For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is a Manchester, New Hampshire-based public charity that runs team-based robotics programs for young people. Its programs use hands-on challenges and competitions to build STEM skills, confidence, and collaborative problem-solving; FIRST describes its programs as serving ages 5–18.
Key facts about For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
In short: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) gave $21.8M across 847 grants in 2025 (avg $26K), top state Michigan. 43% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 22-2990908
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $21,807,188
- Grants made (2025)
- 847
- Average grant
- $25,746
- Median grant
- $10,550
- New grantees (estimate)
- 43% first-time grantees (357 of 835, 2025)
- Total assets
- $73,021,981
- Primary geography
- Michigan (12% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Deadline
- The Boeing FRC Team Grant application listed for 2025–2026 closed on November 14, 2025, or earlier if funds were…
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$73.0M
-5.2% YoY
Annual Giving
$21.8M
-4.3% YoY
Grant Count
847
-3.4% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$26K
-0.9% YoY
Is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) open to new grantees?
43%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 357 of 835 grantees (43%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $17K; repeat grants $33K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $11K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
FIRST’s mission is to provide life-changing robotics programs that give young people the skills, confidence, and resilience to build a better world. Its 2024 filing also describes a mission of inspiring young people to become science and technology leaders and innovators through mentor-based programs that build technical skills and capabilities such as self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
The 2025 filing’s largest grants were designated for program support, including grants to regional FIRST organizations and other organizations. Grantees’ stated missions show the range of activities supported: FIRST in Texas says it provides robotics programs for young people across Texas; FIRST North Carolina describes high school robotics programs and helping students prepare for a high-tech world; and Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program says it provides robotics-based educational opportunities for Oregon youth, with special emphasis on maximizing participation diversity. These are the grantees’ missions, not FIRST’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, FIRST reported 847 grants totaling $21,807,188. Grant amounts ranged from $5,050 to $1,404,497, with a median of $10,550. The largest awards included FIRST in Michigan ($1,404,497), IngenuityNE Inc ($1,067,291), FIRST in Texas ($965,692), FIRST Chesapeake ($912,300), and FIRST North Carolina ($566,211); each was listed for program support.
FIRST’s website shares sponsor-funded team grant opportunities and advises teams to check the portal for new or modified opportunities. It also identifies a team’s Program Delivery Partner as a resource for potential local grants. Availability and restrictions depend on sponsor intent. Listed opportunities have specific eligibility and use restrictions. For example, the 2026–2027 FIRST Tech Challenge Sibling Grant covers 50% of the first-year registration fee for an eligible rookie sibling team affiliated with an existing FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge team. Teams must work with their regional Business Development Manager, funding is limited, and eligible locations are restricted to specified states and regions. FIRST’s website also describes an FTC Hardship Grant process in which Program Delivery Partners nominate teams; funds are restricted to current-season FTC registration and the Storefront, and eligible teams must be based in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.
For sponsors, FIRST describes team grants as supporting teams across its programs. Grant options may be restricted to registration or program products; U.S. FIRST Robotics Competition teams may request a regrant for other eligible expenses. FIRST’s 2024 filing says grants are made to allow students to participate in FIRST programs and may be restricted to items such as robot kit parts, registration, team travel, and event expenses. The filing says FIRST monitors grant use through event observation and annual reports, and may require receipts.
