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Section 1: Introduction

Section 1.1 Team Overview Team 1678 Citrus Circuits is an FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team that competes annually in the FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC). The team of nearly 60 consists of students grades 9­12 from Harper Junior High School, Holmes Junior High School, Emerson Junior High School, DaVinci Charter Academy, and Davis Senior High School. The team is mentored by Davis Senior High School teachers, team alumni, team member parents, nearby college students, and community members. Section 1.2 Vision Team 1678 Citrus Circuits aspires to empower those around us including its local community, students, professionals and academics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and the FIRST community to be independent and innovative thinkers. Section 1.3 Mission Statement Team 1678 Citrus Circuits accomplishes its goals by implementing peer to peer teaching with student leadership and group project based learning to develop an educated workforce with applicable skills. Citrus Circuits also strives to create community events and support other groups in STEM. Section 1.4 Team History Team 1678 was founded in the fall of 2004 as EnGen Robotics by Steve Harvey, a math teacher at Da Vinci Charter Academy. Since then, the team has changed its name and grown from fifteen to sixty students from Davis High School, Da Vinci Charter Academy, and the junior highs. Competition: In 2011, 1678 won its first regional, the Sacramento Regional, and advanced to the Curie division quarterfinals at the Championship event. In 2012, Citrus Circuits attended two regionals for the first time, and won the Sacramento Regional for the second year in a row, once again advancing to Curie quarterfinals at the Championship event. In 2013, 1678 won the Central Valley Regional, and at Championships seeded first in the Curie division, won the division, and captained an alliance to the semifinals on the Einstein finals field. In 2014, the team won the Inland Empire Regional and Sacramento Regional. At Championship, Citrus Circuits seeded first as an undefeated team in the Newton division and the team made it all the way to the finals on Einstein. Team 1678 looks to continue its success further in both upcoming regional and international competitions for the 2016 game FIRST Stronghold. Outreach: Farmer’s Market At the Farmer’s Market booth, Citrus Circuits educates the community about STEM and 1678. The team also attempts to recruit members for the team and the FLL teams. 1678 also uses the booth as a way to fundraise money for its team. Homeless Shelter App

The team has a group dedicated to producing an app called the Homeless Shelter App, which, when finished, will be used to help policemen and the homeless communicate better about the number of available beds in shelters. Live Streaming of Competitions The team hosts live streams at all of the competitions 1678 attends for the people that are unable to attend the competitions. These are also meant to make it possible for more people to view current and past competitions in an easier way. This also provides the team with a way to help promote its sponsors. Women in STEM Conference (WiSTEM) The team is an avid supporter of women in STEM careers. Its team captain and co­captain are both women. The team hosts an annual conference called the Women in STEM Conference (WiSTEM). At this year’s conference, there were about 40 attendees. Citrus Circuits also had speakers from UC Davis and the captain of FRC Team 5458 speak to young females and inspire them to become involved in STEM. Mentorship of FRC Rookie Team 5458 Digital Minds and Woodland Team, Rookie Teams The team started team 5458 Digital Minds, an FRC Rookie Team. 1678 also mentored them throughout the season. The team is very proud that they won the Rookie All­Star Award from FIRST. The team mentored Visalia Vanquishers, a rookie team that competed at the Central Valley Regional, where they won the Rookie All­Star Award with our assistance. The team also mentored several rookie teams at the Newton Division of the World Championship. 1678 provided these new teams with mentors, Practice Robots, and funding. First Lego League (FLL) FIRST Lego League is a robotics program for 9 to 14 year old students designed to inspire children in science and technology and teach them valuable life skills such as responsibility, leadership, collaboration. Teams are composed of around eight children with at least two adult coaches. The competition has three components: the Robot Challenge, the Project, and the Team Core Values. Students learn how to collaborate in a team environment as they research topics for their Project, brainstorm approaches to the Robot Challenge, and design, build and program a Lego Robot. Citrus Circuits is currently mentoring 16 FLL Teams and we have started 18 new teams. We hold an annual FLL Scrimmage to prepare teams for competition. With the assistance of 1678, the FLL in Davis Program has grown to over 20 teams. TechTrek, UCD Robotics Camp, and Demos at Explorit Citrus Circuits hosts several summer camps, including TechTrek and the UCD Robotics Camp. We also conduct demonstrations of our robot at Explorit to educate the youth about STEM. Capital City Classic Off­season Competition Citrus Circuits hosts an annual offseason competition called Capital City Classic (CCC). In this three­day competition, several local teams compete in the previous season’s game, practicing with new drivers and operators. This year, the competition was hosted at Davis Senior High School with Teams 3859 and 2073. Fall Workshops Citrus Circuits holds Fall Workshops every year. They are open to local FRC team students and mentors, the participants at Capital City Classic, and others interested in the topics of scouting, programming, mechanical design, and electrical. The presentations are given by 1678’s mentors and students. Career Skills Workshops

