Quick Facts
| Funder | FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and partner funders |
|---|---|
| Award Amount | Varies (covers registration fees, kits, travel) |
| Eligible Grades | K-12 (multiple divisions by age) |
| Focus Areas | Robotics, CS, engineering, teamwork, STEM |
| Application Due | Rolling (check firstinspires.org) |
| More Info | https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/team-grants |
About This Grant
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) runs the world's largest K-12 robotics program, with divisions for all grade levels: FIRST LEGO League Explore (K-3), FIRST LEGO League (grades 4-8), FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12), and FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12). FIRST and its corporate partners offer grants to help schools and youth organizations start and sustain teams.
Team grants typically cover registration fees, robot kits, competition travel, and team supplies. Minnesota has an active FIRST community with regional events and corporate sponsors who provide local team grants. The FIRST website lists available grants by program level.
Grant availability is rolling throughout the year, with some grants tied to team registration windows. Check the FIRST team grants page and Minnesota-specific FIRST partner pages for current opportunities.
How Forward Education Kits Fit
Forward Education robotics and coding kits work alongside FIRST robot kits for pre-competition skill building and classroom practice. Schools that receive FIRST team grants can use Forward Education tools to introduce coding and engineering concepts to students before they tackle competition-level robotics.
How Forward Education Helps
Forward Education provides curriculum alignment documents mapped to Minnesota K-12 standards, official pricing letters for grant budgets, and letters of support for your application. Contact us before you submit so we can help you build a strong case.
