What happens to our money if the team folds or leaves?
Last verified October 18, 2026
The balance never comes back to the team or to any person as cash. After fees and costs are settled, the Foundation moves it, and any equipment, to a public charity, public school or school district your team names within 90 days, once the Foundation approves it. If nobody is named, it goes to the Foundation's own charitable and educational work.
Leaving on purpose
Your team can end the agreement with 30 days' written notice (Section 18.3). Email contact@robotics-catalyst.org, the notice address in Section 19.1. If you're leaving because of a fee increase or a material policy change, the 30-day wait doesn't apply.
The Foundation can also end it: right away for a material breach, misuse of funds, conduct that puts its tax status or reputation at risk, or a team that stops operating, and otherwise with 60 days' notice (Section 18.2).
Where the money goes
Section 18.4 sets the order:
- The Foundation deducts any unpaid fees, third-party costs and amounts the team owes it.
- Your team has 90 days to name a Qualified Successor that will hold the money for purposes that match what donors gave it for.
- If the Foundation approves it, the remaining balance and equipment go there.
- If nobody is named and approved in that time, the Foundation applies them to its own charitable and educational purposes, consistent with donor intent.
A Qualified Successor is either a 501(c)(3) public charity (not a private foundation) or a government body, which includes a public school district, public school, or public college or university. Many teams pick their own school or district.
Money and equipment can never go to the team itself, to a person, or to any organisation that doesn't qualify.
Equipment
Robots, tools and anything else bought with program money belong to the Foundation and never become the team's or a member's property (Section 10.3). They follow the same Section 18.4 route as the money. The Foundation will work with you to find a successor, such as your school, that lets the team keep using them.
What changes in Robolyst
When sponsorship ends, the Account page shows Sponsorship withdrawn.
- Every card is cancelled and every cardholder deactivated.
- Grants and allowances end.
- Recurring donations are cancelled, and the donation page stops taking gifts.
- The ledger, history and remaining balance are kept, so the final payments can still be settled.
Your team also has to stop saying it's sponsored by the Foundation or can take tax-deductible gifts through it, and remove those statements from its website, social media and printed materials (Section 11.2).
A team whose sponsorship was withdrawn can apply again from the same page.
If your team leader leaves
That isn't the end of the agreement. When the signing team leader graduates or steps down, the team names a successor, who signs a joinder to the agreement in a form the Foundation provides. A parent co-signs if the successor is under 18 (Section 16.6). Spending can be paused until that's done, so email the Foundation as soon as you know.