In the summer of 2023, Student Affairs informed the team of pending donations. To receive, we needed to open a bank account for our organization. We registered an EIN number and opened an account with Wells Fargo in October. By December, the funds had been transferred.

The beauty of the AstroBank account is that we can buy things today without reimbursement, so team members never need to front the money. There are no restrictions, so there is no holdup for squabbling over the minutiae. You can order at midday or midnight, weekday or weekend.

To spend, you either need a debit or credit card, which will be in your name. To gain access, you must go to the Blacksburg Wells Fargo with another person whose name is on the account. Then you be able to get a card. Also, before you graduate, you must ensure someone else has access to the account and that you are taken off!

To receive more donations, you should instruct sponsors to donate via the Student Affairs online giving page and then selecting Astrobotics at Virginia Tech. Though this adds delays over receiving directly to the bank account, I'm not sure if that would let corporations get their tax write-offs, so I've always just gone through Student Affairs.

See more information here.