RULES PERTAINING TO MID-ATLANTIC ROBOTICS GRANTS FOR TEAMS
[NOTE: These Rules do not pertain to grants made with donated funds from entities outside Mid-Atlantic Robotics which are intended for specific FRC teams.]
Approving Body
The Chair shall appoint an ad hoc review team no later than August 31 each year whose members will have the authority to adjudicate all grant requests, except as specifically excepted below. The members of this review team shall not be affiliated with an FRC team unless such individuals provide a written release by the lead mentor that the individual’s team will NOT be applying for a grant in the current competition season.
There shall be a minimum of three team members and a maximum of seven, one of whom will be designated as the lead member, who may not be affiliated with a team under any circumstances. The lead member shall receive all grant applications, as described below.
Approval Timeframe
The review team shall issue its decision on each complete application pertaining to the Region Championship within 24 hours of the conclusion of the final district event. The review team shall issue its decision on each complete application pertaining to the World Championship within 24 hours of the conclusion of the Region Championship.
Use of Funds – Events
First priority shall be for the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Region Championship. If there are residual funds left after such grants — but no earlier than the results of the Region Championship are determined, consideration would be given for World Championship.
Use of Funds – Expenditures
► First priority shall be for registration fees, which approved amount shall be remitted directly to US FIRST by the Treasurer in a timely fashion.
► Second priority shall be for transportation and lodging.
► Grants for any other expenditure – except for Rookie Teams and Emergency Situations as described below — must be approved by the Executive Committee.
Amount of Grants
No individual grant shall exceed the registration fee for the Region Championship for that year. When total funds allocated by the Board of Directors in the Budget will not provide sufficient funds to support the aggregate amount of all qualified applications, the review team shall provide partial grants to qualified teams to the extent that funds are available.
In those years when allocated grant funds are plentiful, the review team may approve multiple grant requests from the same team, providing that all teams that requested a grant have been awarded a grant, as deemed qualified and appropriate by the review team. It is not required that a grant be issued just because an application was filed.
Previously Awarded Grants
Whether a team had received a grant in the preceding year(s) shall have no impact on the current year’s review. The review team will base its determination on its best understanding of a team’s needs.
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Application Process
Each FRC team seeking a grant from the Corporation shall prepare and submit a standard Grant Application form to the person identified on the form as the lead member of the review team. The form
must be signed by one of the student leaders of the team and by a mentor.
Grant applications may be submitted anytime after the competition season has commenced but no later than the Tuesday in the second week before the Region Championship for that event and no later than the Tuesday before the Region Championship for the World Championship.
A copy of the current year’s budget for the team must accompany the form. The review team will base its decision on awarding a grant based on the information in the application and the team budget.
Teams that have registered for one or more Regional events outside Mid-Atlantic Robotics are not precluded from a grant; but such application will have lowest priority in the aggregate review process.
A team may submit multiple grant applications, but must identify the prioritization for use by the review team, if multiple applications are submitted together. If a second application is submitted subsequently to the first, the first one submitted will be considered the first priority by the review team.
Consideration for Rookie Teams
Notwithstanding any other provisions for use of grants and/or timeframe for submission of applications, a Rookie Team, as defined by USFIRST, may submit a grant application anytime after September first of the year in which the team receives its four-digit identifier from FIRST.
The use of funds may be for such requisite purposes as tools, rental of temporary space, services received from a machine shop, purchase of ancillary material, etc. Items such as apparel, giveaways, etc. and registration fees are excluded. Such grant shall not be disbursed until the team’s registration fee has been received by FIRST.
Any rookie team that receives such a grant may submit a second request during the competition season without its being considered a “multiple grant application.”
Emergency Situations
A team, which has qualified for either the Region or World Championship and suddenly experiences a situation in which previously committed funds are no longer available, may apply for relief via either a grant or a bridge loan. The latter should apply when payment of the expected funds is being delayed.
A team, which has registered to participate in District competition and is experiencing severe difficulty in securing sufficient funds to pay the full registration fee, may apply for a grant. The amount of such grant shall not exceed half the fee. In addition to providing its budget with the Application, the team must provide sufficient justification of financial hardship to warrant such a grant.
Provision for Residual Funds
Teams that budget to carryover a balance to the following season shall not be penalized for such a practice. However, if the stipulated amount for this purpose exceeds one-half of the current year’s district registration fee, the review team may consider such a budgeted amount to be an indication of less significant need than a team that has no such provision in its submitted budget.
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Appeal Process
A team which has been denied a grant or for which the approved amount was less than the requested amount, may submit an appeal to the Chair or the Vice-Chair of the Corporation. This appeal shall be submitted as expeditiously as practicable with a thorough explanation for the basis of the appeal.
The recipient of the appeal will expeditiously review the circumstances with the lead member of the review team. If relief is to be considered, it must be approved by the Executive Committee.
Adopted by the Board of Directors at its meeting on November 27, 2012