on a ~10 page proposal, outline the benefit for sponsorship, sell your project.

Go to your SU and get an application to acheive club status and get a budget for office supplies etc.

Hold movie nights in audotoriums, charge 5$ and make a list of 'new members' ... then later on members get in free and you charge for pop + popcorn (huge money maker!!! -- get Blockbuster to sponsor you, they will with popcorn).

Make VISA/Mastercards limits a requirement for new people joining the team, and tell them that they can be called upon at any moment in time to serve the team.

Knock on wood, throw salt in your eye, avoid walking under ladders ... you get the point, luck is also a very important part of the process.

best of luck !

Authors Note: Never put salt in your eyes.

[Matilda]

MK,

this year we did well in getting heaps of in-kind support. So lots of free materials and labour. Getting cash is always the harder part.

To give you an idea the retail value of our in-kind support is about AUD$170K and cash stands at just over AUD$30K.

My top five tips:
1. Face to Face (phone, email and post are almost useless)
2. Short! (anything long take too much time)
3. 80 / 20 rule (work on getting the big fish)
4. Do your prep (know everything about a possible sponsor, and know what you are selling)
5. always follow up (get as much feedback)

the hardest thing for me was knowing what i was selling. To do this understanding the objectives of your team is very important. Often motorsport turns people off straight away and you have an up hill battle from there. Taking an education and training or youth tilt works for some sponsors.

For example the objectives of UWAM are to provide education and training for UWA students, and to promote science and engineering. To achieve these objectives we need to raise money to run whatever program we run (FSAE or not) and this requires sponsorship. To get sponsors you need to do promotion. Part of promotion is doing events (we go to careers fairs, make school visits, even rural school visits anything kind of educational. we try to keep clear from racing events). One type of event is competitions. This is where FSAE fits in. However, we also enter as many other competitions as possible.

Anyway thats how I have set it up for this year. It worked ok, but as always you need more experienced people power. Hope it gives you some ideas.

Jason

[EgyptianMagician]

um ... 150,000 USD, could you please clarify that number ... that must be over many many years right ?

[Kevin Hayward]

Just to back up Jas a little,

When you start to accurately add up the resources you get offered by sponsors (including costs of using their equipment) the inkind sponsorship goes up quite a lot. Example: how much does it cost to hire a big bit of bitumen to do your track testing?

The costs Jas mentioned are not just materials that go on a car. Our university has not got a lot of the equipment we would wish to use ... hence our best option is to look for sponsorship.

Add to that shipping a car to the other-side of Australia and a car & team to the US. Noting that Perth, Western Australia is the most isolated city in the world (officially - according to distances from other cities).

The numbers get pretty big, pretty quick.

Kev

p.s. I should also note that this year has been our most successful marketing campaign so far by a long shot ... Jason knows his stuff

[Nick McNaughton]

That 170k number doesn't give a very real indication of what the team receives. People seem keen to give us in-kind support, and we're quite fortunate in that regard. As an example, an engineering company might offer 20k of in-kind sponsorship, say use of some of their equipment.

If you cost it out properly at commercial rates, accounting for someone's time getting set up, and someone's time to answer questions when they arise, not to mention the use of expensive, specialised equipment - that 20k might buy 15 hours of use. Over the course of a year, that's bugger all.

We also cost things at real, commercial rates because we like to be able to show the uni, among others, that we're serious about this project.

It's certainly not as if we get 170k in free materials, and sure as hell not 170k cash. We'd sell our souls for another $500 in cash, just like everyone else in the comp...

[James Waltman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Hayward:
Noting that Perth, Western Australia is the most isolated city in the world (officially - according to distances from other cities). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This might be pretty pathetic but Catia CNC toolpaths were starting to wear on me so I took a break.

I think that "most isolated city in the world" is a little deceiving.
I used to live in Barrow, Alaska (http://www.alaska-wintercabin.com/map.jpg) and I think that it's more isolated than Perth. The distance from Perth to Bunbury (population: 28,500) is less than 200km and Albany (population: 28,800) is about 400km away. To get from Barrow to the nearest real city, Fairbanks (population: 30,224), you have to fly about 725km (there are no roads out of Barrow).
Barrow is about 5,930km from the nearest city with more than 1,000,000 people - Los Angeles (population: 3,694,820). Perth is only about 2724 km from the nearest city with more than 1,000,000 people – Adelaide (population 1,079,200).

