If you’ve been wondering about the name, here’s the breakdown.
The Forgotten Coast
The Forgotten Coast is the stretch of unspoiled Florida Gulf coastline running roughly from St. Marks down to Mexico Beach — the southern edge of the Panhandle, mostly Franklin County and Gulf County, with a handful of small towns and barrier islands strung along the bay. The communities our team draws from include:
- Carrabelle
- Apalachicola
- Eastpoint
- St. George Island
- Port St. Joe
- Mexico Beach
- Wewahitchka
- Cape San Blas
- … and any of the other small communities along the Forgotten Coast.
That said, we’re not strictly limited by geography. Some members participate from out of town entirely — joining meetings via Zoom, contributing to engineering documents and code remotely, and meeting up in person only at competitions. If you want to be on the team and you’re willing to put in the work, where you live is rarely a deal-breaker.
Why “Alliance”?
Because we’re thinking past one team.
Right now, our alliance has one FTC team. But the long-term plan is to grow into multiple teams under the same umbrella. A second FTC team in the same season costs roughly $2,000–$4,000 for the robot itself, plus the people-power to support it. That isn’t in the cards for our first season — but it’s realistic for year two or year three.
We’d also love to sponsor a FIRST LEGO League Challenge team — ages 9–14 (Grades 4–8 in the US) — if a mentor is willing to step up to lead one. FLL Challenge is the natural feeder program for FTC, and bringing one to the Forgotten Coast would let kids start the FIRST journey years earlier than they can today.
So: Alliance, because what we’re building is bigger than a single robot.
Incorporation & 501(c)(3) plans
We intend to incorporate the Forgotten Coast Robotics Alliance as a Florida LLC and register as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. There are two big practical reasons:
- Tax-deductible donations. Once the 501(c)(3) is approved, every dollar a corporate sponsor gives us is tax-deductible to them. That makes the ask easier and the donations more generous.
- Liability insurance. Some meeting locations — schools, libraries, community centers — require any group meeting on their property to carry liability insurance. Some competitive events require a sponsoring organization with insurance, too. Insurance for a small youth non-profit is reasonable at roughly $600 per year, but it’s much easier to obtain (and easier to keep affordable) when the umbrella is a registered non-profit rather than a private group of parents.
These aren’t day-one concerns. They’re foundational ones. The earlier we have the structure in place, the easier every fundraising conversation, every meeting-space conversation, and every event registration becomes.
In short
We’re the Forgotten Coast Robotics Alliance because:
- We’re rooted in this stretch of unspoiled Florida coast.
- We welcome members from anywhere willing to put in the work.
- We’re building a structure that can grow to support multiple teams — FTC, FLL, and whoever’s next.
- We’re going to do this the legitimate way, with a real non-profit underneath it.
Small region. Big ambitions. That’s what the name is about.