SARSEF
SARSEF is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1955 that operates Arizona's longest-running regional science fair and delivers year-round STEM education programming to PreK-12 students across Southern Arizona, with deliberate focus on underrepresented populations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1955
- HeadquartersTucson, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What SARSEF does
SARSEF (Southern Arizona Research Science and Engineering Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1955 at the University of Arizona and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. Originally incorporated as SciEnTeK-12 Inc., it operates the longest-running regional science fair in Arizona, currently hosting approximately 1,600 PreK-12 student projects annually and awarding more than $100,000 (recently reported as over $125,000) in prizes, scholarships, and trips, with top high school projects advancing to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The organization serves students across Southern Arizona (south of the Gila River for grades 5-12; statewide for PreK-4), with deliberate emphasis on underrepresented populations in STEM.
The core product portfolio centers on the annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair and is extended by year-round programming: Racing the Sun (a nine-month solar go-kart engineering competition with tiered kart classes and fees of $2,750-$4,750), Arizona STEM Adventure (a one-day STEM exploration event engaging 2,000 4th-8th graders), ACES Camp (middle school girls), GALS Arizona (outdoor leadership and science for high school girls), Summer STEM Camps, the PRISM research mentorship program with University of Arizona graduate mentors, in-school and out-of-school outreach (What Do We Wonder curriculum, Roadmap to a Rockin' Project), teacher professional development, and the SARSEF Endorsed School recognition program (3-year designation). Curriculum is grounded in Arizona Science Standards and encompasses math, language arts, and social studies. A Virtual Fair platform extends reach online.
Revenue is generated through a mix of individual donations (leveraging Arizona Tax Credit contributions up to $1,009 joint / $506 individual for 2026 under QCO code 21048), corporate sponsorships with tiers from Explorer ($1,000-$2,499) to Innovator ($50,000+), sponsored awards (approximately 100 companies/organizations contribute annually), and modest program fees structured under pay-what-you-can models. The organization operates with roughly 16 staff under CEO Julie Euber (MA) and a 14-member board chaired by Eric Pickney, with anchor supporters including APS Foundation, Tucson Electric Power, Raytheon Technologies, and Helios Education Foundation.
SARSEF firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SARSEF
- Legal name
- Southern Arizona Research Science and Engineering Foundation
- Website
- https://sarsef.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1955
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SARSEF is a Tucson-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1955 that operates Arizona's longest-running regional science fair and delivers year-round STEM education programming to PreK-12 students across Southern Arizona, with deliberate focus on underrepresented populations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SARSEF industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 STEM Education
- NAICS
- Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- STEM Competitions & Olympiads (Science Bowls, STEM Challenges) (EDAMABAL), Gifted & Talented Education (GATE) Programs (EDAJAGAA), Science & STEM Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAH)
Keywords
Where SARSEF is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tucson
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
SARSEF business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals supporting STEM education for Arizona students. Arizona Tax Credit contributions available up to $1,009 (joint) or $506 (individual) for 2026.
- Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors invest in youth STEM education pipeline. Sponsors receive brand recognition across Arizona, employee volunteer opportunities, and networking with community partners. Multiple sponsorship tiers ranging from Explorer ($1,000-$2,499) to Innovator ($50,000+).
- Sponsored Awards: Organizations and individuals contribute awards and prizes to students at the SARSEF Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Awards encourage students to pursue STEM career paths. Sponsors can choose winners or serve as judges.
- Program Fees: Modest program fees support sustainability. Racing the Sun program fees range from $2,750-$4,750 depending on kart type. SARSEF Fair suggested registration fee of $15 per project with pay-what-you-can model. Summer STEM Camps offered under pay-what-you-can model.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Over $125,000 in awards and scholarships at SARSEF Regional Fair |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | SARSEF Fair Project Registration |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Racing the Sun Program - Standard Novice Team |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Racing the Sun Program - Standard Team (2nd/3rd year) |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Racing the Sun Program - Legacy Team |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Racing the Sun Program - Maker Team |
| Freemium | Annual | AZ STEM Adventure Program |
| Freemium | Annual | Summer STEM Camps |
| Other | Annual | Arizona Tax Credit Contribution |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels9 records
SARSEF product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SARSEF delivers year-round STEM education programming for PreK-12 students across Southern Arizona, anchored by its flagship annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair that draws roughly 1,600 projects and awards over $100,000 in scholarships and prizes. Surrounding the fair are complementary programs including Racing the Sun solar go-kart engineering competition, in-school workshops (What Do We Wonder), teacher professional development, the SARSEF Endorsed School recognition program, summer camps (ACES, Summer STEM Camps, GALS Arizona), Arizona STEM Adventure, and the PRISM research mentorship program.
