FIRST in Michigan early elementary school FIRST LEGO League Explore teams affiliated with a MDE recognized (public or private) school/charter/academy are eligible for a team grant of up to $TBD (rookie) or $TBD (returning team) and a coach stipend of up to $TBD. Payout is made incrementally as part of the school’s monthly state aid payout.  The grant is available for application on the MDE’s MEGS+ system which is accessible by the Level 5 employee (usually someone in finance) for the school or district.

Teams applying for this grant must show their school affiliation on their Team Profile. The Team Profile can be edited via the team’s Dashboard accessible from the FIRST Account of the Lead Coach/Mentor 1 & 2.

What information to share with your Level 5:

• FIRST Program: Our program is FIRST LEGO League Explore.
• FIRST Team Number: Please make  sure it’s accurate. Use your permanent team number.
• Team Name: If you don’t have a team name yet, just make one up. Don’t let this part hold up the application.
• School Building: Team’s affiliated school.
• Coach Name, email, phone number

Participation in a sanctioned FIRST in Michigan FLL Explore event in the 2024-25 season is a requirement of teams that receive the MDE FIRST Robotics grant award.

The MDE FIRST Robotics grant has FLL Discover, FLL Challenge, FTC, and FRC award  and coach stipend components in addition to the FLL Explore awards/coach stipends. Teams must be aligned with the Michigan FIRST Progression of Programs (FLL Discover: Pre-K; FLL Explore.: K-3; FLL Challenge: Upper Elementary; FTC:Middle School; FRC:High School) and formed out of MDE recognized (public or private) schools, charters, and academies to be eligible

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.

Teams should connect to companies in their area for additional grant opportunities. Encourage team parents/mentors to reach out to their employers. Many companies have grants available to employees who are engaged in youth STEM programming.

• Application lists the team’s correct team number. Most grants require the team’s permanent team number. Temporary team numbers start with “2020.
• 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.

Say “thank you” to grant sponsors by recognizing their contribution on the team’s social media outlets and include their brand on the team’s robot, pit swag, team shirts, engineering book, etc. Sponsors often serve as volunteers at events and visit the teams that accept their funding. Logos are available for download on the RESOURCES site page.