Regranting, Process, Procedures, and W-9

Regranting Policy

Last revision September 2023

FIRST receives grants from various Donors which are designated to FIRST Teams. These are restricted donations with designations imposed on FIRST by the Donor(s). Restricted grants help FIRST teams cover the cost of FIRST registration fees and associated materials available through the FIRST Dashboard and FIRST Tech Challenge Storefront. At the end of the each season, any unused restricted grants funding remaining in team accounts is returned to the Donor’s account for use at the Donor’s discretion.

FIRST also receives non-donations (Program funding), which can be regranted if in a credit balance all fees are paid in full.

Should FIRST receive a grant or donated payment designated to U.S.-based FIRST Robotics Competition teams that is eligible to be passed through, FIRST will “re-grant” the funds to your team as a “pass through” grant.

All regrant checks are subject to the following guidelines:

  1. FIRST receives the contribution and donor's designation in writing and funding is deposited into team accounts as credits. Funding can be utilized to pay for outstanding fees and any remaining unused balances can be regranted. NOTE: All outstanding fees must be paid in full, prior to releasing a regrant.
  2. Regrants are eligible for U.S. based FIRST Robotics Competition teams only.
  3. Funds can only be regranted to teams for costs directly associated with FIRST Programs.
  4. FIRST cannot disburse funds directly to the Team’s or School’s vendors/providers.
  5. Regrant checks will be issued in batches and are limited to 3 regrants per team, per season.
    Request periods:
    • October 1-31
    • December 15 – June 30
  6. The team initiates the process of receiving these pass-through funds through a regrant request and must maintain expenditure receipts to be made available to FIRST upon request for auditing purposes.
  7. Every team filing for a regrant must provide an IRS Form W-9. Regrant checks can only be made payable & mailed to the entity listed on the W-9 form. We are unable issue checks to individuals.
  8. Regrant requests must be filed by the end of FIRST Fiscal Year – June 30th.
  9. Regrants are subject to the requirements outlined in the FIRST Gift Acceptance Policy

Submittal of IRS Form W-9 by all U.S. Based FIRST Robotics Competition Teams

Every U.S. based team receiving funding from a Donor must submit an IRS Form W-9 to FIRST Finance. Click here for an IRS Form W-9.

The IRS Form W-9 Requirements:

  1. The W-9 must be uploaded to the team’s FIRST Dashboard account prior to filing for a regrant.
  2. The W-9 must be signed and dated by an authorized representative of the organization within 5 years
  3. The W-9 must contain the Federal Tax Identification number (FEIN) of the organization willing to accept any funds on behalf of the team

Please Note:

  • This is not a State Tax Exempt number.
  • FIRST cannot accept any IRS Form W-9 from an individual.  We apologize for the inconvenience.
  • It is the responsibility of the team to inform FIRST of any changes to their IRS Form W-9.

Q. What if I need to request a regrant but my team does not have a IRS Form W-9? 

A. Sometimes teams are not directly associated with a school or an organization who can formally provide a W-9. We totally get that! Luckily, we have found that local organizations, such as libraries, booster clubs, afterschool organizations, youth organizations, and other charitable organizations (such as Hack Club - https://hackclub.com/bank/first/), will often accept the regrant on the team’s behalf and distribute the regrant funds to the team.

Regranting Procedure

Notice: By selecting this button, you will be leaving the FIRST website and be redirected to Submittable. Once you arrive at the Submittable website, if you do not have a Submittable account, you will need to create one

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