VDOE's STEM+C Competition Grant is open through September 18. Here is the plain-language guide.

FIRST Chesapeake
23 hours ago
6 min read

A step-by-step guide for Virginia coaches, principals, and division STEM leaders. Deadline September 18, 2026.

At a glance

What	VDOE STEM+C Competition Grant, 2026-2027 academic year
Amount	Up to $5,000 per team, up to two teams per division, $10,000 division maximum
Who applies	Virginia public schools. The applicant is the school, not the team and not FIRST Chesapeake.
Eligible programs	New or existing STEM+C competition teams, including FLL Explore, FLL Challenge, FTC, and FRC
Deadline	5:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2026
Review	In the order complete submissions are received
Where the money goes	To the school division, not the school. See step 8.
Application	STEM+C Competition Grant application
Guidance document	2026 Guidelines

Not eligible: teams in Maryland, DC, and West Virginia. This is a Commonwealth School Based grant only.

Step 1: Confirm you have a teacher of record

The form requires a lead teacher or team coach who must be a school employee. This is the most common reason a FIRST team cannot submit.

If your team is led by a teacher, continue to step 2.
If your team is led by a parent, a retired engineer, or a corporate mentor, you need a school employee willing to be named as lead teacher before you can apply.
The grant permits a stipend of up to 10% of the request, so $500 on a $5,000 request. If you are recruiting a teacher, that stipend is a legitimate part of the ask.

Volunteer coaches can still do most of the work. The teacher of record needs to be named, signed on, and reachable.

Step 2: Get your administrator on board

The application asks for your principal and your division's superintendent and finance contact. You need administrative support before you start filling in fields.

Text you can forward to your principal:

The Virginia Department of Education is offering up to $5,000 per competition team for the 2026-2027 year through the STEM+C Competition Grant. Applications are due September 18. The school applies, not the team, and the award is sent to the division. I would like to submit for our [PROGRAM] team. I need your name and email on the application, plus the superintendent's office information and our division finance contact. FIRST Chesapeake, the official FIRST District Partner for Virginia, provides narrative and budget templates at no cost, so the writing burden on our end is limited. Guidance document: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/78771 Grant Application: https://x.firstchs.org/STEMC-Grant-AFY26

Step 3: Coordinate within your division

A division can be funded for a maximum of two teams and $10,000 total.

Before you submit, find out whether other schools in your division are applying. If three schools submit independently, your division may end up with one funded team instead of two. Your division STEM coordinator or CTE director is usually the right person to ask.

If your division is submitting for two teams, the two budgets should differ in ways that reflect real differences between the teams.

Step 4: Gather your information

Fields 1 through 14 of the form. Collect all of it before you open the application, because the form does not save partial progress reliably.

Field	What it asks	Where to get it
1	New or existing team	Your call. New teams receive priority if requests exceed funding.
2	School division
3	Superintendent's name	Division website or central office
4	Superintendent / central office mailing address	Central office
5, 6	City and zip	Central office
7	Division finance point of contact	Central office. Awards go to the division, so this matters.
8	Finance contact email	Central office
9	School name (lead school if more than one)
10	Percent of students identified as economically disadvantaged	VDOE School Quality Profiles, searchable by school
11, 12	Principal name and email
13	Lead teacher or team coach, must be a school employee	See step 1
14	Lead teacher email

Step 5: Write the narrative

Questions 15 through 19. The one-page limit applies to all five questions together, roughly 500 words total. Brevity is a requirement, not a preference.

Field	What it asks	What reviewers are checking
15	Describe the team: who leads it, involvement of other staff, parents, and community members, and which competitions you will attend	That a named adult is responsible and that specific events are identified.
16	Two to three anticipated student outcomes and how they will be measured	That each outcome has a real measurement method attached.
17	How the program will increase STEM+C career awareness among other teachers and all students in your school	That you answered about the school, not the team.
18	How the program advances STEM+C literacy and workforce readiness, including problem-driven integrated activities that build collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking	That all four named skills appear and are each tied to something concrete
19	Estimated number of students impacted	That the number is credible. Report direct participants and broader reach separately.

Two notes that will improve any application:

For question 16, the FIRST judging rubrics are a strong measurement instrument. They are external, standardized, and score teams on design process, documentation, and teamwork. You did not have to build them, and saying so is to your advantage.
For question 18, use VDOE's own four words literally: collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking. A reviewer scanning for four things should find four things.

FIRST Chesapeake has fill-in-the-blank templates for all five questions, in a new-team version and an existing-team version.

Step 6: Build the budget

Questions 20 through 28. Mark any category you are not using as n/a rather than leaving it blank or entering zero.

Field	Object code	Line	Limits
20	1000	Staff salaries, wages, stipends	May not exceed 10% of the total request. $500 on $5,000.
21	1000	Staff professional development	Often n/a, since FCH coach training is free
22	3000	Competition registration
23	5000	Bus transportation	Student transport to and from the competition site
24	5000	Meals and snacks for students and staff	Must not exceed state per diem rates
25	6000	Robotics and STEM+C competition kits
26	6000	Required competition supplies and materials	Computers and 3D printers cannot be purchased except where a specialized device is required
27	6000	Instructional materials	Software, textbooks, reference and program materials
28		Total request	Must equal the sum of 20 through 27

Three things that cause problems:

Check your arithmetic on field 28. A total that does not match the line items is the most common correction request.
Do not plan on a 3D printer. The specialized-device exception is narrow. If your team needs printing, FCH can help you find access through partners.
Do not skip bus transportation. It is explicitly allowed and is frequently the real constraint on whether a team can attend events at all. Get a per-trip figure from your division transportation office.

Step 7: Submit

Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 18, 2026, and VDOE reviews them in the order complete submissions arrive.

By	Task
Now	Confirm your teacher of record (step 1)
Week of Aug 17	Talk to your principal, confirm who else in your division is applying
Week of Aug 24	Gather fields 1 through 14, draft narrative and budget
Fri, Aug 28	Submit
Sept 18, 5:00 p.m.	Hard deadline

Submitting in late August rather than mid-September puts you ahead of the queue and out of the busiest stretch of your school year.

Step 8: Make sure the money reaches your team

Awards are sent to the division, not to the school or the team.

Once you are notified:

Contact the division finance point of contact you named in field 7 and confirm the funds arrived and how they are coded.
Ask specifically how to draw against them, whether by purchase order, requisition, or reimbursement, and what documentation you need.
Confirm the funds are earmarked for your team rather than absorbed into a general instructional account.
Get your registration purchase in early, since registration deadlines will not wait on division procurement timelines.

Checklist

Lead teacher identified and confirmed as a school employee
Principal informed and willing to be named
Division checked for other applicants
Fields 1 through 14 collected, including economically disadvantaged percentage from School Quality Profiles
Narrative drafted, all five questions, one page total
Question 17 answers about the whole school, not just the team
Question 18 names all four skills
Budget built, stipend at or under 10%, unused lines marked n/a
Field 28 total checked against the line items
Guidance document read
Submitted before September 18

Who to contact

Questions about the grant itself: Anne Petersen, Director of STEM, Virginia Department of Education, anne.petersen@doe.virginia.gov

Help with your application: FIRST Chesapeake Alex Bryant - abryant@firstchesapeake.org We can provide narrative templates, model budgets, regional information, and student impact figures for your team.

Tell us if you get funded. We track how much state funding reaches teams across our district, and that figure supports the case for continued and expanded state investment.