FIRST in Texas team grants are available thanks to the generosity of our many supporters! We are thrilled to offer another season of grants to FIRST teams statewide. A single application (one per team) is required to evaluate a team's eligibility for all available grants. Submit your Application by September 22nd to be included in Round 2 Reviews! Read our full Grant FAQ and see our Grant Calendar for more deadlines. WHO CAN APPLY?

· Any FIRST team in Texas can apply.

· The person submitting the application must be an ADULT (not a team member) who is a PRIMARY CONTACT for the Team. 

· The person submitting the application will need to create a free Submittable account (if they don't already have one). All grant-related communications will be sent to the email address associated with your Submittable account.

· DO NOT use a student team member’s name or email address when creating a Submittable account, or submit an application under a pre-existing student team member’s account.

· Only ONE APPLICATION PER TEAM may be submitted. Duplicate submissions will be deleted.

DO I HAVE TO PAY THE NATIONAL REGISTRATION FEE BEFORE APPLYING? 

· NO - teams can submit the Team Grant Application regardless of whether they have paid their National Registration Fee. 

· Teams who submit an Application under a Temporary Team Number (2023##### or 2024#####) will be asked to update their Application once they receive a Permanent Team Number. 

· Any team that is awarded a FIRST in Texas Team Grant will be required to pay their National Registration Fee within 4 weeks of receiving their grant award letter (FRC and FTC teams: grant funds may be applied to your national registration fee. You can request this after being awarded the grant). 

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW BEFORE APPLYING?

· The application will ask for basic information about your team, your team’s location and primary contacts, the demographic make-up of your team members, and any mentors that work with your team. You can preview the application questions by scrolling down on this page. 

· We understand that you may not know who all will be on your team yet. We ask you to be realistic and honest in your application, but we know teams will change throughout the season. All grant recipient teams will submit final demographic information in the required End-of-Season Report.

· If you work with multiple teams, you will need to submit one Submittable application per team. 

· You will need to know your team’s Grant Area, which may differ from your competitive region. Find your Grant Area by clicking to view this map. Search by your zip code to find your Area.

· You can start the application, then click "Save Draft" at the bottom if you need to come back and finish it later. To find your saved drafts, log in to your Submittable account, click on “Submissions,” then click on the "Saved Drafts" tab. Make sure to click the "Submit" button when your application is complete. 

ARE ANY DOCUMENTS REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION? 

· [REQUIRED] W-9: ALL APPLICANTS must submit a W-9 with their application. Upload a W-9 for the entity which collects funds on your team's behalf (can be a school campus, school district, PTO/PTA, Booster Club, non-profit, or other fundraising organization). If you are not associated with an organization, you will need to submit a W-9 as an Individual. Click here to download a blank copy of a W-9.

· [OPTIONAL - required for TWC funding] TWC Roster: FIRST Robotics Competition teams, FIRST Tech Challenge teams, and FIRST Access who only have 9th-12th grade members may submit the TWC Roster at the time of their application. Submitting this optional form will not affect grant eligibility in any way, nor does it guarantee that a team will receive a TWC Grant. If a team DOES receive a TWC Grant, a TWC Roster will be required and submitting the TWC Roster early can help speed up the grant award process. Click here to download a blank copy of the TWC Roster.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE OUR ROOKIE OR VETERAN TEAM STATUS?

· We use criteria from your application to determine whether your team is considered a Rookie or a Veteran team. This designation will only apply to FIRST in Texas Team Grants, and may change depending on the grant source.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE TEAM ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS?

· We manage a variety of grants from different grantors; each grant will have its own eligibility requirements. See the individual grantor pages on our website for more information on eligibility requirements. 

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY APPLICATION WAS RECEIVED?

· You will receive a confirmation email at the email address associated with your Submittable account. 

· If you do not receive the confirmation email, first check your spam / junk folder and double-check that you entered your email address correctly. 

