Philadelphia Robotics Coalition

What Philadelphia Robotics Coalition does

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition (PRC) is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2016 and incorporated as an independent entity in 2018 that delivers K-12 robotics and STEM education programs to under-resourced Philadelphia public schools and community organizations. The organization operates the full FIRST competition portfolio — FIRST LEGO League Explore (grades 2-4, non-competitive), FIRST LEGO League Challenge (grades 4-8), FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12), and FIRST Robotics Competition (high school) — built on LEGO Education hardware (SPIKE Essentials, WeDo 2.0), Android-based reusable robotics platforms with Java-based programming, and the CoderZ virtual robotics environment. PRC complements these programs with teacher/coach training (intensive August in-person training plus monthly coach calls), team grants, mentor matching from industry and academic volunteers, and competitive events including the Philadelphia FTC Qualifier and the annual RoboJawn competition.

PRC's business model is donation-and-grant based. The organization funds operations and re-grants to teams through foundation grants (Neubauer Family Foundation, GSK, Subaru of America Foundation, Phillies Charities), corporate sponsorships (NSWCPD), individual donations via the Donorbox platform with itemized sponsorship tiers ($25-$2,500), and event-based fundraising (RoboEquity campaign). It maintains formal partnerships with the School District of Philadelphia, Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD), FIRST and FIRST Mid-Atlantic, founding partner Central High School RoboLancers, and academic institutions including the University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab and Drexel University. As of 2025, the Coalition supported 81 teams across 45 schools, served 800 youth, and trained 55 coaches, reaching 8,000+ youth and families cumulatively in the year; cumulative impact since founding is reported as 7,700+ youth trained across 400+ schools and community organizations in 38 of 41 Philadelphia zip codes.

Name

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition

Legal name

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition Inc.

Website

https://roboticscoalition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers K-12 robotics and STEM education programs across Philadelphia public schools through the FIRST competition framework, supported by team grants, coach training, and industry mentor matching.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics After-School & Enrichment Clubs (EDAMADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Competition Robotics Teams & Coaching (FLL/FTC/FRC, VEX) (EDAMADAE), LEGO / Block-Based Robotics Programs (EDAMADAD)

Keywords

• Robotics education
• STEM education
• K-12 programs
• FIRST robotics
• Nonprofit education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Major grants from foundations (Neubauer Family Foundation $55,000 over 3 years, GSK $50,000, Subaru of America Foundation $10,000) and corporate sponsors for program support, coach training, and STEM equity initiatives.
2. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals through Donorbox platform and check payments, supporting specific program items and general operations.
3. Team Grants and Financial Support: Awards grants to fund robotics teams and pay their coaches, matching teams with skilled mentors, distributing funds from diversified funding base to support school robotics programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition supports and sustains K-12 robotics programs across Philadelphia public schools by funding robotics teams, training teachers as coaches, and matching teams with industry mentors. It runs the four FIRST competition tiers — FIRST LEGO League Explore, FIRST LEGO League Challenge, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition — and supplements them with coach training, team grants, mentor matching, and annual citywide competition events such as RoboJawn and the Philadelphia FTC Qualifier.

Product overview

Philadelphia Robotics Coalition is a nonprofit that operates as a unified program portfolio organized around FIRST robotics competition leagues and supporting services. The core programs are four FIRST robotics league tiers — FIRST LEGO League Explore (grades 2–4, non-competitive), FIRST LEGO League Challenge (grades 4–8, competitive), FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7–12), and FIRST Robotics Competition (high school) — supplemented by coach training, mentor matching, team grants, workforce development opportunities, and annual competition events including the Philadelphia FTC Qualifier and the RoboJawn year-end event. These offerings are interconnected: grant funding enables teams to register and purchase kits (LEGO Spike Essentials, Android-based platforms), coach training ensures schools can sustain participation, mentor matching provides technical expertise, and competition events (FTC Qualifier, RoboJawn, Festivals) provide milestones and recognition for participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FIRST LEGO League Explore

