Regranting, Process, Procedures, and W-9

Regranting Policy

Last revision September 2024

FIRST receives funding from various donors, some of which are restricted grants, designated for specific uses, such as covering team registration fees or purchasing materials from the FIRST Dashboard and FIRST Tech Challenge Storefront. Restricted grants cannot be provided as direct payments to teams; unused funds are returned to the donor at the end of each season for future use at the donor’s  discretion.

For U.S.-based FIRST Robotics Competition teams, FIRST may also receive unrestricted funding that can be passed through directly to teams. If your team is eligible for such funding, FIRST will regrant   the funds to your team as a “pass-through” grant, which will be issued as a check.

All pass-through grant checks are subject to specific guidelines, including requirements that the funds be used solely for costs directly associated with participating in FIRST programs. 

Regrant Requirements and Procedure:

  1. FIRST receives the contribution and donor’s designation in writing, and the funds are deposited into team accounts as credits. These credits can be used to pay outstanding fees.
  2. Any remaining unused balance can be regranted once all outstanding fees, including unpaid purchase orders, are fully paid.
  3. Regrants are eligible for U.S. based FIRST Robotics Competition FRC teams only.
  4. Funds can only be regranted to teams for costs directly associated with FIRST Programs.
  5. FIRST cannot disburse funds directly to the Team’s or School’s vendors/providers.
  6. 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
  7. Teams must initiate the regrant process through a formal request and are responsible for maintaining expenditure receipts, which must be available to FIRST upon request for auditing purposes.
  8. Teams are responsible for ensuring that regrants comply with the terms of the underlying grant agreement.  
  9. Every team filing for a regrant must provide an IRS Form W-9. Regrant checks can only be made payable and mailed to the entity listed on the W-9 form. Checks cannot be issued to individuals.
  10. Regrant requests must be filed by the end of FIRST’s Fiscal Year – June 30th.
  11. Regrants are subject to the guidelines 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 a fully completed and signed IRS Form W-9 to FIRST. The W-9 must be uploaded to the team’s FIRST Dashboard account prior to filing for a regrant.
 
Please ensure the following required fields on the W9 are completed:
  • Line 1 
  • Line 2 (if applicable)
  • Line 3a*: If “other” is selected, provide a brief description of their specific entity type or Federal classification that doesn't fit into the other predefined categories
  • Address 
  • Employer Identification Number (EIN)
  • Signature & Date: The form must be signed and dated by an authorized representative of the organization within the last 5 years
Click here for an IRS Form W-9.  
 
Please Note:
  • The EIN is not a State Tax Exempt number.
  • FIRST cannot accept any IRS Form W-9 from an individual.  
  • 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 an 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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