I suppose it all depends on how you define a city. Barrow (population: 4,581) might not count as a city because it's too small. So maybe Perth (population: 1,295,100) is the most isolated "city" in the world.

Yep, pretty pathetic. Back to Catia.

[Cement Legs]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Hayward:

Barrow is about 5,930km from the nearest city with more than 1,000,000 people - Los Angeles (population: 3,694,820). Perth is only about 2724 km from the nearest city with more than 1,000,000 people – Adelaide (population 1,079,200).

Yep, pretty pathetic. Back to Catia. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Now you've gone and lost all credibility.... in between Alaska and LA (or closer to Barrow than 6000 miles), cities with more than 1,000,000;

1 Vancouver (Canada still counts)
2 Calgary
3 Toronto
2 Seatle
3 Portland
4 Denver
5 San Diago
6 San Francisco
7 Oakland
8 San Jose
9 Sacramento
10 hmmm Tokyo???
11 Yakutsk ???
12 Khabarovsk???
13 Beijing???

hmmmm if I write a matlab program to triangulate distances directly between cities through the surface of the Earth... hahahah yeah me program HAHAHAHHA :P

Cheers

ps I agree Alaska is the farthest place in the World.... you can get from Cape Canavral to the Moon befroe you could get to Barrow

[BryanH]

Wolfman Waltman of Washington wanders the streets by dark, pondering his position.....

[James Waltman]

Cement Legs,
I had credibility? No more posts after 3am for me because I guess now I have to defend my honor. Disclaimer: this is a giant waste of time and I apologize for derailing the discussion.

My source for the disputed claim. (http://www.city-data.com/city/Barrow-Alaska.html)

My late night internet search was not exhaustive. So L.A. might not really be the closest city to Barrow with a population of more than 1 million. I never would have guessed that you can't believe everything you read on the internet.

The distance from Barrow to the City of Vancouver B.C. (population: only 545,671) is about 2993km. If we count the Vancouver Greater Metropolitan Area then the population is 1,986,965. The city vs. metro area makes a difference for most of your examples and puts the population over 1 million. Some of your examples disprove my L.A. claim flat out. However, none of them are closer to Barrow than the Perth to Adelaide distance of 2724km (http://www.westcoastassist.com.au/Perth_-_the_most_isolated_city.htm) (or 2136km (http://www.geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm?loadpage) depending on the source) and that was my real point.


Populations
City of Calgary: 878,866
Calgary Metropolitan Area: 951,395
Distance from Barrow: 3087km

City of Toronto: 2,481,494
Toronto Metropolitan Area: 4,682,897
Distance from Barrow: 5029km

City of Seattle: 572,600
Seattle Metropolitan Area (King County): 1,737,034
Distance from Barrow: 3185km

City of Portland (OR): 529,121
Portland Metropolitan area: 2,149,056
Distance from Barrow: 3395km

City of Denver (CO): 554,636
Denver Metropolitan Area: 2,581,506
Distance from Barrow: 4525km

City of San Diego (CA): 1,223,400
San Diego Metropolitan Area: 2,780,592
Distance from Barrow: 4890km

City of San Francisco: 776,733
Distance from Barrow: 4222km
City of Oakland: 399,484
City of San Jose: 894,943
San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan: 6,783,760

City of Sacramento (CA): 407,018
Sacramento Metropolitan Area: 1,685,812
Distance from Barrow: 4153km

City of Tokyo: 7,830,323
Tokyo Metropolitan area: 11,680,490
Distance from Barrow: 5342km

City of Yakutsk: approx 189,000
Distance from Barrow: 3170km

City of Khabarovsk: 582,100
Distance from Barrow: 4223km

Beijing Metropolitan Area: 13,820,000
Distance from Barrow: 5742km

Perth's claim to fame might be from a remark that Dennis Conner made (http://www.countrywide.com.au/aboutperth/aboutperth.html)more than actual distances and populations.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> And skipper Dennis Connor, who, in 1987, snatched the America's Cup from the Australians off the coast of Fremantle, called Perth the "Most Isolated City in the World." <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I used internet sources to put all these figures together so errors may abound.
O.K. That should pretty much prove I'm a dork. And who knew that Halfast was a poet?