The Career Skills Workshops are hosted by Citrus Circuits every Thursday morning during first period at the Davis High School. The workshop is for approximately one dozen Special Ed. students. 1678 teaches programming, mechanical, and electrical concepts, similar to the Fall Workshops. Section 1.5 Sponsors:

Sponsors

UCD Chancellor’s Office

UCD College of Engineering

UCD Division of Mathematical & Physical Sciences

UCD College of Agriculture & Environmental Science

DHS PTA

Sunpower

Aerojet Rocketdyne

NVidia

FMC Tech (Schilling Robotics)

First Street Real Estate

Da Vinci

DMG Mori

Blue & White

Fastenal

Greenbotics

Far Western Anthropological Services Inc.

Solidworks

GitHub

Martin's Metals

Aerometals

DJUSD

Section 2: Team Goals Section 2.1 Fundraising In order to compete in FIRST competitions, teams must raise a significant amount of money, which is discussed in the financial portion of this document. To accomplish this, the team actively seeks out corporations and organizations that are able to contribute both resources and mentorship. Many companies have been extremely generous and 1678 looks to build

long­lasting relationships with companies to help the team’s continuity from one year to the next Section 2.2 Short­Term Goals This year, the principal goals of Team 1678 are to build a competitive robot with which Citrus Circuits can again win the FIRST World Championship, win the Chairman’s Award at one of FIRST’s regionals, expand the Team 1678 brand to the various social media platforms and update its official website. Team 1678 also are aiming to build its Business & Media team, while receiving sponsorships from many large companies. The Chairman’s Award is the most prestigious award in FIRST, given to teams that best embody and spread its values. The Chairman’s Award is one of its many priorities that Citrus Circuits aims to win using its recently expanded team dedicated to the Chairman’s Award. Section 2.3 Long­Term Goals 1678’s main long­term goal is to win the FIRST World Championship, as Citrus Circuits did last year. In order to qualify, the team must either win the Chairman’s Award, or one of the regional competitions. 1678 hopes to win in its division, advance to the Einstein Field, and win the Championship. Another long­term goal of is to expand the team and increase its numbers. The team will accomplish this by actively recruiting students from both its local high schools and junior high schools. The team recruits via several methods, including presentations, school announcements, and word of mouth. Currently, the team is working on changing the misconception that one must have prior robotics knowledge and experience to be able to join 1678. Once a member, new students learn required skills through peer­to­peer mentorship. In addition to the required robotics skills, students who choose to join the business and media sub­team learn to maintain sponsorship relationships. Section 2.4 SWOT Analysis With the growing size and success of the team, a risk mitigation plan is necessary. Strengths: Citrus Circuits ensures consistency from year­to­year by using an archival system, which allows it to build upon previous years, and peer­to­peer teaching to mentor new students. The team maintains some financial security with the help of several sponsors, such as UC Davis and its Chancellor. The school district also provides us with necessary support by providing us with facilities, and with their help, an introductory robotics course is being taught at Davis High School. Weaknesses: One of the largest weaknesses of the team is the fluctuating number of students each year, especially in the Business and Media sub­team. This leaves the subteam with a majority of inexperienced members, making it harder to raise funds and retain sponsors. This leads to inconsistent sponsorship as well as lack of team awareness of its large sponsors. Opportunities: By exploiting its world championship status, 1678 could potentially gain many new sponsors. The team could also further develop its relationships with the school district and its current

sponsors in order to obtain more support and donations. Finally, Citrus Circuits could expand its community outreach program by focusing its efforts on new opportunities and making connections with city leaders. Will Arnold, the president of Blue & White Foundation, a prominent sponsor, is currently running for a seat on the local City Council. With his presence within the Council, the team hopes to gain more support from the City. The team will also expand its program to other parts of Yolo County. Citrus Circuits has worked with state senator Lois Wolk to introduce legislation to fund high school FIRST robotics teams across the entire state. If successful, this could add substantial financial resources to both 1678 and other FRC teams. Threats: Due to the growing number of teams in the area, sponsor funding is spreading out, which could greatly affect its funding. The state budget cuts could also negatively affect its funding from the school district, which is one of its greatest sponsors. Another threat the team may face is the loss key mentors, which would make it harder to train and assist both new and past members. Inconsistent student participation could make it harder to build and program its robot, as well as get funding to these things. Finally, perhaps its biggest threat is that 1678 relies on its success in the past to move us along. If 1678 is not as successful in the future, Citrus Circuits could potentially become unstable.

