What the NASA grant does
The NASA FRC Sponsorship Grant, administered through NASA's Robotics Alliance Project (RAP), helps US-based teams cover the registration cost of their first Regional event (or district registration in district states). Funding is sent directly to FIRST and applied as an account credit - it is never routed to the team, which keeps the process clean and accountable.
Who is eligible
NASA prioritizes growing and sustaining newer teams. For the 2025-2026 cycle, eligibility centered on two categories:
- Rookie teams - brand-new teams that have never competed in an official FRC event.
- Year-Two teams - teams that were identified as Rookies in the 2025 FRC season and received a NASA sponsorship that year. Year-Two applicants typically must show they have secured around $5,000 in corporate funds and commit to mentoring another robotics team.
Veteran teams - any team whose FRC rookie year was 2024 or earlier, or a 2025 rookie that didn't receive NASA sponsorship - were not offered grants in this cycle, because the program prioritizes rookie and early-team expansion. Funding is also contingent on congressional appropriations, so it can vary year to year.
Key dates and requirements (2026 cycle)
For the 2026 season the application was due September 30, 2025 (11:59:59 PM EDT), a firm cutoff with no exceptions, and awards were announced in the fall. Selected teams had obligations such as:
- Including 'NASA' as a sponsor in their official team name on record with FIRST
- Completing entrance and exit surveys (entrance before Kickoff, exit at season's end)
- Submitting an annual report essay
- Obtaining an institutional support/endorsement letter from their school/institution
- Completing a robot and using the sponsorship only for the original applying team
How to apply well
- Confirm your category (Rookie or Year-Two — Veteran teams are not being offered grants in the 2025-2026 cycle) on the Robotics Alliance Project site.
- Gather your institutional endorsement early; it is a common bottleneck.
- For Year-Two, document your corporate fundraising and your mentoring commitment before you apply.
- Calendar every downstream deadline (surveys, support letter, annual report), because missing them can affect future eligibility.
Why this grant matters
For an eligible rookie, the NASA grant can effectively neutralize the single largest cost on your budget - your first event registration - turning a daunting $6,500 line item into something far more manageable while you build out your sponsor base.
Key takeaways
- The NASA grant covers first-event registration for eligible US Rookie, New Veteran, and Year-Two teams and is paid as a FIRST account credit
- Year-Two eligibility typically requires ~$5,000 in corporate funds raised and a commitment to mentor another team
- Selected teams must add 'NASA' to their team name and complete surveys, an endorsement letter, and an annual report
Keep going
Take the quiz · +10 XP with an accountMore in FIRST Grants & Sponsorship Programs
Sources & corrections
This lesson is AI-assisted: drafted from primary sources, then reviewed and edited by hand. Errors still get through. When one is reported we fix it and write down what changed — publicly, in the corrections log.
Sources and further reading
- NASA Robotics Alliance Project - 2025-2026 FRC Sponsorship Grantsrobotics.nasa.gov
- NASA Robotics Alliance Project - homerobotics.nasa.gov
Read next
Articles on this, for competition day
The lesson covers how it works. These cover what to do when it breaks.
- 13 min read
Every FRC Grant for the 2027 Season: Deadlines & Amounts
Every FRC grant for the 2027 BIOCORE season — BAE, Boston Scientific, Gene Haas, Intuitive, John Deere, NASA — with amounts, eligibility, and deadlines.
Read - 7 min read
How Much Does an FRC Team Cost? A Rookie Season Budget Worksheet
What a rookie FRC season really costs in 2026 — the $6,300 registration, travel, tools, and spares — plus a copyable budget worksheet and the grants that offset it.
Read - 8 min read
FRC Sponsorship Letter Template (Free, Copy-Paste) + 3 Examples
A free, fill-in-the-blank FRC sponsorship letter template with a strong ask paragraph, sponsor tiers, tax/fiscal-sponsor language, and 3 worked examples.
Read
Lesson quiz
RequiredAll 3 right completes the lesson. Miss one and only that question comes back — anything you already answered correctly stays banked.
0 of 3 answered
01.How are NASA FRC Sponsorship Grant funds delivered to a selected team?
02.In recent seasons, which teams has the NASA Robotics Alliance Project prioritized for FRC sponsorship grants?
03.What does a Year-Two applicant typically need to demonstrate to qualify for NASA FRC sponsorship?
Answer every question to submit.
All 49 lessons in Business, Operations & Fundraising
- Not started:Mini-Project 1: A Working Season Budget Model
- Not started:Mini-Project 2: A Sponsor CRM in a Spreadsheet
- Not started:Mini-Project 3: A Grant Pipeline & Deadline Tracker
- Not started:Mini-Project 4: Auto-Generate a Sponsor Impact Report from The Blue Alliance API
- Not started:Mini-Project 5: A Competition Travel & Logistics Planner
- Not started:Should Your Team Become a 501(c)(3)? Structure Deep-Dive
- Not started:Multi-Year Financial Modeling: Reserves, Runway & Endowments
- Not started:Scaling Impact: From Local Outreach to Systemic Advocacy
- Not started:Case Study: Hall of Fame Programs Decoded
- Not started:Governance, Risk & Compliance for a Mature Program