Review Cycle
The Boeing FRC Team Grant application listed for 2025–2026 closed on November 14, 2025, or earlier if funds were exhausted; that cycle is past.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
Ready to take the next step with For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
FIRST describes its programs as global. Its 2024 filing reports teams in worldwide programs, and says a limited number of grants go to organizations outside the United States, primarily from restricted contributions for teams, tournament partners, and event hosts. In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars by recipient state went to Michigan (12%), California (10%), Texas (7%), New Jersey (6%), and Virginia (6%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 847 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $7.7M (2021) to $22.8M (2024). In 2025 it made 847 grants totaling $21.8M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was FIRST in Michigan ($1.4M). Together the top 10 received $7.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
3,594 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 3,375 grants of 3,594 (94%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| FIRST in Michigan West Bloomfield, MI | Program Support | $1,404,497 |
| IngenuityNE Inc Duxbury, MA | Program Support | $1,067,291 |
| FIRST in Texas San Antonio, TX | Program Support | $965,692 |
| FIRST Chesapeake Richmond, VA | Program Support | $912,300 |
| FIRST North Carolina Greensboro, NC | Program Support | $566,211 |
| Washington First Robotics Seattle, WA | Program Support | $534,430 |
| Mid Atlantic Robotics Pennington, NJ | Program Support | $530,817 |
| Georgia FIRST Robotics Inc Cumming, GA | Program Support | $522,400 |
| Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program Portland, OR | Program Support | $318,639 |
| South River Board of Education South River, NJ | Program Support | $301,676 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $73,021,981 | $84,935,359 | $88,886,873 | $21,807,188 |
| 2024 | $77,043,564 | $84,820,628 | $82,281,294 | $22,784,482 |
| 2023 | $74,279,687 | $86,981,679 | $79,878,355 | $13,338,871 |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $73,021,981 | $77,043,564 | $74,279,687 |
| Revenue | $84,935,359 | $84,820,628 | $86,981,679 |
| Expenses | $88,886,873 | $82,281,294 | $79,878,355 |
| Net Investment Income | $2,833,599 | $2,284,483 | $887,116 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 23, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 23, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 21, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 29, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 26, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS November 12, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Laurie Leshin as Chair; Donald E. Bossi and Richard L. Clemmer as Vice Chairs; Vincent Wilczynski as Treasurer; and Christopher Moore as Secretary and CEO. Dean Kamen is listed as Founder and Board Member. Other listed board members are Ursula Burns, Robin N. Coger, and Karen Horting.
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) is led by Christopher Moore, Secretary & CEO on every filing since 2022; 16 of 36 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Christopher Moore
Secretary & CEO
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$46K (2022) → $466K (2025)
Laurie Leshin PhD
Chair
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2020
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kim R Wierman
Senior Director & Fll
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$137K (2022) → $176K (2025)
Vincent D Rodino
Senior Director, School Engagement & Edu.
Senior Director School Engagement & Education → Sir Director, School Engagement & Edu., 2024
Sir Director, School Engagement & Edu. → Senior Director, School Engagement & Edu., 2025
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$128K (2022) → $164K (2025)
Collin C Fultz
Senior Director, Frc & Ftc
Senior Director & Frc → Senior Director, Frc & Ftc, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$144K (2024) → $158K (2025)
Rachel Allison Moore
Senior Director & Engineering
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$176K (2025)
Amy Lynn Hunt
Chief People Officer
Director, People & Org. Development → Chief People Officer, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$137K (2020) → $202K (2025)
Christopher Rake
Executive Vice President & COO
Vice President & Programs → Executive Vice President & COO, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$214K (2020) → $331K (2025)
Donald E Bossi PhD
Vice Chair
Past President & Secretary → Co-Chair & Board Secretary, 2021
Co-Chair & Board Secretary → Vice Chair, 2022
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
$400K (2020) → $0 (2025)
Mark S Giordono
Vice President & Development
Vice President of Development → Vice President & Development, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$188K (2020) → $232K (2025)
Ronald Falcone
Chief Sourcing Officer
Director & Strategic Sourcing → Chief Sourcing Officer, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$143K (2020) → $195K (2025)
Danielle M Pliska
Chief Financial Officer
Vice President & Finance → Chief Financial Officer, 2025
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$116K (2021) → $224K (2025)
Brooke Blew
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$116K (2022) → $190K (2025)
Janell Nicole Catlin
Vice President, Social Impact & Engagement
Vice President Equity, Diversity & Inclusion → Vice President, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, 2024
Vice President, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion → Vice President, Social Impact & Engagement, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$143K (2023) → $184K (2025)
Pedro L Diaz
Chief Information Officer
