2005 NASA Grant Recipients Released

[Alex Golec]

Originally Posted by Andy Grady

With that said, I really wish that some company would come up with some form of aid to help dying teams who have been around for a long time. It seems like we are running into more and more of these teams every year...its a shame to see such traditions falling apart because resources just can't hold up anymore.

I'm not trying to sound bitter, but it just seems like everyone is throwing money at the newer teams and the old dogs who have paid their due are now forgotten.

The FIRST grant is a good place for the older teams to go, but that only covers 16% of the cost now. In a best-case scenario, these NASA grants would be able to expand from the 'developing' regions to all regions of the world.

Originally Posted by the FIRST website

Once again, NASA is providing sponsorships to assist teams in developing self-sustaining FIRST programs in their local areas.

These sponsorships cover the cost of entry to one regional event ($6000.00) as well as the kit of parts. These sponsorships are targeted at new FIRST teams that need assistance in getting their program started within their local community.

There are many more regions out in the world that need help with funding to keep themselves alive. Who knows what can happen in the future- maybe more companies can join into donating funds to develop new regions. One such place that I believe could use some assistance for survival is the Israeli region. But, we have to be reminded of the positives of these grants, no matter who receives them: They greatly benefit to the sucess of a regional by allowing many more teams to be there to participate. Congrats again to all recipients

_Alex