Product overview
SARSEF (Southern Arizona Research Science and Engineering Foundation) is a non-profit STEM education organization offering a portfolio of programs centered around its flagship SARSEF Regional Science and Engineering Fair. The core offering consists of the annual science fair competition where thousands of PreK-12 students showcase research projects. Surrounding this core are complementary programs: Racing the Sun (solar go-kart engineering competition), In-School and Out-of-school Outreach workshops (What Do We Wonder, AfterSchool, Summer programs, Family STEM Nights), Teacher Professional Development, and the SARSEF Endorsed School recognition program. STEM exploration programs include Arizona STEM Adventure™, ACES Camp, Summer STEM Camps, PRISM mentorship, and GALS Arizona outdoor leadership program. The organization also operates a Virtual Fair platform for online project exhibits. All programs aim to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through science and engineering for Arizona students, with emphasis on underrepresented populations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Racing the Sun: A hands-on engineering program for high school students to design, build, and race solar-powered go-karts
- Arizona STEM Adventure™
- ACES Camp
- PRISM
- Summer STEM Camps
- GALS Arizona
- SARSEF Endorsed School
Products and services
- SARSEF Regional Science and Engineering Fair The flagship annual competition where PreK-12 students from Southern Arizona present research projects. Around 1,600 projects compete annually with over $100,000 in prizes, trips, and scholarships awarded, and top students advance to international competitions including ISEF.
- Racing the Sun A nine-month hands-on engineering program where high school students design, build, and race solar-powered go-karts applying physics, engineering, and energy principles with mentorship from industry professionals. Includes standardized kart types: Standard Novice ($4,750), Standard ($2,750 for 2nd/3rd year), Legacy, and Maker divisions.
- In-School Outreach (What Do We Wonder) Hands-on STEM workshops led by SARSEF educators for PreK-12 students using the What Do We Wonder 4-Part or 2-Part Curriculum, grounded in Arizona Science Standards. Students practice noticing and wondering, building testable questions, and collecting and analyzing data.
- Out-of-School Outreach
Quantifiable outcome
- 96.5% of teachers able to integrate state standards for math and science
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SARSEF
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SARSEF technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
SARSEF partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- University of Arizona Norton School of Human EcologycorePartnership to pilot AZ Junior STEM Adventure for grades K-3 in Fall 2026. Dr. Payal Khosla leads the initiative expanding the celebrated AZ STEM Adventure to younger learners.
- Mentorship and Education in SCIence for Tucson (MESCIT)supportingUniversity of Arizona mentorship and math tutoring program for Native American students. SARSEF partnered with MESCIT for second consecutive year of summer STEM camps for Native American students in 2026.
- U.S. National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)supportingNOIRLab collaborated with SARSEF to provide summer professional learning opportunity for educators on place-based learning and indigenous science and culture.
- Pima Community CollegecorePima Community College Northwest Campus serves as venue for AZ STEM Adventure in-person programs. Provides facilities for teacher professional development and student field trips.
- RTXsupportingRTX (Raytheon Technologies) partners with SARSEF for AZ STEM Adventure program as corporate sponsor providing STEM professional exhibitors.
- University of Arizona Office of Early Academic OutreachcoreUA Office of Early Academic Outreach partners on AZ STEM Adventure, providing exhibitors and supporting early college awareness for 4th-8th grade students.
- Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA)supportingMESA program partners with AZ STEM Adventure to engage students in hands-on STEM activities and career exploration.
- University of Arizona Research and Partnerships Office of Societal ImpactcorePRISM mentorship program operates in collaboration with UA Research and Partnerships Office of Societal Impact. Matches students with UA graduate student mentors for scientific research.
- Waters Center for Systems ThinkingsupportingAZ STEM Adventure Teacher Professional Development sessions provide certificates from Waters Center for Systems Thinking upon completion.
- Musselman Honda CircuitsupportingMusselman Honda Circuit serves as venue for Racing the Sun Race Day competition. Sponsor providing facilities for high school engineering competition.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SARSEF competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MATHCOUNTS Foundation: MATHCOUNTS runs national math competitions and enrichment programs for middle school students, including chapter, state, and national competitions. Comparable to SARSEF in serving K-12 STEM competitions, with overlap on math/STEM enrichment and teacher/school engagement.
- Science Olympiad: Science Olympiad is a national STEM competition organization running Science Olympiad tournaments across K-12, focused on team-based science and engineering events. Directly comparable to SARSEF's Regional Fair and Racing the Sun as a competing STEM competition format in the same student segments.
- Destination Imagination: Destination Imagination runs team-based STEM problem-solving competitions and project-based challenges for K-12 students. Comparable to SARSEF in fostering inquiry-based STEM engagement and team project work in school-based competition contexts.
- California Science & Engineering Fair: The California Science & Engineering Fair is a regional science fair affiliated with USC that hosts student research projects from across Southern California and sends finalists to ISEF. Most direct functional peer to SARSEF as a regional fair with ISEF affiliation and K-12 STEM programming.
- Colorado Science and Engineering Fair: Colorado Science and Engineering Fair, hosted at Colorado State University, runs a regional ISEF-affiliated science fair with K-12 student projects. Direct comparable to SARSEF in mission, regional scope, and ISEF-affiliate status.
Broad incumbents
- Society for Science: Society for Science runs the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Regeneron Science Talent Search, and Broadcom MASTERS - the national pre-college STEM competitions to which SARSEF qualifies students. Direct upstream/downstream relationship as SARSEF sends 8 finalists annually to ISEF.
- Project Lead The Way (PLTW): Project Lead The Way is the nation's leading provider of STEM curriculum for PreK-12 schools, with computer science, engineering, and biomedical science pathways. Comparable to SARSEF's curriculum development (What Do We Wonder) and Teacher Professional Development offerings, with broader national scale.
Emerging players
- Engineering For Kids: Engineering For Kids runs STEM enrichment programs for PreK-12 students including camps, afterschool, and in-school workshops. Comparable to SARSEF's outreach and summer camp portfolio in delivering hands-on engineering programs to similar age groups.
- Ten80 Education: Ten80 Education runs STEM and project-based learning programs for K-12 students, including racing competitions similar to SARSEF's Racing the Sun. Highly comparable on the Racing the Sun program format (solar/STEM vehicle competitions) and school partnership model.
- Citizen Schools: Citizen Schools provides expanded learning time programs including STEM apprenticeships and hands-on projects for middle school students from underserved communities. Comparable to SARSEF's outreach programs (What Do We Wonder, PRISM) in targeting Title I schools and underrepresented populations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SARSEF social profiles
Digital presenceSARSEF financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SARSEF leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
SARSEF funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SARSEF M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SARSEF
What does SARSEF do?
SARSEF delivers year-round STEM education programming for PreK-12 students across Southern Arizona, anchored by its flagship annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair that draws roughly 1,600 projects and awards over $100,000 in scholarships and prizes. Surrounding the fair are complementary programs including Racing the Sun solar go-kart engineering competition, in-school workshops (What Do We Wonder), teacher professional development, the SARSEF Endorsed School recognition program, summer camps (ACES, Summer STEM Camps, GALS Arizona), Arizona STEM Adventure, and the PRISM research mentorship program.
Is SARSEF a public or private company?
SARSEF is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was SARSEF founded?
SARSEF was founded in 1955. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SARSEF based?
SARSEF is headquartered in Tucson, United States, in the North America region.
How does SARSEF make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Sponsorship, sponsored Awards and program Fees.
Who are SARSEF's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MATHCOUNTS Foundation, Science Olympiad, Destination Imagination, California Science & Engineering Fair and Colorado Science and Engineering Fair. Broad incumbents are Society for Science and Project Lead The Way (PLTW). Emerging players are Engineering For Kids, Ten80 Education and Citizen Schools.
Does SARSEF have an API?
No public API is recorded for SARSEF.
What industry is SARSEF in?
SARSEF's product category is K-12 STEM Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMABAC, STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep), with a secondary code of EDAMABAL, STEM Competitions & Olympiads (Science Bowls, STEM Challenges). Its NAICS code is 611691 and its SIC code is 8200.