[Bethie42]

Our team received a NASA Sustaining Grant last year, which was the only thing between us and a no-regional season.
Our lead mentor [my dad] signed us up for it; I don't think there was any requirement regarding a new regional, but we were required to compete for Chairman's Award, and fill out a post-season survey.

If you're going to try for the sustaining grant, it's good to focus on how, next year, your team will have been able to regroup enough to not need that funding again.....we haven't, though not for any lack of trying.

I'm in the process of writing a grant-app right now, and let me just say that it is a lovely feeling to be able to talk about your team's outreach! This year, despite being broke, we started three FLL teams at our school [an entirely student-led effort btw] and are now engulfed in a sea of LEGOs and little kids. We've got FRC team members mentoring 4th-graders...it is awesome...think of these budding engineers, their dreams being nurtured by geeky high school role models!
There was overwhelming support for FLL at our [all-ages] school: parents, school faculty, and kids are all enthused.
Oh and besides that, we've got an over-excited team member [me] starting a couple of Junior FLL teams in collaboration with the local university's youth outreach program, with a focus on encouraging girls in robotics....then there is the fact that our school now allows homeschoolers on all of its robotics teams, due to the lobbying of a former homeschooled team member....

Gosh, I got off-topic, didn't I! Key point here, start an FLL team, it'll look great on your grant apps...yay FIRST!