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$39K (2023) → $253K (2025)
Michael C Shea
Vice President & Program Delivery
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$113K (2024) → $212K (2025)
William Potter Saxe
Vice President, Risk Management & General Cnsl
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$136K (2025)
Andrea W Davis
Past Director & Global Field Ops
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$171K (2025)
David Siegel PhD
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dean Kamen
Founder & Board Member
On filings since 2020
12 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karen Horting
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rajesh Subramaniam
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert M Tuttle
Board Member
Co-Chair → Past Co-Chair, 2021
Past Co-Chair → Board Member, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robin N Coger PhD
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ursula Burns
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Vincent Wilczynski PhD
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
6 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Melissa Smith PhD
Board Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Martine Rothblatt
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
General Janet Wolfenbarger
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dantaya Williams
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Emily Van Dunk PhD
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Grace Jinliu Wang PhD
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James Scapa
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jayshree Seth
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matt Rendall
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Richard L Clemmer
Vice Chair
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (22)
- Former: Blake Moret (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Paul E Jacobs (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Scott McKay (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Leanne G Caret (2021–2024) — Past Board Member
- Former: Rick Clemmer (2021–2024) — Vice Chair
- Former: Linda Tenda (2022–2024) — Past Sir Director, Planning & Administrator
- Former: Clelia Anna Mannino (2024) — Sir Director, Research & Evaluation
- Former: Kelly Ortberg (2024) — Board Member
- Former: Erica Newton Fessia (2020–2023) — Past Vice President & Global Field Operations
- Former: Kenneth Johnson (2020–2023) — Past Senior Director & Ftc
- Former: Robert K Ortberg (2020–2023) — Chairman
- Former: Luis Morales (2023) — Senior Technical Project Manager
- Former: Frank Merrick (2020–2022) — Senior Director & Frc
- Former: John E Abele (2020–2022) — Past Board Member
- Former: Lawrence H Cohen (2020–2022) — Former President
- Former: Dennis A Muilenburg (2020–2021) — Past Board Member
- Former: Lonnie Johnson (2020–2021) — Past Board Member
- Former: Terrence M Durkin (2020–2021) — Former Vice President Finance
- Former: Walter P Havenstein (2020–2021) — Past Board Member
- Former: Lauren Demski (2021) — Director & Corp. Relations
- Former: Aaron Pickering (2020) — Director & Brand Strategy
- Former: Virginia Addicott (2020) — Past Board Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $466K, to Christopher Moore (Secretary, CEO). 16 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Mailing address: 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, NH 03101-1132
Phone: (800) 871-8326
Website: https://firstinspires.org
Frequently asked questions about For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
How much does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) give each year?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) gave $21.8M across 847 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $22.8M across 877 grants.
What is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s typical grant size?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s median grant in 2025 was $10,550, and its average grant was $25,746, across 847 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) that year got $17K on average.
Where does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) give grants?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s top state is Michigan, with 12% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were California (10%) and Texas (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were San Diego, CA (13 grants), San Jose, CA (9 grants), Washington, DC (6 grants) and Orlando, FL (6 grants).
Does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 847 grants with a stated purpose on For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Program Support" (847 grants).
Who are For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s largest grantees?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s largest 2025 grantees include FIRST in Michigan ($1,404,497), IngenuityNE Inc ($1,067,291) and FIRST in Texas ($965,692), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 16% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) reported $73.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $84.9M.
What does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) fund?
FIRST’s mission is to provide life-changing robotics programs that give young people the skills, confidence, and resilience to build a better world. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check firstinspires.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s EIN?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 22-2990908. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Here's the math on researching For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) by hand.
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For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) down — hundreds of funders to go?