FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

 

Hello Teams!

On behalf of the 2021 FRC HQ Grants team, I’d like to share some really exciting and important news about the available grants and vouchers for this season from FIRST HQ.

 

NASA Grant Available to US-Based Teams

“As the largest sponsor of FIRST Robotics Competition teams, NASA plans to enhance their support for FIRST to better accommodate the needs of FRC teams in the upcoming 2021 season.  NASA’s primary mission involves developing systems that can’t be physically touched once launched, so we know the value of long-distance collaboration, distributed problem solving, and ingenuity in remote operations that will characterize the upcoming competition season.

To assist as many FRC teams as possible to continue inspiring the next generation of science and engineering professionals while persevering through this challenging year, NASA is updating our team grant process.  For the 2021 FRC season NASA will offer a $450 grant to every US-based FRC team, which can be applied to their FRC registration costs,” said Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, NASA; FIRST Executive Advisory Board; and FIRST Mentor.

 

NASA will not require a full application this year for team grants. Instead teams can simply opt-in to receive the grant by completing this short form by November 16, 2020. NASA expects to have funds available to award the grant to every qualified team. As always, your gracious professionalism is much appreciated - if your team has sufficient resources, please allow other teams to use the funding. NASA is looking forward to helping as many students participate in these inspiring robotics competition programs as possible. 

 

2020 Wheels on Carpet Voucher

Teams who didn’t participate in an official event in the 2020 season are eligible for a $1000 Wheels on Carpet voucher in either the 2021 or 2022 season. Teams are required to select which season this voucher is used prior to the receipt of their Kickoff Kit. Teams eligible for this voucher will receive communication from FIRST HQ; these teams will be required to respond with their preference on which season the voucher will be used.

Teams who do not respond to this communication will automatically have the 2020 Wheels on Carpet voucher credited to the 2022 season.

 

New Team Grant

Teams new to FRC this season, regardless of whether they are new veterans or new rookies, are eligible for the New Team Grant. The application, which includes a Business Plan with detailed budget, will open on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at Noon ET and close on Friday, November 6, 2020 at 5pm ET. Selected teams will receive $2500* on November 16, 2020 and an additional $2000 for next season upon completion of their Lessons Learned. This grant is restricted to Team Registration.

 

For teams who received a New Team Growth Grant in 2020, be sure to complete your Lessons Learned in order to receive the Year 2 funding.

*US-based rookies should complete the NASA grant application here. This will change the New Team Grant amount for those teams to $2050 in Year 1. It does not change the Year 2 amount.

 

Equity and Access Grant

Any FRC team registered for the 2021 season who wants to increase participation of females or underrepresented populations is eligible for the Equity and Access Grant. The application, which includes an Equity Action Plan, will open on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at Noon ET and close on Friday, November 6, 2020 at 5pm ET. Grants will be awarded in amounts from $1000 to $5000. Selected teams will receive half the awarded amount on November 16, 2020 and the other half upon completion of their Impact Report. This is an unrestricted grant.

 

We are very excited about the grant opportunities this season for our teams. For more detailed information about the grants, please visit the grants page here .