Section 3: Team Organization & Management Section 3.1 Team Management

The Citrus Circuits Robotics Team’s leadership this year consists of Sophia Stockburger, Team Captain; Megan Yamoah, Team Co­Captain; and Divya Kunda, Secretary. The rest of the team is organized into five divisions: Mechanical, Electrical, Robot Programming, Scouting App Programming, and Business/Media.

Each division is led by a student: Kelly Ostrom, Robot Programming Leader Bryton Moeller, Scouting App Programming Leader William Whitehead, Electrical Leader Megan Yamoah, Mechanical Leader Kasra Soltani Nia, Business/Media Leader

The students working in the Mechanical division are further divided into two subteams, Drivetrain and Manipulator, based on the robotic component they're working on. Section 3.2 Organization of Files Using Google Drive The team organizes all of its files including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using Google’s cloud based infrastructure. This infrastructure includes Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The team uses these services to collaborate on files seamlessly which results in productivity that helps it stay organized and productive. Google’s Cloud Infrastructure has been a very important tool for the team and it hopes to continue using it in the future. Section 3.3 Budgeting and Auditing of Expenditures Subteams create budgets and use a purchase order system to track expenses and provide accountability. The entire team must approve any purchases through a vote at team meetings. Within the accounting group, three income accounts are managed: Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), Blue & White Foundation (BWF), and Associated School Body (ASB). Each account has a different ledger that is updated weekly with new expenditures, including purchase orders, and incomes, such as grants and sponsorships.

Section 4: Proposed Budget for Team Expenses ­ 2015

Category Expenses

Robot $30,000.00*

Mechanical $14,000.00

Electrical $5,000.00

Programming $4,000.00

Business/Media $7,000.00

Mentor Stipends $9,000.00

Game Elements $1,000.00

Loan Repayment $19,000.00

Machinery Equipment $26,000.00

Regional Fees $20,400.00

Central Valley

Fee $4,000.00

Food and Lodging $3,000.00

Sacramento

Fee $5,000.00

Food $400.00

Silicon Valley

Fee $4,000.00

Food and Lodging $4,000.00

World Championships

Fee $5,000.00***

Travel $13,000.00***

Food and Lodging $15,000.00***

Total $138,400***

*Regulations only allow $4,000 to be spent on the competition robot; however remainder of expense is spent on prototyping and concept materials. ** This year the robotics team started a class which needed a financial kickstart given by the Davis Joint Unified School District. *** This total assumes that the team qualifies to attend the World Championship. For more information regarding expenses please contact either the Team Advisor or Team Captains from the list below. Section 5: Fundraising Plan

Sources Forecasted

UC Davis* $45,000

DJUSD $25,000

Parents $30,000

DHS PTA $5,000

Farmers’ Market $4,000

Da Vinci Boosters $1,000

Blue and White Foundation $3,000

Grants $6,000

Sponsors $32,000

Total $151,000

* The different schools of UC Davis gave us different amounts of money, the sum is listed above ** DJUSD provided the class with a sum of money, listed above, for classroom supplies which are also used for the team *** Parents have given the team a great sum of money through fundraisers **** The team sells LED light bulbs at the farmer's’ market every weekend as an income Section 5.1 ­ Marketing Strategy

Group 1 ­ UCD Strategy Other UCD Programs

1. Research other relevant UCD programs; check with students about parents who work at UCD in departments that do not yet contribute to Citrus Circuits.

2. Use Linda Katehi to provide contacts for other parts of UCD that might have more money to give because she should have the best idea of who is worth approaching.

3. Use the new Engineering Dean to connect us with the contacts provided by Katehi. This should give our message credibility and urgency without requiring the Chancellor to do footwork she would never do.

4. Establish relationship with other parts of UCD by attending 1­2 events and recruiting 2­3 mentors.

5. Call to action: funds, student mentors, program involvement, summer internships

Group 2 ­ Existing and Past Contributors Strategy 1. Identify most promising firms for expanded support: DMG Mori, Sierra Energy, DuPratt Ford.

a. Big enough to afford a large grant b. Connection to team c. Additional benefits to sponsor company

2. 2014­15 Sponsors: Sierra Energy, DMG Mori, DuPratt Ford, FMC/Schilling, Blue & White Foundation, David’s Engineering, Yolo Federal Credit Union, DV Boosters, Axa Foundation (Bimson), Bank of America Match (Kunda)

3. Determine each company’s sponsor level a. If high/satisfactory (?) sponsor level, then send newsletter, and discuss? elaborate later b. If lower sponsor level, send newsletter, elaborate on additional benefits to convince them

to donate more money 4. Contact methods

a. Email b. Phone (?) ­ not question/comment line c. In person ­ meeting/interview

