To be eligible for DoD STEM funding, teams must have a DoDEA or DoD mentor or
coach. This requirement provides a means for the DoD workforce - educators, scientists, and
engineers - to achieve sustained engagement with students, parents, teachers, and the public in
STEM initiatives.
DoD STEM places an emphasis on supporting teams and communities with the following criteria:
Teams affiliated with DoDEA schools.
Teams affiliated with military impacted schools or communities.
Teams affiliated with Title 1 schools or communities.
If you meet these eligibility requirements and would like additional
information, please complete the DoD STEM FIRST Team Grant Inquiry.
What types of grants does DoD STEM provide?
DoD STEM Robotics Grants provide funding for preseason costs to field a team or class pack in
one of the five FIRST programs as well as registration grants to the end of season FIRST
Championships.
DoD STEM Robotics Grants for FLL Discover, FLL Explore, FLL Challenge,
and FTC teams typically include funding for registration as well as specific,
pre-approved products that teams can order for that season.
DoD STEM Robotics Grants for FRC teams typically ONLY include funding for
season registration.
Grant Proposal Timeline
14 May 2024: Grants portal opens at 4 PM EDT.
14 Jun 2024: ALL PROPOSALS DUE. Grant portal closes at 11:59 PM EDT.
17 Jun - 28 Jun 2024: DoD STEM reviews proposals and requests corrections and clarifications as needed;DoD STEM FIRST coordinators access list of teams via portal and rank teams based on grant selection criteria (see Grant Selection Criteria section below).
1 Jul - 5 Jul 2024: DoD STEM FIRST Program Management Team determines grant awards based on provided team rankings (ROUND ONE; unawarded teams will be waitlisted).
8 Jul - 19 Jul 2024: Notification of Award email and letter sent to team coaches, mentors, and coordinators (ROUND ONE).
22 Jul - 2 Aug 2024: DoD STEM grants uploaded in teams' FIRST account dashboards (ROUND ONE).
1 Nov 2024: Unused grant funds are recouped from FLL Challenge and FTC Round One awarded teams.
4 Nov - 8 Nov 2024: DoD STEM FIRST Program Management Team determines grant awards based on provided team rankings (ROUND TWO; unawarded teams are not eligible for funding this season).
11 Nov - 15 Nov 2024: Notification of Award email and letter sent to team coaches, mentors, and coordinators (ROUND TWO)
18 Nov - 22 Nov 2024: DoD STEM grants uploaded in teams' FIRST account dashboards (ROUND TWO).
1 Jan 2025 - Apr 2025: DoD STEM FIRST Championship grants uploaded in teams' FIRST account dashboards (All World Championship qualifying teams who applied for grant funding regardless of regular season award status).
3 Feb 2025: Unused grant funds are recouped from FRC Round One, Round Two, and Championship awarded teams.