2024-25 Greater Kansas City FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Season Grant: Guidelines & Grant Application

The KC STEM Alliance is pleased to announce the availability of grants to support and increase student participation in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in the following counties: Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas; and Cass, Clay, Jackson, and Platte in Missouri.

 

* If, for any reason, you are unable to use this form or upload a budget, please contact KC STEM Alliance at kcstem@kcstem.org

Last year's FRC Season Grants averaged $2,091 and ranged from $450-$4,400.

 

The amount will be determined based on the number of applications, the evaluation of applications by a grant review board, and the total amount of grant funds available.

 

Timeline of Season Grants:

• FRC Application Deadline: September 20, 2024
• Notification of Award: Week of October 7-11, 2024

 

Check will arrive at district within approximately 30 days of our receipt of your invoice.

Eligible teams include: K-12 public or private schools and non-profit community organizations that serve low-income students and/or traditionally underserved communities. In addition, limited funding is available for rookie (first year) or young teams, those new to fundraising and those doing exceptional STEM outreach. For the purpose of this grant, low-income schools are defined as schools serving a population of at least 40% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Funds for this initiative originate from the generosity of multiple local funders to the KC STEM Alliance.

 
The number and amount of grants awarded will depend upon the number and type of applications received and awards will be decided by a grants committee.

The goal of these grants is to sustain robotics programs in under-served communities, facilitate recent start-up teams, and encourage teams doing STEM outreach. Successful applications will address a diverse socio-economic school environment; increased student engagement in STEM education through FIRST Robotics; commitment to the development of student teams; recruitment of volunteer mentors; designing and building of remote-controlled robots; and, participation in one of the FRC Regionals in the Kansas City region (Heartland, Greater Kansas City, or Central Missouri).

This cash grant will be paid to the team’s school district or FIRST fiscal agent (non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization). Examples of allowable expenses and activities include: team registration for competitions and tournament fees, team travel expenses, materials or tools required by the team in order to construct their robot, stipends for coaches or mentors, outreach expenses including costs associated with recruiting students and increasing parental and community support for the program.

Please note that the KC STEM Alliance, pending the availability of funding, intends to award another round of funds in the form of Advancement Grants to teams from the 6-county metro who qualify for the next level of competition (e.g. Worlds Championship for FRC) from an official event in the Kansas/Western Missouri Region. Advancement Grants for advancing teams are awarded after all regional competitions are over.

KC STEM Alliance will only award Advancement Grants to teams that applied and qualified for this Season Grant.

For FRC, the Advancement Grant is $500-$1000 (amount in this range is based on need as shown in the Season Grant application).

1. Attend and participate in one of the Kansas City FIRST Robotics Competition regionals. Grantees who fail to participate in a FIRST Robotics Competition regional must return any awarded grant funds to KC STEM Alliance by May 31, 2025.
2. Develop and execute plans to increase participation of traditionally under-served students, such as, participation in outreach programming or volunteer at regional events (this can include set-up), or provide support for outreach/mentoring efforts with KC STEM Alliance.
3. Submit an end-of-the-year report that indicates which event(s) the team attended and the level of success in regards to increasing student participation in FIRST activities and events.
4. Please include a final team budget for the current Season indicating actual revenue and expenses for the season. A form will be provided. (Deadline for final report submission: 5:00 p.m., May 31, 2025.)
5. Participate in data collection and evaluation activities conducted by the KC STEM Alliance.

1. Application deadline: The deadline to submit an application for FIRST team support is 5:00 p.m. September 20, 2024 for FRC teams. Applications should include a grant application form and a budget worksheet to be considered complete.

2. Grants will be determined and notification made during the week of October 7-11, 2024 for FRC teams. Funds will be distributed following notification and upon receipt of invoice from school district or fiscal agent. A sample invoice will be emailed along with grant award notification.

3. Additional funds may be available to teams that advance through the FIRST Championship system and complete this application. Other grants may be available through KC STEM Alliance or through other regional or national funders to teams that demonstrate financial need.

4. Teams receiving grants must submit a final report to the KC STEM Alliance no later than May 31, 2025.

5. Teams who do not submit necessary forms and data jeopardize eligibility for future grants. Teams must be in current good standing with KC STEM Alliance grant reporting requirements for grants received from KC STEM Alliance in previous seasons.

FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a national program that partners locally with companies and schools to create challenging after school activities that give students ages 6-18 an exciting platform for discovering career opportunities in STEM. The robotics-based competitions including FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge offer the technology leaders of tomorrow a chance to show off their skills, imagination and gracious professionalism. This year, close to 98,000 students are served by programs like PLTW-Kansas City and Kansas City FIRST in Greater Kansas City. For more information, visit https://www.kcstem.org/what-we-do/ 

The KC STEM Alliance is a collaborative network of educators, business affiliates and organizations that inspires interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers to generate a robust force of related professionals for our community. The KC STEM Alliance connects schools, industry partners and affiliate organizations, such as Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and FIRST, by streamlining and simplifying communications for everyone involved. Further, by acting as a hub and resource for the local STEM community, the KC STEM Alliance serves to allocate resources where they are needed – helping to build a more diverse and broad base of support for STEM curriculum and programs. For more information, visit www.kcstem.org.

Please download Budget Worksheet, Complete, and Save to Desktop.

 

Budget Worksheet: https://www.kcstem.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KC-STEM-FIRST-Grant-Proposed-Budget-Worksheet-Template.xlsx 

 

Then add file below: