For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222990908
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Manchester, NH, USA
Phone
8008718326
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Engineering and Technology

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$84,935,359
Expenses
$88,886,873
Assets
$73,021,981
Liabilities
$7,612,331

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Christopher Moore (Secretary, CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Christopher Moore (Secretary, CEO): $540,092 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Rake (Executive VP & COO): $382,572 total reported compensation
  • Pedro L Diaz (Chief Information Officer): $282,413 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See Mission statement on Schedule O, pg. 146.The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

What it reported doing in 2024

FIRST 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 in Houston. The FRC Program provided students with the experience of applying engineering and technology to achieve a specific challenge under a time constraint. (Narrative continued on Schedule O, pg. 146). This experience developed students' technical skills, teamwork, and the ability to deal with the satisfactions and disappointments of a real engineering project. Participation in FIRST Robotics Competition has inspired many students to go on to college and careers in fields related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Many coaches and mentors work in these fields and help the students develop bonds within their communities and connections to the workforce development pipeline. Students and alumni of the program gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 86.1%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $73.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $540K · 36 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.4M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1296 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 847 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.