ROOKIE TEAMS
- $4,000 awarded for the 2024 season in November, 2023*
- $2,000 awarded for 2025 season upon completion of “2023 Lessons Learned” by August 1, 2024.
NOTE: This season, FIRST will be awarding qualified teams on a rolling basis. Applications will be reviewed throughout the application period. Grants to eligible teams will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Requirement: Team must have a temporary or permanent FRC team number through FIRST HQ
ALL TEAMS
OPEN: Now Open!
CLOSES: 12/15/2023
APPLICATION: Toyota FIRST Team Grant (link).
DETAILS:
Toyota is pleased to offer a state-wide grant to new and returning FIRST in Michigan middle and high school teams intended to expand and sustain STEM access in rural and urban communities.
The grant provides up to $350 in funding for selected new/returning middle school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams and up to $1,000 for selected new/returning high school FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- This is a competitive grant which takes into consideration the following factors:
- Mentor with Direct Toyota affiliation
- Washtenaw county
- Locale type (urban, rural, suburban, other)
- Free/reduced lunch percentage
- Number of students serviced
- Team must be registered with FIRST HQ for the 2023-24 season.
- Submit one application per team.
- If awarded, the grant check can only be remit to the team’s fiscal partner.
- The team’s fiscal partner is the School, District, 501(c)(3) Organization, Foundation, or other entity that administrates grant funds on behalf of the team. Grant checks cannot be made payable to individuals.
- Please include the team’s fiscal partner’s information in the remittance information portion of the grant form.
- Teams accepting grant funds must agree to recognize Toyota as a team sponsor and must satisfy their FIRST in Michigan program’s competition participation requirement.
- Help “make it loud” on social media! Social media handles can be found at this link: https://pressroom.toyota.com/social/.
While all teams are eligible to apply for funding, BAE Systems may prioritize applications meeting at least one of the below criteria:
- Teams located within 75 miles of a BAE Systems site (see application for a list of our locations)
- Teams with BAE Systems mentors; if you are interested in having a BAE Systems mentor, please tell us in your application so we can do our best to match you.
- Teams with an existing relationship with BAE Systems
Teams demonstrating diversity in STEM (meeting one of the criteria below):
- Teams affiliated with Title 1 schools
- Teams with high needs (more than 50% free/reduced lunch rates at affiliated school)
- Teams made up of more than 50% underrepresented populations in STEM fields (women, LGBTQ+ youth, BIPOC and Latinx students, youth with disabilities)
- Teams with exemplary community outreach to underrepresented populations
Awards are made on a rolling basis.
ALL FRC TEAMS CAN APPLY!
WHAT TO INCLUDE: LOTS of pictures and stories about your team. They love that!
APPLY HERE
This grant is by invitation only.
DETAILS:
In 2020, Patti and Eric Poppe established The Dream Maker Fund at the Jackson Community Foundation. The Dream Maker project vision is to inspire parents and their children, particularly families of Consumers Energy employees and communities in which they live, to engage in FIRST programs at the middle and high school level. All members of a FIRST team affiliated with Dream Makers will be encouraged to participate in career exploration and planning activities leading to the development of a plan post high school. Ultimately, the goal is to inspire children through FIRST programs to pursue fulfilling STEM education and careers.
For teams where a coach/mentor is an educator:
The DonorsChoose program has a FIRST affiliation that has really paid for several of our MI FTC teams. News Corp. is in their 3rd and final year as a matching partner for FIRST projects submitted through DonorsChoose. Lately, they’ve been doing a 2X match on FIRST projects.
This year, Dow updated its grant process and teams can earn up to 100% of their category’s registration cost. Dow will provide 50% of the team’s registration cost for teams in Dow communities (teams nearby sites, offices, etc.) and/or teams that have a Dow mentor.
The remaining 50% can be earned based on the following:
ID&E Efforts (15%) – team has awareness of its ID&E current gaps and improvement opportunities and at least one initiative on this space;
Community Engagement (15%) – team is engaged in the community, successfully describing 1 or more community engagement activities;
Title 1 Schools/Free or Reduced Lunch applicants (U.S. only) OR Low-income communities (20%) – if a team is from a low-income background, it automatically qualifies for the 20% amount.
