Why don't you participate in NCC?

[cnitas]

As a squadron commander I have been actively looking at various fundraising projects for not just NCC, but for our squadron in general.  What I have found is that there are numerous grants available for local youth programs, but most wil not give money for 'operations'.  You must request specific items, and then justify the purchase with the goals of the giving org. 

Color Guards and Drill Teams lend themselves to these funding sources, and it does not 'take away' from the overall funds of the squadron.

I do not support pulling money out of squadron funds to buy things specifically for NCC.   

[High Speed Low Drag]

Now there are some interesting ideas.  What about doing away with the Drill Team portion and make it just a Color Guard competition?  Also, I have to agree about eliminating the career C/CMSgts from competition.

[Nathan]

As a squadron commander I have been actively looking at various fundraising projects for not just NCC, but for our squadron in general.  What I have found is that there are numerous grants available for local youth programs, but most wil not give money for 'operations'.  You must request specific items, and then justify the purchase with the goals of the giving org. 

Color Guards and Drill Teams lend themselves to these funding sources, and it does not 'take away' from the overall funds of the squadron.

So specifying "encampment scholarship" with an explanation of what an encampment is and the necessity for all cadets, regardless of financial status, to attend encampment would be poo-pooed by these sponsors?

Specifying "uniform items" and justifying that uniforms are expensive, yet all cadets are expected to wear a uniform, and then mentioning the massive morale and image boost that comes from the uniform would not be considered justification?

I dunno. As I said, I just have a hard time figuring out why a sponsor would be willing to ONLY donate to the NCC, unless they were either being deprived of information about the rest of the program, or were simply ignorant about it. I can think of a thousand different ways to justify any other aspect of the program that I would rather spend money on than the NCC.

[cnitas]

Calm down Nathan.
I never said they would 'only' donate to NCC, only that it is easier to write a grant request for specific items needed.  For instance, high quality Drill Rifles, Flags, Harnesses, etc. 

Everyone already knows what a color guard is and what they do.  Convincing a board of directors to give money to something they do not quite understand (encampment) lowers your chances of success.  And it all depends on the specific organization.  Some might want to donate to an encampment scholarship.  Others might not.

I have never tried, but I suppose I could write a grant request for 50 full sets of service uniforms and see if that gets approved by anyone. But to be honest, I do not have time to write a bunch of grant requests that do not get approved.

Another issue to consider is that there are limits on grant amounts.  How much does it cost to outfit an entire squadron?  Several thousand dollars I would imagine.  Often grants are $500 and less. 

Just enough to outfit...a color guard with completely new uniforms, or buy a completely new set of equipment.