Thanks to the generous support of the DEKA Foundation, Bosch, and Jabil Cares Foundation, FIRST® is excited to offer a need-based FIRST® Tech Challenge New Team Hardship Grant for teams participating in the 2024-2025 FIRST® Tech Challenge Season!  

2024-2025 FIRST® Tech Challenge New Team Hardship Grant Details 

• Awarded new teams will receive a one-time $750 grant which can only be use towards FIRST® Tech Challenge season registration and products in the FIRST® Tech Challenge Storefront. 
• Teams must apply for the grant and meet all criteria to be eligible 
• Need-based funding is limited. Grants will be awarded until the funding is exhausted; please only apply with real need. 
• If you are expecting a grant, please do not check out of the storefront until that grant has been awarded. FIRST will not be able to make changes to orders after checkout.  
• View the complete payment terms here: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/payment-terms 

Grant Eligibility  

• Must be in the United States, Mexico, Canada or USA Military APO 
• 100% of student members are new to FIRST Tech Challenge (they may have participated in other FIRST programs) 
• Have a team number 25609 or higher, or have not participated in FIRST Tech Challenge in the last 3 seasons AND does not have access to a Control Hub, Expansion Hub or Driver Hub in good working order 
• If Lead Mentor 1 or Lead Mentor 2 (LM1/LM2) has a returning veteran team as well as a new team, the existing team must complete registration before the new team is eligible for this grant 

Grant Recipient Requirements  

• Must participate in the 2024-2025 FIRST® Tech Challenge competition season 
• Share your FIRST® Tech Challenge experiences with them if requested by the sponsor. They are very interested in your progress as a team and will be excited to hear more about your season. 
• Send a digital “sponsor thank you” to our generous sponsors the DEKA Foundation, Bosch, and Jabil Cares Foundation as an acknowledgement of their contributions. Digital thank you files including letters of thanks from the team, pictures, presentations and whatever else you can think of can be sent to the following email: ftcteams@firstinspires.org Please include "2024-2025 New Team Hardship Grant Sponsor Thank you" in the subject line 
• Failure to acknowledge this gift, complete reporting requirements, and participate in the competition season may result in ineligibility for future grants. 

Grant Review Schedule 

Applications will be reviewed on a periodic basis. Application cycles will close the third Tuesday of each month and funds will be awarded no later than the Friday the following week; the schedule can be found below. If awarded, teams will not receive their grant funding until the team's Lead Coach 1 and Lead Coach 2 are both successfully screened. Any applications sent after a cycle date will be reviewed in the following cycle. Applications which do not receive funding in the first cycle may be considered in future cycles.

Application Cycle End Dates:

• June 18, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
• July 16, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
• August 20, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
• September 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
• October 15, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET 
• November 19, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET
   

General questions about the grant can be sent to: ftcteams@firstinspires.org 

This grant is open to FIRST® LEGO League Explore teams, FIRST® LEGO League Challenge teams, FIRST® Tech Challenge teams, and FIRST® Robotics Competition teams for the 2024-25 season within the Tennessee Valley Authority area.

      This grant is not eligible for a regrant and will be awarded as follows:
 

• FIRST LEGO League Explore* - $145 restricted to registration, product, tax and shipping

• FIRST LEGO League Challenge* - $265 restricted to registration, product, tax and shipping

• FIRST Tech Challenge* - $295 restricted to registration, product, shipping and tax

• FIRST Robotics Competition - $250 Unrestricted
   

  *Any unspent funds will be returned to Tennessee Valley Robotics at the end of the season.*

     Requester must complete a copy of this form for each team identified as eligible for the grant.
Grant Requirements:
 

• Teams must register with FIRST and provide a team number prior to applying for a grant.

• Must be participating on a FIRST® LEGO League Explore, FIRST® LEGO League Challenge, FIRST® Tech Challenge, or FIRST® Robotics Competition team for the current 2024- 25 season.

 Grants may be requested during the following application periods this season. Grant is subject to close before these dates if funds are exhausted.
 

Grants will not be available outside these dates and only as long as funding is available for each program respectively.

FIRST Program Grant Close Dates:

FIRST Tech Challenge November 12th, 2024

FIRST LEGO League Explore November 12th, 2024

FIRST LEGO League Challenge November 12th, 2024

 FIRST Robotics Competition November 12th, 2024