5. Discuss sponsorship

Group 3 ­ Innovation Centers Strategy Tech Park Developer

1. Contact Dan Ramos at RAMCO Enterprises. 2. Use CIO Diane Parro to establish email connection with developers. This should A.) lend

credibility to our group B.) encourage them to enhance their relationship with the city 3. Schedule a presentation/meeting. 3­5 days in advance send out a several page packet including

the groundwork for what we will discuss at the meeting. 4. At the presentation:

­use facts and figures to show benefit of a partnership ­developers want the opportunity to actually develop the parks­focus on the idea that

we are their best chance of the vote passing without making any guarantees ­schedule a follow up meeting for about one week later

5. Call to action: $10,000 for this year, potential up to $1 million one­time after development

Group 4 ­ Large Company Strategy 1. Brainstorm companies, colleges

a. Find connection ­ Survey robotics team members, talk to parents at the meeting about their businesses

2. Use contact to establish connection between person who coordinates presentation and the business media team.

3. Setup 20ish minute presentation at their facility with everyone relevant to deciding on funding. 4. Request contact information for everyone who plans to attend the presentation and send them

5­10 page sponsor packet for them to look over a few days prior to the presentation. 5. At presentation

a. Highlight the high quality of work students are doing and the possibility of them being future interns and employees

b. Find gimmick c. Bring examples of branding

6. Follow­up: a. Send standard thank you’s to relevant people b. Send satisfaction survey to less relevant people c. Send call to action reminder to lead person

7. Retaining Strategy/Relationship Building a. Send newsletter to sponsors b. Send relevant articles to sponsors c. Send build blog reminders to sponsors d. Send competition overview to sponsors e. Attend all possible events of sponsors

7. Call to action:???

Group 5 ­ School Sources Strategy 1. Contact past sources for presentation opportunities: School Board, Blue & White Foundation,

DHS and junior high schools PTAs ($5000), Da Vinci Boosters. 2. Identify CTE/STEM grant opportunities, e.g., Perkins Grants, STEM Grant Guide 3. Use Mr. Harvey as contact conduit with school district.

Group 6 ­ Parent Boosters Strategy 1. Hold parent meeting about every 3 months to ask for funding and invite parents to volunteer as

mentors 2. Send out newsletters and press releases 3. Continuously thank parents and update the funding status in the monthly newsletter 4. Take advantage of matching programs through parents’ companies 5. Call to action: donations, matching donations, mentorship, travel chaperones, meal prep, logistics

organization

Group 7 ­ Community and Business Organizations Strategy

Note: Unlike in previous year the new goal for this type of organization (e.g., service clubs and business groups) is not to gain money from the organization itself but from the individual members. The follow steps detail a strategy intended to use the organizations solely as a stepping stone to the members.

1. Contact the head of the organization to schedule a presentation. Mention interest in doing presentations on a regular basis.

2. At the presentation: a. Focus on the impact of donor’s money on the students b. Send passionate people c. Use gimmick to keep people interested d. Show videos of a regular work day e. Conclude by handing out papers for people to write feedback on

3. Retrieve contact information for all of the members. Send newsletters, press releases, etc. 4. Schedule a second presentation. Integrate suggestions from 1st presentation. Talk more about

finances. 5. Call each member that week and ask for funds. 6. Keep detailed records on everything about each member.

Group 8 ­ Smaller Businesses Without Prior Relationships

The ratio of net profit to time is not worth significant effort. Use this only when A.) There is nothing else to do B.) There is someone new who will be coming on a very infrequent basis

1. Send email blast with sponsor flyer 2. Follow calls within 3 days of the email 3. Targeted follow up calls with businesses with identified specific interest

Group 9 ­ Outreach Activities Strategy

Farmer’s Market 1. Operates as a self­sufficient outreach group. Update with sponsor information. 2. Prepare updated presentation material for booth. 3. Organize weekly assignments 4. Manage equipment storage 5. Manage merchandise inventory

Online merchandise 1. Brainstorm merchandise ideas 2. Online poll for interest

Group 10 Alumni Strategy

1. Use existing alumni and alumni parent information to assemble a complete contact spreadsheet of alumni and alumni parent phone numbers and email addresses.

2. Maintain constant touches via newsletter, press releases, and event coverage. 3. Call active readers of newsletter to talk about donations/sponsorship/mentoring 4. See if alumni can connect to their college for sponsorship

Section 6: Resources Section 6.1 Links

FIRST Robotics Competition: http://firstinspires.org Team 1678: http://www.citruscircuits.org/ Section 6.2 Contact Information

Team Advisor: Steve Harvey sharvey@djusd.net +1 (530) 902­3180

Team Captain: Sophia Stockburger

sophiastockburger@gmail.com +1 (360) 224­3265

Team Co­Captain: Megan Yamoah

yamoah.megan@gmail.com +1 (530) 219­7429

Business & Media Team Leader: Kasra Soltani Nia

kasra101@gmail.com +1 (530) 210­7562