Regranting, Process, Procedures, and W-9

Regranting Policy

Updated for the 2022-2023 season
Last revision September 2022

FIRST receives grants from various Donors which are designated to FIRST Teams. These are restricted donations with designations imposed on FIRST by the Donor(s). Restricted 2022-2023 grants help FIRST teams cover the cost of FIRST registration and associated materials available through the FIRST Dashboard and FIRST Tech Challenge Storefront. At the end of the 2022-2023 season, any unused restricted grants funding remaining in FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge team accounts is returned to the Donor’s account for use at the Donor’s discretion.

Should FIRST receive a grant designated to U.S.-based FIRST Robotics Competition teams that is eligible to be passed through, FIRST will “re-grant” the funds to your team as a “pass through” grant.

All regrant checks are subject to the following guidelines:

  1. FIRST receives the Grantor’s donation and designation in writing. FIRST applies the amount needed to satisfy initial registration fees before any regrant can be issued. Any additional funds, above the team’s registration fee (some restrictions may apply) can be regranted to the team.
  2. Regrants are eligible for U.S. based FIRST Robotics Competition teams only.
  3. Funds can only be regranted to your team for costs directly associated with FIRST Programs.
  4. FIRST cannot disburse funds directly to the Team’s or School’s vendors/providers.
  5. Regrant checks will be issued in batches from October – June and are limited to 3 regrants per team, per year.
    Request periods:
    • October 2022
    • December 2022 – June 2023
  6. The Team initiates the process of receiving these pass-through funds through a regrant request and must maintain expenditure receipts to be made available to FIRST upon request for auditing purposes.
  7. Every team filing for a regrant must provide an IRS Form W-9. Regrant checks can only be made payable & mailed to the entity listed on the W-9.
  8. Regrant requests must be filed by the end of FIRST’s Fiscal Year – June 30th, 2023.
  9. Regrants are subject to the requirements outlined in the FIRST Gift Acceptance Policy

Submittal of IRS Form W-9 by all U.S. Based FIRST Robotics Competition Teams

Every U.S. based team receiving funding from a Donor must submit an IRS Form W-9 to FIRST Finance. Click here for an IRS Form W-9.

The IRS Form W-9 Requirements:

  1. The W-9 must be uploaded to the team’s FIRST Dashboard account prior to filing for a regrant.
  2. The W-9 must be signed and dated by an authorized representative of the organization within 5 years
  3. The W-9 must contain the Federal Tax Identification number (FEIN) of the organization willing to accept any funds on behalf of the team

Please Note:

  • This is not a State Tax Exempt number.
  • FIRST cannot accept any IRS Form W-9 from an individual.  We apologize for the inconvenience.
  • It is the responsibility of the team to inform FIRST of any changes to their IRS Form W-9.

Q. What if I need to request a regrant but my team does not have a IRS Form W-9? 

A. Sometimes teams are not directly associated with a school or an organization who can formally provide a W-9. We totally get that! Luckily, we have found that local organizations, such as libraries, booster clubs, afterschool organizations, youth organizations, and other charitable organizations, will often accept the regrant on the team’s behalf and distribute the regrant funds to the team.

*For additional questions please contact grantsapproval@firstinspires.org

Regranting Procedure

Notice: By selecting this button, you will be leaving the FIRST website and be redirected to Submittable. Once you arrive at the Submittable website, if you do not have a Submittable account, you will need to create one

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