Funding Tips and Resources

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You may have discovered how much students can learn with robots and want to bring more of them into your classroom, school, library, or STEM program. Or perhaps you’re just getting started. Either way, finding the money can sometimes be the biggest hurdle. Here are some ideas educators have used to fund their robotics programs.

Look Inside Your School Community

• Start with your school or district administration. Ask about available STEM, technology, curriculum, enrichment, Title funding, grants, or other funds that might support robotics. Your administrator may know about funding sources that aren’t widely publicized and can tell you how to apply.
• Show others what your students are doing. PTAs, PTOs, Booster Clubs, administrators, and other potential supporters are much more likely to understand the value of robotics when they see students using the robots. One teacher asked her parent group to fund 12 Pro-Bots—and they funded 24, followed by additional Pro-Bots in later years! Read her story.
• Turn one robot into a pilot program. You don’t need a classroom set to demonstrate the value of robotics. Start with one robot and document what happens when students use it. What are they learning? How are they solving problems? Are they collaborating, debugging, measuring, planning, and revising their ideas? Photos, student projects, teacher observations, and student comments can help make the case for expanding your program.
• Try a fundraiser! Some schools have had success raising money at school athletic events. Learn more.

Look in Your Community

• Local businesses may offer grants, sponsorships, or donations to support schools and community programs. Check the websites of businesses in your area or contact them directly to ask about educational giving programs.
• Local and community foundations often support education, technology, and youth programs. Search for foundations serving your town, city, county, or region and review their funding priorities.
• Local restaurants and restaurant chains may offer fundraising programs that contribute a portion of sales from a designated event to your school or program. Learn more.

Look for Grants and STEM Programs

• STEM and science-related grants and awards are available from national, state, and local organizations. Look for opportunities that support robotics, coding, STEM, educational technology, or hands-on learning. Learn more.
• Identify additional grant opportunities for funding your school’s robotics program. Learn more.
• Members of the Civil Air Patrol can request a free Bee-Bot/Space Rover STEM kit. It includes a Bee-Bot and a Space Rover. Membership for educators is a one-time $35 fee with free renewal. Learn more about the kit. — How to apply for the STEM kit.

Search for Opportunities in Your Area

• Use a search engine or AI tool to identify local opportunities. Try asking:
  “What grants are currently available to K–8 schools, teachers, libraries, or STEM programs in [state] for robotics, coding, STEM, or educational technology?”
  Always verify eligibility, deadlines, and application requirements on the funding organization’s own website.

Make the Case for Funding

Start small and build on success. One robot can be enough to demonstrate what is possible. Put it in students’ hands, document what they do and learn, and share those results with administrators, parent groups, and other potential supporters. When asking for funding, explain what additional robots will make possible—for example, allowing students to work in small groups, giving more students hands-on programming time, or expanding robotics to additional classrooms. Evidence of student engagement and learning can make a compelling case for funding your next step.