For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
Also known as First
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) reported $84.9 million in revenue and $88.9 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Of every $100 it spent, $82.73 went to program services, $14.06 to management and general costs and $3.21 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 51.5% of the total. Government grants made up 5.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $540,092 (Secretary, CEO). 56 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 8% between FY2020 and FY2025. Source: Form 990, FY2025.
Where $100 of spending went
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $89MFor context, the median across 192 covered science & technology charities: $84.33 programs, $15.67 management, $0.00 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).
Where $100 of revenue came from
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $85MThe 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades
| Measure | FY2025 | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A) | 82.7% | 83.2% |
| Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A) | 14.1% | 15.5% |
| Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A) | 3.2% | 0.0% |
| Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h | $0.07 | $0.00 |
| Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12 | 51.5% | 51.6% |
| Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12 | 5.4% | 3.2% |
| Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12 | 44.0% | 19.2% |
| Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F | $540,092 | $513,729 |
| Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A) | 0.61% | 1.72% |
| People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2 | 56 | 27 |
| Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses | 8.8 | 14.7 |
| Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b | 20 of 21 | 94.3% |
A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.
What the money paid for, in its own words
FY2025 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expenseFIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) directly served 93,000 youths aged 14-18 on approximately 3,700 teams worldwide. Working with mentors, each team builds a robot starting with a kit of parts, designing it to meet this year's ocean-themed game challenge "REEFSCAPE." Each team participated in one or more 2 to 3-day events at 194 locations, competing for awards for game scores, safety practices, teamwork, and other qualitative achievements, stressing the FIRST ethos of Coopertition and Gracious Professionalism. Award-winning teams participated in the annual international FIRST Championship event…
FIRST LEGO League (FLL), for which there are three divisions, Discover, Explore and Challenge, reached 651,000 youths aged 4-16, on approximately 73,600 teams worldwide. This year's challenge was called "SUBMERGED." Participants used creative thinking and LEGO technology to explore the layers of the ocean and bring their learnings and ideas to the surface. Discover and Explore students built a LEGO model and tracked what they learned in an Engineering Notebook. Explore teams used code to bring their model to life. Challenge teams also built and programmed an autonomous LEGO robot to play the…
FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) served 110,000 youths from ages 12-18 on 8,800 teams. Like FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge teams design and build a robot to compete on a themed playing field but using a smaller robot kit and game challenge field. In this year's ocean-themed game, "INTO THE DEEP," each team built a robot and participated in local events. This program provides an experience for a broad audience of educators and students at a low cost. The experience simulates the excitement as well as the pressure of a real-life engineering project, developing not only the students'…
Highest reported compensation
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here| Role | From this org | From related orgs | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary, CEO Director/trustee, officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $465,900 | $0 | $74,192 | $540,092 |
| Executive VP & COO Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $331,013 | $0 | $51,559 | $382,572 |
| Chief Information Officer Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $253,161 | $0 | $29,252 | $282,413 |
| VP, Development Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $232,398 | $0 | $13,201 | $245,599 |
| VP, Marketing & Communications Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $189,838 | $0 | $45,876 | $235,714 |
| Chief Financial Officer Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $224,025 | $0 | $10,809 | $234,834 |
| VP, Program Delivery Officer, 40.00 hrs/week | $211,969 | $0 | $10,471 | $222,440 |
| Senior Director, FRC & FTC Highest compensated employee, 40.00 hrs/week | $157,996 | $0 | $56,456 | $214,452 |
56 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $3.1M (Part IX, line 5).
6 years of filings
Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linkedGovernance answers, as filed
FY2025 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means- Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b21 · 20 independent
- Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
- Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
- Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
- Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
- Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
- Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
- Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2Yes
- Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
- Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
- Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
- Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
- Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
- Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
- Employees Part I, line 5218
- Volunteers Part I, line 6493,000
Largest outside contractors
FY2025 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only| Solomon Group Event Management | $2,600,162 |
| Salesforce Inc Consulting Services | $1,778,286 |
| Show Ready Events LLC Event Management | $839,250 |
| Shepard Exposition Services Inc Event Management | $606,737 |
| Active Logistics Inc Transportation/logistics | $541,655 |
Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 25 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.
Private foundation grants it received
21 private foundations reported grants to For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) totaling $2.8M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.
Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.
Correct a figure or respond
Every number above is copied from For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), you can publish a response that is linked from this page.
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Of every $100 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) spent in FY2025, $82.73 went to programs. The full breakdown, from its IRS Form 990:
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- Parallax Advanced Research CorporationBeavercreek, OH · revenue $83M · programs 68.2% · FY2025
- Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld FoundationPrinceton, NJ · revenue $89M · programs 62.4% · FY2025
- University Corporation for Advanced Internet DevelopmentAnn Arbor, MI · revenue $82M · programs 92.2% · 2024
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- McNcResearch Triangle Park, NC · revenue $74M · programs 84.5% · FY2025
All science & technology charities · Largest charities in New Hampshire
Questions people ask
How much of For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)'s spending goes to programs?
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) reported that 82.7% of its $88.9 million in expenses went to program services, 14.1% to management and general and 3.2% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).
How much does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) pay its top executive?
The largest total compensation For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) reported for one person in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 was $540,092, for the role of Secretary, CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).
Where does For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) get its money?
Of $84.9 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, 51.5% came from contributions and grants (including 5.4% from government grants) and 44.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).
Is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) a registered charity?
The IRS lists EIN 22-2990908 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.
Sources
- FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, object 202513169349306166 · read the filing · XML
- FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, object 202433319349300818 · read the filing
- FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, object 202333339349300523 · read the filing
- FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, object 202223259349300212 · read the filing
- FY2021: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, object 202113279349300601 · read the filing
- FY2020: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, object 202003289349300120 · read the filing
All filings for EIN 22-2990908: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.