· You will also be able to see the status of your application in your Submittable account. When logged in, click on “Submissions.” When viewing the “All Submissions” list, you will see a blue “Received” label next to the row for your “2023-2024 FIRST in Texas Team Grant Application.” You may also see a blue “In-Progress” label, which merely indicates that we have begun checking your application for accuracy. 

WHEN ARE GRANTS AWARDED?

· The majority of grants will be awarded during our three primary Review Rounds; however, we continue to award grants throughout the duration of the season. Your application will remain on file and will be reviewed for all grant opportunities for which your team may be eligible.

· Submit your Application by September 22nd to be included in Round Two. 

· See our Grant Calendar for more details and dates for all Rounds.

· Teams who apply early are more likely to receive a grant.

HOW WILL WE KNOW IF WE RECEIVE A GRANT?

· If your team is awarded a grant, you will receive a Grant Award Notification Email at the email address associated with your Submittable account. 

· You can also see the status in your Submittable account. When logged in, click on “Submissions.” When viewing the “All Submissions” list, you will see a green “Accepted” label next to the row for your “2023-2024 FIRST in Texas Team Grant Application” for the team that received a grant. Click on the row to view the team’s Application. On the “Activity” tab, you will see a notification that the application was “Accepted by FIRST in Texas;” on the “Messages” tab, you will see the full text of the Grant Award Notification Email.

· FIRST in Texas Team Grants will NOT show up on your Team's Dashboard at www.firstinspires.org (exception applies to some FIRST Robotics Competition team grants; see your award email for details).

IF WE RECEIVE A GRANT, WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

All teams:

· Complete payment of the National Registration Fee within 4 weeks of receiving a grant award

· Have all students complete pre-and post-season surveys 

· Complete the End-of-Season Report (released in March)

· Recognize their Grantors - see our page on Team Engagement for ideas

Additional grant specific requirements may include:

· Providing payment and/or shipping information

· Submitting a TWC Roster

· Submitting a TWC Extended Demographics spreadsheet

· Submitting information on how to allocate grant funds

· Submitting receipts for purchases made

You will receive a Grant Checklist along with your Grant Award Notification Email that will list any additional requirements for the type of grant you receive. You can see all Grant Checklists on our website. Failure to complete any grant requirements will result in a team / school / organization's ineligibility to receive FIRST in Texas Team Grants for one full season following the current season. HOW WILL WE RECEIVE OUR GRANT AWARD FUNDS? Grant fund distribution and application will vary depending on the grant type and your FIRST program. 

· Some Grant funds can be directly applied to your National Registration Fee and/or Local Event Fees.

· Some Grant funds can be used to make purchases from approved vendors, or as reimbursement for approved expenses. 

· Some Grant funds will be issued to you directly via check. 

Refer to your Grant Award Email for full details on how to access and use your Grant funds. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T RECEIVE A GRANT?

· If your team is NOT selected to receive an award in Round 1, you will receive a notification email indicating that your submission has been Declined for Round 1. 

· Within 72 hours, your submission will be re-opened for editing, should you need to make any changes. 24 hours (or earlier) prior to the start of Round 2 reviews, your submission will be closed and placed back in the "In Progress" queue for review in Round 2. This process will be repeated for any subsequent rounds in which your team does not receive an award.

REMINDERS: 

· All communications related to your application will be sent to the email address associated with your Submittable account; a copy will also be attached to your application. 

· If you suspect you may not be receiving these communications, you can confirm by logging in to your Submittable account, viewing one of your applications, and checking for any Messages in the "Messages" tab. 

· All of the information collected in this application is relevant to the targets or goals of one or more of our grantors. Data collected in this application may be used in connection with grant reporting, newsletters, websites and marketing materials associated with FIRST programs. At no time will student identifiable information be released or published; only aggregated information. 

QUESTIONS?

· Grant-related questions: teamgrants@firstintexas.org

· All other program questions: info@firstintexas.org