University of Arizona Baja SAE Sponsor: (n)
1. An individual or organization that donates money or materials to the Engineering Design Team UA Baja Racing for a tax write-off.
2. An individual or organization which realizes the importance of student involvement and leadership and therefore allocates funding to support the best Engineers of the future.
3. Widely respected, advertised, promoted, and otherwise well known for their efforts to assist UA Baja Racing financially with their design vehicles.
4. Totally awesome.

     The Baja SAE Team UA Baja Racing at the University of Arizona is a Collegiate Engineering Design Team which falls under the Charitable Donation subsection
170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Charitable donations to the UA Baja Racing team are initially made payable to the University of Arizona care of UA Baja Racing. In-kind donations are accompanied with an itemized receipt for processing tax-credit for associated value. The Baja SAE team at the University of Arizona is parented by the University of Arizona and therefore falls under the category of 170(c). For more legal information pertaining to charitable donations please contact a team member, or visit the Internal Revenue Service website.

The following composes frequently asked questions regarding charitable donations and team sponsorship:

1. How will my donation be used?

     UA Baja Racing uses its funding for a wide array of activities all revolving around the Baja SAE competitions hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers.
The majority of team funding and sponsorship goes towards the fabrication of the new vehicle(s). If funding permits the team may see necessary to purchase tools or workshop items to expedite the build process. In the past purchased items have included a Miller MIG welder, auto-darkening welding helmet, socket wrenches, and various power tools. Donations not only go to fund the building process, they also go towards competition in general. Competition entry fee is $600 per regional competition and travel costs sum up to over $5,000.

2. Why should I grant funding or sponsorship to UA Baja Racing?

     As a UA Baja Racing sponsor you do not just receive a tax credit for the total amount donated. The tax break is only one benefit of sponsoring this Engineering Design Team. The list of benefits for a sponsoring individual or company includes, but is not limited to; mass marketing to a captive audience, promotional access to the UA Baja Racing vehicles, visitations from the UA Baja Racing team can be arranged to speak/demonstrate vehicles at events, company/individual recognition on team website along with linking to sponsoring websites, and company logo/names on team apparel/vehicles/trailer/newsletter. If the tax credit is not enough to convince you to donate consider the following; we as a team strive for perfection in whatever it is we do. Whether we are in the classroom, on the dirt, partnering with industry, or in a professional internship we are giving it %110. The majority of students go through college obtaining a degree with minimal involvement and few actually get involved on campus. The UA Baja Racing team offers a place for students from all disciplines to come and learn about vehicle dynamics, marketing and communication, off-road racing and teamwork. UA Baja Racing is the ultimate collegiate learning tool, the ideas we come up with and the skills we learn are not taught in the classroom. All of our work is extra-curricular, no course credit is awarded for working on this team; everything we do is for the betterment of ourselves and to further our educations. Without the support of our generous sponsors we cannot continue to produce our vehicles and without funding we experience extreme difficulty reaching our goals.

3. I am interested, but I don't quite understand the sponsorship process. How does it work?

     Sponsoring UA Baja Racing is actually a very simple process. If the donation is monetary, the sponsor makes a check payable to The University of Arizona c/o UA Baja Racing and then mails the check to Andrew Smock, Team Captain of UA Baja Racing (the complete mailing information can be found at the bottom of the page). After receipt of the check the sponsor receives confirmation from the University and UA Baja Racing as well as the tax credit receipt. If the donation is in-kind then a quote, or an itemized receipt, will work perfectly for the full value tax-deduction. The process is quite expedient and sponsorship is renewable from year to year. A sponsor may donate more than once annually (typically if the sponsor is providing materials such as steel) although cash donors typically donate once a year. The process does not end with the UA Baja Racing team receiving funds and the sponsor receiving a tax credit. UA Baja Racing is an active participant in community projects and maintains high visibility both on and off campus. The team visits local K-12 schools to promote the importance of involvement in the sciences. UA Baja Racing will work with the sponsor to provide services that will benefit the sponsor whether it be with promotional access to the vehicles, tv-spots, radio commercials, store appearances. The sky is the limit, you as the sponsor get to define the sky.

4.     So would it be like NASCAR where company names are decaled on the vehicles?

The UA Baja Racing vehicles are the prominent real-estate for advertisement. The vehicles are divided into sections that correlate to the type or amount of sponsorship. The more you donate, the greater your visibility. The company that becomes our top primary sponsor gains privilege to design the paint scheme(s) for the 2009 vehicles! Your logo/name/company not only goes on our vehicles, it also goes on our race trailer and team gear!

Why Compete in the Baja SAE series?

     Why do we do all of this? There is no course credit for working on the Baja SAE team. There is no academic incentive to dedicate long nights and countless weekends. The answer, simply put, is this: Our team has a strong passion for working together to solve a common problem. We all take what we learn in our respective courses and apply it directly to something applicable and highly useful. Instead of our newfound knowledge sitting idle in our heads we apply these new concepts the second we learn them. Many students do not take advantage of these opportunities to enrich their academic experience. We will graduate from college with more than a degree. We will graduate with skills in project management, machining, public relations, fundraising, off-road racing, time management, welding, and composite fabrication. Not only does this project motivate many students in school, it also exceptionally prepares them for life after college. With your support we can reach our full potential by staying ahead of the curve.

Join UA Baja as a Team Sponsor today!