FIRST^® is the world’s leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing STEM education.

Reaching over 3.2 million youth participants around the world since 1989, FIRST combines the rigor of STEM learning with the fun and excitement of traditional sports and the inspiration that comes from community through programs that have a proven impact on learning, interest, and skill-building inside and outside of the classroom.

FIRST By The Numbers

FIRST Programs

• FIRST offers a suite of PreK-12 robotics programs: FIRST LEGO League (ages 4-16, varies by country and division), FIRST Tech Challenge (ages 12-18), and FIRST Robotics Competition (ages 14-18).
• FIRST programs served 785,000+ youth participants globally during the 2023-2024 season.
  • For reach by program and past season data, view the current and archived FIRST Annual Impact Reports.
• FIRST teams showcased their skills at more than 4,500 official FIRST events during the 2023-2024 season.

FIRST Volunteers, Sponsors & Supporters

• FIRST volunteers and educators served 33 million+ hours through more than 430,000 roles during the 2023-2024 season.
• FIRST sponsors include more than 25 FIRST Strategic Partners and more than 200 of the Fortune 500 companies.
• FIRST Scholarship Providers make available thousands of exclusive scholarship opportunities for FIRST participants each season.

FIRST Alumni Impact

• 83% of FIRST alumni declare a STEM major by their fourth year in college (in contrast to 61% of the comparison group).**
• 51% of female FIRST alumni declare a major in engineering or computer science by their fourth year of college (in contrast to16% of their peers in the comparison group).**
• For more FIRST impact data, check out our FIRST impact studies.

**Source: FIRST Longitudinal Study: Ten Year Final Report, Brandeis University, 2024

 

Page updated November 2024