Get to PhysCon 2019!
Use this spreadsheet to help estimate the costs associated with getting your chapter to PhysCon!
Never been to Providence? Check out this FAQ and Presentation with information on travel, dining, and the conference.
Don't forget to apply for SPS Travel Funds - Awards will be available for both research presentations and meeting reporters. More details to come!
SPS Students' Top 10 Fundraising Tips:
- Nacho Bar
- Physics T-shirts
- Volunteer Services
- Trivia Night
- Night of Lights
- Pi a Professor
- Concessions
- Teach-a-thon
- Lunch-raiser
- Donation Jar
Best Practices:
- Start fundraising for PhysCon now! Saving a little over a long time really helps
- Get a cash box and consider setting up an account with your school or a local bank
- Identify a treasurer to help track money
- Develop a system for saving over the next few semesters
- Create semester plans with tangible goals
- Investigate department and campus resources for conference travel. You'd be surprised what you can find
- For smaller fundraisers, reach out to Alumni and ask them to match what is raised
- Read more about fundraising in the Fall 2013 issue of Sigma Pi Sigma Radiations magazine
Get Started with Small Fundraisers:
- Sell coffee & donuts, or pizza & soda once a month or during exam times. Pick a high traffic location and focus on class change times
- Pi a Professor (around Thanksgiving and Pi Day)
- Ask for donations at SPS sponsored demo shows
- Sell food/shirts during events
- Tutor for STEM courses at your college and also local high schools
Big Impact Fundraising Ideas:
- Request Special Allocation Funds through your Student Government (plan early ~ at least 1 year out!)
- Approach members of college administration to match funds - this process should be started before your school’s fiscal year begins. Use this sample letter as a basis for your funding request.
- Talk with your school’s alumni office to see if they have a donor who may be willing to contribute to your cause
- Reach out to your school’s development or corporate partnerships office to see if there are organizations or companies who would be willing to sponsor you
Promotional Material:
Download copies of the PhysCon Fundraising brochure.
Download a Travel poster - made by Eleanor Sayre of Kansas State University
Download an impact sheet with some of the outcomes from PhysCon 2016
PhysCon 2016 Fundraising Case Studies
Here are a few examples of SPS chapters that used the provided tips to raise money for PhysCon 2016:
- Adelphi University: Laser Tag
- University of Maryland, College Park: Donut & Coffee Sale
- Southern Connecticut State University: Bake Sale
- Grove City College: Rent-a-Student
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona: Pie the Professor