Apply here: DOW application link
All teams selected to receive a NASA grant will have funding sent directly to FIRST. This funding will be applied to the teams registration costs
For full list of requirements click here: NASA FRC GRANT
FUNDING INFORMATION:
This new initiative looks to build upon the entrepreneurial spirit of the FIRST community by actively seeking to invest in innovative ideas and companies. We believe in supporting FIRST alums who possess a commitment to pioneering solutions and driving industry change.
We are primarily seeking to provide finance to early-stage companies. However, we encourage companies at all stages to apply.
To apply, please fill out this short form.
If you have any questions or need further information, please direct all communications to Jacob or Gerardo at argosyfirst@argosyfnd.org
APPLICATION: Autodesk FIRST Team Grant (link)
DETAILS:
Autodesk is pleased to offer a state-wide grant to new and returning FIRST in Michigan middle and high school teams intended to expand and sustain STEM access for teams that are composed of underserved populations and/or are underresourced.
The grant provides up to $350 in funding for selected new/returning middle school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams and up to $1,000 for selected new/returning high school FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams.
Grants are reviewed on a quarterly rolling basis. Sponsorship is limited to one award per team per season.
INSTRUCTIONS:
This is a competitive grant which takes into consideration the following factors:
Locale type (urban, rural, suburban, other)
Free/reduced lunch percentage
Usage of Autodesk products
Team must be registered with FIRST HQ for the current season.
Submit one application per team.
If awarded, the grant check can only be remitted to the team’s fiscal partner.
The team’s fiscal partner is the School, District, 501(c)(3) Organization, Foundation, or other entity that administrates grant funds on behalf of the team. Grant checks cannot be made payable to individuals.
Please include the team’s fiscal partner’s information in the remittance information portion of the grant form.
Teams accepting grant funds must agree to recognize Autodesk as a team sponsor and must satisfy their FIRST in Michigan program’s competition participation requirement.
GRANT TIPS
- Application lists the team’s correct team number. Most grants require the team’s permanent team number. Temporary team numbers start with “.
- Where required, uploaded proof of purchase document(s) must be properly labeled with team number
- The “remit to” name on the grant check must be the team’s fiscal partner. The team’s fiscal partner is the School, District, 501(c)(3) Organization, Foundation, or other entity that administrates grant funds on behalf of the team. Grant checks cannot be made payable to individuals.
- Veteran teams at a given school or organization must be registered for the current season.
- Team should have two screened coaches
- Team profile should list your team’s school or organization affiliation.
FIRST HQ sometimes receives grants from various Donors which are designated to FIRST Teams. These grants are shown on the Team Dashboard. These are restricted donations with parameters as defined and imposed on FIRST HQ by the Donor(s). Should FIRST HQ receive a grant designated to your FIRST Team, FIRST HQ will “re-grant” the funds to your FIRST team as a “pass through” grant with no deductions for overhead or processing costs. 100% of the designated funds will be re-granted provided that the Team follows the guidelines listed below:
To apply for your team’s Regrant Check:
Click on this link: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/regranting-process-procedures-and-w-9
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on black box labeled “Click here to Submit”.
- This will divert you to a “Submittable” form.
- If you do not have an existing account with Submittable, you will need to create one.
- Please upload a W-9 dated 2015 or later (REQUIRED).
- FIRST HQ cannot disburse funds directly to an individual so the team must find a school, community organization, library, etc. to accept the funding on behalf of the team
- Checks will be made payable to the Entity listed on the W-9
- Once the application is completed, click “Apply” and the form “Submitter” will receive an email from submittable@firstinspires.org indicating that the submission has been received.
- Please allow time for processing and review. An email will be sent to the “Submitter” designated on the form when the application has been accepted or declined.
- Once the application is accepted, FIRST HQ will issue a check on behalf of the team.