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Honeywell Grants $165,000 to Charlotte Robotics Teams

Honeywell Technologies is distributing $15,000 each to 11 local groups that sponsor FIRST robotics teams.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Robotics

Half-built wheeled robot chassis of brushed aluminum and black motors on a wooden workbench, with a large window behind showing a hazy city skyline.
Honeywell Technologies is distributing $165,000 in grants to 11 Charlotte-area groups sponsoring FIRST robotics teams through its new STEM Innovation Fund. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Charlotte-based Honeywell Technologies is providing $165,000 in grants to 11 local groups that sponsor FIRST robotics teams, as part of a new Honeywell STEM Innovation Fund. The Carolina Panthers and Tepper Sports & Entertainment also pledged $1,000 to First North Carolina for every 50 passing yards the team gains this season.

Why it matters

The grants are meant to help robotics teams compete at the highest levels, supporting student participation in science, technology, engineering and math programs. Competitions begin in March and run through the spring.

Honeywell's $165,000 is split across 11 groups at $15,000 each, supporting teams whose budgets are substantial; Avian Robotics alone runs an $85,000 budget this year. The Panthers' pledge scales with passing production, so the final donation amount depends on how many passing yards the team records this season.

The players

Honeywell Technologies

Honeywell Technologies is a Charlotte-based technology and manufacturing company that created the STEM Innovation Fund.

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are the National Football League franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ikem Ekwonu

Ikem Ekwonu is a tackle for the Carolina Panthers who visited the Honeywell robotics event.

The details

Honeywell is distributing the grants to groups sponsoring robotics teams that compete in FIRST local competitions. Six Charlotte-area robotics teams attended an event at Honeywell's headquarters, where Carolina Panthers tackle Ikem Ekwonu also appeared.

Timeline

  1. January: FIRST sets a robotics challenge for all teams.

  2. March: Robotics competitions begin.

  3. November 2, 2026: Honeywell announces the grants and hosts the robotics event.

Robotics

The grants support teams competing in FIRST, the nonprofit robotics competition program that sets an annual challenge for student teams each January. Corporate sponsorship of local FIRST teams, like Honeywell's new STEM Innovation Fund, adds funding to a program that depends heavily on community and industry support.

Students on the funded teams gain access to robotics competition resources and budgets that would otherwise be harder to secure. Families and students interested in joining FIRST teams can look to local sponsoring groups as the spring competition season approaches.

The takeaway

Corporate STEM funding is directly shaping which student robotics teams can afford to compete at high levels. Readers interested in STEM programs can watch local FIRST competitions this spring to see the results firsthand.

What happens next

Robotics competitions begin in March and run through the spring.

Further reading

Explore more Charlotte robotics coverage to see how local teams are competing this season.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Business North Carolina.

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