Starting a New Team
If you have made the decision to start a Science Olympiad team, congratulations! A dedicated Head Coach has a great influence on the success of the team, and coaching can be a rewarding way to watch students develop a passion for science.
In broad terms, these are the topics and tasks that you will need to manage:
Recruiting students and the help of others
Registering your team with Michigan SO and the appropriate regional organization
Assigning students to specific competitive events
Locating information, material resources and training opportunities
Setting a budget and arranging financing for your team
Communicating with your team and creating accountability
Identifying opportunities for team recognition and building team identity
Maintaining year-to-year continuity
You also might identify an experienced Head Coach who is willing to serve as your mentor. Your Regional Director may be able to connect you with such an individual. If you are looking for advice, your Regional Director would also be a great person to begin with.
You can also find support by checking out our Coaches Corner sessions every month
Have questions? Looking for guidance? Contact our New Team Support LEads!
There are many ways to successfully raise funds to support your team. Your team is providing a valuable service to students, and there are organizations who want to support you.
Funding Your NEw Team
Local Foundations
Many local communities have established a foundation to improve the quality of their community. Your team is part of that quality! This list of community foundations is a good place to start your search.
There are additional family foundations and businesses in your local community that will be interested to support education initiatives, and might support your Science Olympiad team. For instance, some Walmart / Sam’s Club stores support Education as a priority, and have been known to give up to $500. Including a sponsor logo on your team shirt is an inexpensive way to recognize their support.
The common thread is that all of these organizations want to support important causes in their own community. Your challenge is to find one that is a good match for supporting a Science Olympiad team.
Fundraising Ideas
There are many, many ways to raise money for your team, and each team seems to have it’s own preference for the type of fundraising that makes sense to them. This list of “50 Successful School Fundraising Ideas“, is a good place to start considering the possibilities. It is not comprehensive list, by any means.
For instance, one of the most important fundraising activities that one local High School uses to fund its Science Olympiad team is a can & bottle drive. They do it “on steroids” and raise over $1000, mostly in one day. It is a load of work, but it is over quickly. Other teams prefer to sell products and get a % of the price (e.g., pizza kits). Whatever approach you choose, have a good understanding of both the time commitment and payoff. Also it is best to get your team’s fundraising started right away in the fall, so that you can focus attention on science as the season progresses.
Applying for Funding
Many organizations will have their own application instructions. Don’t be put off if the rules are written to specify the information they expect from a large non-profit organization. You may not need all parts. For instance, you won’t have an audited financial statement. That said, many organizations are not interested to support a group as small as single team. You are trying to find a good match.
For less-structured situations, there are 3 components to organizing a solicitation package. You can tweak and reuse it for many audiences.
One-page (or less) summary of Science Olympiad and your team
The simple version of your team budget
Instructions for how they can sign up