FIRST Team Grant Application

NorCal FIRST® Tech Challenge Hardship Team Grant Application
Thank you for your interest in applying for a FTC hardship grant.

Please read and understand these requirements before proceeding:

1. Team's home region must be Northern California

2. Funds may ONLY be used to pay for the 2025-2026 FIRST Tech Challenge season registration fee ($325) and/or purchase items available in the FIRST Tech Challenge storefront. The maximum funding level for this grant is $1585. Please do not request for more than the maximum. Storefront Option List

3. Team must commit to registering and attending an official NorCal event for the 2025-2026 season. This can be either a qualifier or participating in a league. [Don't forget to include this item in your budget below]

4. Hardship grants are awarded only to teams experiencing significant financial barriers to participate as funding is very limited.

5. All teams must have 2 coaches with valid names and individual email addresses

6. Teams must have a social media presence (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok - this is not a team's website) and if awarded a FTC Hardship Grant must share a "Thank you" post on the team's social media tagging the Sponsors and FIRST Tech Challenge.

Note that the Hardship Grant is managed by FIRST with information submitted by Playing At Learning. Importantly, Playing At Learning does not make any decisions if a grant is awarded to a specific team.
Your Name*

First NameLast Name
Your Role*

CoachMentorTeam AdministratorTeacherParentPrincipalSponsorAdministratorOther
Your E-mail*
example@example.com
Do you have a 2nd email address that you would like a copy of this application to go to?
2nd Email

YesNo
2nd Confirmation Email
example@example.com
Who is listed as the official FIRST Coach 1 of the team?*

First NameLast Name
Official Coach1 E-mail*
example@example.com
Who is listed as the official FIRST Coach 2 of the team?*

First NameLast Name
Official Coach2 E-mail*
example@example.com
Team Home city:*
Team Affiliation*

School501(c)3 NonprofitOther NonprofitFor Profit CompanyNo Affiliation
Name of School or Nonprofit
FIRST Team Number*
if the team does not have a team number, they will not be able to get a hardship grant
Team Status

Team is a new team with all team members identifiedteam is a new team that is just forming and not all members are identifiedteam is a returning team with all team members identifiedteam is a returning team with not all members identifiedOther
Number of Team Members*
Team Size
Number of Adult Coaches*
Number of Coaches working with team
Number of Mentors*
Number of Mentors working with team
New to FIRST*

Everyone is new to FIRST this seasonOne or More Team Members, Coaches or Mentors have participated in FIRST previouslyOther
Other FIRST experience?*

FLL ExploreFLL ChallengeFTCFRC
Team Registration Status*

The team has registered and paid for this season with FIRSTThe team has started registration, but not paid this season with FIRSTThe team has not registered a team yet this season with FIRST
Do Any Mentors or Coaches Receive a Stipend or Compensation related to this activity?*

YesNo
How are the coaches and mentors connected to the team? *
Please explain how the Coaches and Mentor are connected to the team
What is the total Requested Grant Amount (in US Dollars)?*
Note that the hardship grant can only cover the items below

Request*

	Requesting from this Grant	Already Have or Funded	Other Grant Request in Process	Not Needed this season
Annual FIRST Team Registration ($325)
Driver Kit ($285 + Shipping)
Electronics Kit ($325 + Shipping)
Build Kit ($650 + Shipping)
Partial Game Set ($250 + Shipping)
Full Game Set ($485 + Shipping)
Tape Set ($46 + Shipping)
Tool Set ($52 + Shipping)

Please provide a team budget that shows ALL expected team expenses for this season as well as ALL funding sources. Please include donated and in-kind items. Don't forget to include registration into a NorCal tournament - either one or more qualifiers or participating in a league.

SAMPLE BUDGET (Excel) - add/edit items that make sense for your team.

Finally please make sure that the requested items above from the FIRST storefront are clearly itemized in your budget and you should include the estimate shipping (which you can get from the Andymark.com site)
Budget*

Browse Files
PDF or XLS preferred; also accepts DOC, RTF, HTML Cancelof
Describe the Financial Need and significant Financial barriers to participate*

What barriers do you have that prevent you from securing funds from other sources?0/1000
If your team is a returning FTC Team, please provide how your team has been funded previously and what has changed

What barriers do you have that prevent you from securing funds from other sources?0/1000
Describe the Value to Team Members to Participate in FIRST*

0/1000
Team's Social Media Links*
This is LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and similar - this is not the team's website
Should be Empty:

NorCal FIRST® Tech Challenge Hardship Team Grant Application