[clausen]

Lol, Bryan.

Sorry I havent got you to come and have a look at our car yet. Maybe this week? Lots of exam craziness been going on lately.

BTW, I'll doing something about the blown up engine in my RX7 now that uni is over and done with. Do you remember it? Red Series 1 with old Simmons wheels

[jack]

...so, james...made any parts yet??

http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Kevin Hayward]

James,

I'm pretty sure that any town with under 5,000 people can not really be classed as a city.

I've lived in a mining town of about 5,000 people ... I never heard anybody refer to it as a city. Afterall cities had at least one set of traffic lights.

When does a town become a city?

Kev

p.s. Sorry for encouraging this off-topic conversation.

[jack]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> 1. A center of population, commerce, and culture; a town of significant size and importance. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

still kind of vague

[gug]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jack:
A center of ... culture; a town of significant ... importance. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

well that writes off Perth... http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

ps, check your private messages Kev.

[syoung]

Custom in the UK used to state that unless it had a cathedral (Anglican) in it, it was a town not a city. That's now changed, and "city status" is awarded by the Queen.

Wells (population 10,000) is a city; status was granted because of its cathedral. London is not a city, but two of its boroughs - City of London (where most financial companies are based) and City of Westminster (parliament) - are.

http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/citygj.htm

So now you know!

Anyway, budgets, yes. We're entering Class 200 (second year cars, FStudent) so our needs are a bit different - fewer materials, more cash really. We reckon £10,000 cash (~US$18,000 at current bargain exchange rates) will get us through the year fairly well without needing much in the way of in-kind sponsorship.

[Frank]

my rule of thumb is

try and get from your uni, US$1 for every student enrolled

to cover ALL the expenses of the uni machining, cash, training, supervision, consultation, marketing, phone, fax, paper, etc etc etc

the stuff that you consider "incidental" often adds up

[DJHache]

Don't forget that money makes money and that there's no diffusivity for money. Money tends to accumulate where there already is money.

The point is if you spend money on your sponsors (shirts, driving the car, etc) then they will give you more money.

Of course having personal (ie alumni) contacts in industry is often the easiest way of getting sponsorship.

[gug]

innovative fundraising

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> from UWA's newsletter (http://www.motorsport.uwa.edu.au/downloads/newsletters/Newsletter%20Aug%2004.pdf)

Resident karaoke songbirds Tom Miller and
Bruce McPhail (pictured) recently entered a
karaoke contest at Club Bay View in Claremont,
pledging to donate any winnings to the
Motorsport Team. Competition organisers had
stated that the judging would be based upon both
talent and crowd participation. The latter would
not be a problem: the Team has 90 members,
ensuring a supportive and appreciative audience.
And what of their talent?

Savvy song selection helped, and Tom's
stagecraft whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Bruce's crowd-surfing antics were also well
timed; achieving what is believed to be the only
successful karaoke stage dive this season. With
rousing support, the judges had no choice but to
award the first prize of a Vmoto scooter to Tom
and Bruce.

The future of the scooter is uncertain, but it has
been proposed that it serve as a pit vehicle,
offering quick and easy transportation during
track days. Of course, it will be redecorated in
traditional UWAM colours, with logos to boot.
Some weight reduction through the use of
carbon-fibre has also been rumoured... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Matilda]

Yes the Vmoto has been in good use. In fact within the first 6 hours of receiving the scooter it was damaged in an attempted mono by the safety officer... he hasn't lived it down.

It may make an appearance at the Australian comp, just depends on trailer space.

This is a pertinent story relating to budgets, because sponsorship is easy to get. You just need to put in the effort and use some creativity. We are on the look out for any karaoke comps.

PS - the song sung in the first round was hey Jude and the final was clinched by a rousing rendition of Am i ever going to see your face again ("no way, get ...., .... off" .... rhymes with fire truck).

Jason