Robonation delivers educational programs in robotics, autonomy, and related technologies through student competitions, hands-on learning resources, and educator support. These programs provide applied stem learning experiences for students from elementary through higher education, developing technical, problem-solving, and teamwork skills aligned with workforce needs. Through this work, Robonation increases awareness of education and career pathways and contributes to the development of a future workforce in engineering, skilled trades, and technology fields.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
72¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$446K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $78K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
72%
of spending
Fine: 72% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$446K
to officers and key staff · 14% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 14% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $2.7M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 0.6 months of spending in cash, plus $2.7M in investments.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $100K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$849K
23% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 23% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 7 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.9M
+26% vs prior year
Spent
$3.2M
To programs
72%
Net assets
$2.8M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$2.9M
FY2021▲ +26%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.3M
FY2021$2.9M
FY2022$5.1M
FY2023$5.0M
FY2024$5.6M
FY2025$5.3M
Expenses
$3.2M
FY2021▲ +17%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.8M
FY2021$3.2M
FY2022$5.2M
FY2023$4.5M
FY2024$5.5M
FY2025$5.3M
Net assets
$2.8M
FY2021▼ -0.9%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.8M
FY2021$2.8M
FY2022$2.4M
FY2023$3.3M
FY2024$3.9M
FY2025$4.1M

From the FY2021 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2017.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 72% · $2.3M Management & general 26% · $831K Fundraising 2% · $78K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

11 people listed on the 990; $446K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$164,581Pt VII · Sec A
Strategy and Marketing Director
$117,704Pt VII · Sec A
Program Director
$105,595Pt VII · Sec A
Finance Director (until 07/2021)
$58,346Pt VII · Sec A
Board of Trustees
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board of Trustees
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board of Trustees
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Daryl Davidson’s $196K as President and CEO is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Daryl Davidson$195,992$180,949$176,260$175,704$164,581$162,199
Lindsey Groark$141,248$135,722$130,519$118,068$105,595—
Kyle Walker—$137,102$130,853———
Janelle Curtis———$115,682$117,704$110,311
Richard E Quest$114,708—————
Norma Floriza————$58,346$106,449
Rick Quest—$104,629————

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Robonation INC is an education nonprofit based in Arlington, VA, formed in 1992.

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Provided by the organization

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2 programs · $2.3M · in their own filed words · FY2021
01

Education

Conducted activities to promote awareness of and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) among students in grades k-12, with emphasis on fostering interest in careers in robotics.

$1.5Mprogram expense
02

Student Competitions

Sponsored and supported competitions in which teams of college, high school, and middle school students from various countries designed, built and operated unmanned and remotely operated vehicles to achieve specified performance and mission goals.

$834Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Lukis FoundationFY2024$100K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$100K
Grants paid · 6 grants · $91K · 2020–2025
Sepdac INCGA · FY2025$15,000
Sepdac INCGA · FY2022$15,000
Sepdac INCGA · FY2021$15,000
Team InspirationFY2020$5,800

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.9M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.7M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$38K
Money outPt IX
$3.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.3M
Managementcol C$831K
Fundraisingcol D$78K
Owns and owesPt X
$2.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$152K
Total assetsLn 16$3.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$849K
PeoplePt VI, VII
11
listed · VII A
PaidVII A4
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.7M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.6M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$38K
Total revenueLn 12$2.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$18K
SavingsLn 2$134K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$152K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$3.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$849K
Net assetsLn 32$2.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 521
VolunteersI 612
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$380K$152K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.3M$2.7M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$510$0
Total assetsLn 16$3.1M$3.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$299K$849K
Net assetsLn 32$2.8M$2.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$28K$28K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$11K$11K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$231K$82K$148K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$762K$536K$169K$57K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$42K$27K$11K$4K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$62K$13K$48K$1K
Payroll taxesLn 10$78K$47K$26K$5K
Legal feesLn 11b$5K$5K
Accounting feesLn 11c$64K$64K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$567K$436K$130K
Office expensesLn 13$28K$14K$13K$2K
Information technologyLn 14$199K$60K$136K$3K
OccupancyLn 16$24K$3K$21K
TravelLn 17$19K$3K$15K$1K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$186K$173K$9K$4K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$510$510
InsuranceLn 23$23K$277$22K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$901K$895K$7K
All other expensesLn 24e$8K$925$7K$526
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.2M$2.3M$831K$78K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $5.3M$5.3M−$20K$4.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $5.6M$5.5M$58K$3.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $5.0M$4.5M$446K$3.3M 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.1M$5.2M−$122K$2.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $2.9M$3.2M−$345K$2.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.3M$2.8M−$482K$2.8M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support F · Foreign J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,892,651 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,420,391$1,665,823
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $868,907$1,209,325
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $5,663$37,550
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0−$20,047
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $2,294,961$2,892,651
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $38,800$38,505
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,247,618$1,174,046
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,490,928$2,025,576
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,777,346$3,238,127
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$482,385−$345,476
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members7
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,892,651 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$1,585,177
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$80,646
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,665,823
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,209,325$1,209,325
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $37,550$37,550
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax −$20,047−$20,047
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,209,325 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $17,503$2,892,651
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,238,127 across 19 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $27,805$27,805
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $10,700$10,700
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $82,400 · Management $148,304$230,704
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $535,627 · Management $169,288 · Fundraising $57,374$762,289
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $27,166 · Management $10,827 · Fundraising $3,572$41,565
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $12,789 · Management $47,865 · Fundraising $1,202$61,856
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $47,285 · Management $25,781 · Fundraising $4,566$77,632
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $4,882$4,882
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $64,288$64,288
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $436,349 · Management $130,278$566,627
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $13,519 · Management $12,663 · Fundraising $2,094$28,276
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $59,929 · Management $136,316 · Fundraising $2,777$199,022
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,098 · Management $20,917$24,015
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,101 · Management $14,975 · Fundraising $1,283$19,359
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $173,421 · Management $8,700 · Fundraising $4,343$186,464
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $510$510
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $277 · Management $22,283$22,560
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $894,969 · Management $6,513$901,482
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $925 · Management $6,640 · Fundraising $526$8,091
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,329,360 · Management $831,030 · Fundraising $77,737$3,238,127
Part X · Balance sheet $3,648,286 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $158,569$17,576
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $221,251$134,379
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $272,904$515,663
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $132,938$167,991
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $62,559$129,537
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $510$0
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $2,274,766$2,683,140
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $3,123,497$3,648,286
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $254,227$422,934
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $43,244$7,500
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payable$207,671
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,941$210,792
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $299,412$848,897
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $2,824,085$2,799,389
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,824,085$2,799,389
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $3,123,497$3,648,286
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,799,389 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,892,651
XI-2 Total expenses$3,238,127
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$345,476
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,824,085
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$383,953
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$63,173
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,799,389

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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