MANCHESTER, N.H., September 15, 2020 – FIRST®, a robotics community that prepares young people for the future, today announced twelve grants to address inequities in access to science and technology. The grants will support students from underserved and underrepresented communities and help them develop new, innovative approaches to tackle the education gap.
FIRST launched its STEM Equity Community Innovation Grants program in 2016 to provide diverse students and disadvantaged communities with hands-on learning opportunities and outlets to creative problem solving. Grants range from $5,000 to $50,000, with an average of $35,000, and evaluation criteria include community need, demographics, increases in diversity, execution strength, track record of reaching targeted students, and the value of the activities proposed. To date, FIRST has awarded 49 grants totaling $1.9M across the United States and Canada.
“Thanks to the support of our generous sponsors, FIRST is proud to continue its commitment to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM education. For a fourth consecutive year, we can offer FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grants to several communities across the country, making STEM enrichment opportunities available to thousands of students from underserved and underrepresented communities,” said Nancy Boyer, Director of Evaluation and Impact and Interim Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at FIRST. “Now more than ever, we need to empower students of all different backgrounds and social circumstances to help solve the world’s biggest problems. We hope these resources will help so many more students build the self-confidence to do remarkable things for the greater good.”
The grant is made possible as part of the FIRST® Equity, Diversity & Inclusion initiative, sponsored by The 3M Company, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bosch, Caterpillar, Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions, Dow, Polaris Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated®, Raytheon Technologies, The Walt Disney Company, individuals, and anonymous donors.
Grantees will receive resources and support from FIRST as they develop their programs.
The 2020 FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant award winners include:
The 2021 FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grant will be administered via a nomination process. FIRST will look to field representatives to recommend new locations that need funding and have supports in place to ensure program sustainability.
FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation Grants are just one initiative FIRST has employed in support of equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM. Other key initiatives include:
Through these initiatives, and with the support of our sponsors, FIRST is making STEM more accessible to students of all ages and backgrounds. In 2019-2020, the FIRST STEM Equity Community Innovation grants made the following impact (the following data is calculated based on data reported by organizations. For 2019-2020, all sites reported youth demographic data, however, this may not include all youth served at each site):
To learn more about FIRST’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, please visit https://www.firstinspires.org/about/diversityinclusion.
About FIRST®
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $80 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 7-12; and FIRST® LEGO® League Discover, Explore and Challenge for Grades K-8. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org.