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,000+ students trained in K-12 schools to date
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2019 matching Navy scientists and engineers with student robotics teams at over 20 Philadelphia schools. Mentors provide valuable professional engineering connections for students. NSWCPD renewed STEM Charter supporting pipeline to naval engineering workforce. Joint NEWT Program gives teachers engineering experience alongside Navy engineers with $10,000 stipends.
• School District of PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary educational partner for delivering robotics programs to K-12 students across Philadelphia public schools. Coalition supports robotics programs serving Philadelphia public school students with grants, mentors, and workshops.
• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial FIRST partner supporting LEGO League Explore, LEGO League Challenge, FTC, and FRC programs. Provides season themes, competition frameworks, and program grants through FIRST Mid-Atlantic.
• Central High School RoboLancerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner organization. The award-winning robotics team conceived and incubated the Coalition in 2016. Provides mentorship, volunteer hours, and drives coalition efforts with thousands of hours annually mentoring teams and running events.
• FIRST Mid-AtlanticcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional FIRST organization supporting tournaments and championships. Coalition teams compete in FIRST Mid-Atlantic sponsored tournaments with chance to advance to championships.
• University of Pennsylvania GRASP LabsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition modeled after Penn's FLL In the City program. Daniel Miller-Uueda, former RoboLancers coach, coordinates Penn's program providing funding, mentorship, and team support to FLL teams.
• Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Shayne E. Moore serves as Senior Vice President of Information Systems, IT, and Facilities at PIDC.
• Drexel UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Youngmoo Kim, Vice Provost for University & Community Partnerships at Drexel, serves on Coalition Board.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): The national umbrella organization that operates the FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition programs that PRC delivers locally. PRC is an official FIRST partner; FIRST sets the curriculum, competition structure, and kit standards that PRC's programs are built on, making it the upstream platform peer.
• Code.org: National nonprofit promoting K-12 computer science education. Overlaps with PRC in K-12 STEM equity mission and competes for the same corporate CSR/STEM equity grant pools, though focused on broader CS rather than robotics.
• Project Lead the Way: Large national nonprofit providing STEM curricula and teacher training for K-12 schools, including computer science and engineering pathways. Competes with PRC for school-district partnerships, teacher training dollars, and corporate/CSR STEM equity funding.

Direct peers

• Citizen Schools: National nonprofit providing after-school enrichment and career-connected learning for middle-school students, with industry volunteer mentorship as a core model. Overlaps with PRC on after-school enrichment, volunteer mentor matching, and career pathway programming for under-resourced schools.
• REC Foundation (VEX Robotics): Operates the VEX IQ, VEX V5, and VEX U competition platforms as the principal FIRST competitor in school robotics. Comparable to PRC as a K-12 robotics competition and education platform, though structured as a national operator rather than a city-level coalition.
• Iridescent (Family STEAM Learning): National nonprofit delivering STEAM education and STEM equity programs for under-represented youth and their families. Comparable as a STEM equity nonprofit serving under-resourced communities, though operating nationally rather than at the city-coalition level.
• University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab - FLL In the City: Penn's FLL In the City program was the explicit model for PRC's formation and is led by former RoboLancers coach Daniel Miller-Uueda. Operates as a Philadelphia-based university-affiliated coalition funding and mentoring FLL teams — the closest peer by mission, geography, and program structure.
• Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy: CMU-affiliated program providing K-12 robotics curricula, teacher training, and competition support. Comparable as a STEM robotics education provider with teacher/coach training as a core offering, though operating at a university rather than city-coalition level.
• STEM Educational Institute: STEM education nonprofit previously led by PRC's current Executive Director Dr. Dia L. Jones; focused on replicating national STEM programs to increase underrepresented students in STEM locally. Closely comparable mission and operating model.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia: Regional youth-development nonprofit serving Philadelphia youth with after-school programming. Operates as a community-based delivery channel that competes with PRC for after-school slots and STEM program funding in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCX3GHSQC3-T3iv8gk1Hj6Ig
• Facebookfacebook.com/RoboticsCoalition
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/philadelphia-robotics-coalition
• Instagraminstagram.com/roboticscoalition
• Xx.com/robocoalition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Philadelphia Robotics Coalition