2025
Annual Report
Our inaugural year as a 501(c)(3) non-profit promoting STEAM education across Nebraska
Mission & Overview
gainingSTEAM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to celebrating the achievements of students working on robotics and related STEM activities throughout Nebraska. Through recognizing their achievements, we hope to encourage Nebraska's future in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
We engage students in grades K-8 with competitive robotics and hands-on learning through the VEX IQ Robotics Competition program, while also celebrating the educators, parents, mentors, and coaches that help these students grow.
Founded in late 2024, the 2025 season marked our first full year of operations. This report highlights what we accomplished — and where we're heading next.
Impact at a Glance
Tournament Support
In our inaugural year, gainingSTEAM supported 16 VEX Robotics Competition events, up from 12 in 2024 — a 33% increase in a single year.
Across 14 local tournaments and 2 national signature events, we coordinated volunteers, provided equipment, and ensured hundreds of students had a well-run competitive experience. Events spanned the Omaha metro area with venues in Omaha, Elkhorn, Papillion, and Ashland.
State Championship at SAC Museum
For the third consecutive year, we hosted the Nebraska VEX IQ State Championship at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland. After feedback from 2024 attendees, we made significant improvements to the experience:
- Rented stadium seating to improve the spectator experience ($2,000 investment)
- Added professional staging and PA systems for awards presentations ($500 investment)
- Secured a local sponsor, Buildertrend, to provide medals for every student who qualified for state
Growing to Meet Demand
Beyond hosting more tournaments, we increased the capacity of Middle School events. Originally capped at 24 teams per tournament, we proved we can scale up to 34 teams at most venues to accommodate growing participation across the state.
National Presence
gainingSTEAM members represented Nebraska at two national signature events:
- Brandon Petersen served as Judge Advisor at the Show Me Gateway VIQRC MS Signature Event in St. Louis
- Brandon and Tara Petersen assisted in judging at the Great Plains Signature Event
Team Mentoring
Supporting 71 teams across Nebraska, gainingSTEAM invested in growing the people and infrastructure behind the competitions — not just the events themselves.
Training & Development
We hosted 3 Head Referee training clinics and 2 Event Partner training clinics to build the skilled volunteer base needed to run high-quality tournaments. This investment in people directly enables our ability to scale.
Expanding Capacity
A major milestone this year was adding 3 new VEX IQ Event Partners to the Nebraska community. Event Partners are the backbone of tournament hosting — each new partner represents a significant investment in our long-term capacity to bring more competitions to more students across the state.
Growing the Community
We supported the addition of St. John Paul II Academy as a new robotics organization, and helped existing organizations expand with new teams. Whether it was troubleshooting technical issues, coaching strategy, or navigating the competition system, gainingSTEAM was always available to help coaches across the Nebraska VEX IQ community.
Community Impact
gainingSTEAM's impact goes beyond running tournaments — we're building an ecosystem where the entire Nebraska robotics community benefits.
Expanding Beyond Robotics
This year we hosted our first Math Night, expanding our reach beyond robotics to encourage the math skills of younger elementary and middle school students. The event was a success, engaging a large group of students and their families in hands-on learning.
Keeping Costs Low, Impact High
While gainingSTEAM charges $150 for tournament support, this fee is intentionally kept low so that hosting organizations can fully realize the fundraising potential of each event. Our model is designed to create a virtuous cycle with two goals:
- Keep tournament registration costs lower for the entire community
- Help hosting teams maximize fundraising to support their students and programs
This approach allows us to build the strongest robotics competition ecosystem we can — where the benefit is maximized across every organization, coach, and student in the community.
Practice Field Timer
At the US Open, we identified a growing issue with teams over-utilizing practice fields, leaving less time for others. In response, we built the Practice Field Timer — a lightweight tool that runs on a tablet or laptop near the field and automatically cycles through practice sessions so every team gets a fair shot.
The tool is easy to set up and freely available to any event organizer looking to improve practice field flow at their tournaments.
Our Volunteers
107 volunteers filled critical roles across our 16 events — and that doesn't count the coaches and mentors leading 71 teams across Nebraska.
Building the Leadership Pipeline
A key investment this year was growing our certified volunteer leadership. We trained 3 new Event Partners, expanding the number of organizations capable of independently hosting VEX IQ tournaments. Our area now has 9 Head Referees, most trained through our clinics, and 3 Judge Advisors in Nebraska.
For the State Championship, we recruited a fourth Judge Advisor, Keith Kramer, from Missouri to ensure an objective judging process at the premier VEX IQ event in Nebraska.
Roles That Make It Work
Behind every successful tournament are volunteers covering the roles that keep the event running:
- Team check-in and inspection
- Scorekeepers and referees
- Head Referees and Judge Advisors
- Judges for engineering notebooks and interviews
- Queuers and field delivery
- Tournament setup and teardown
- Emcee and event coordination
Volunteer Spotlight — Emily Wehling
At the Elkhorn Valley View tournament, Emily Wehling served as emcee, bringing energy, professionalism, and encouragement to the event. Emily is actively promoting a service initiative focused on empowering young women in STEM, aligning perfectly with the goals of youth robotics. A violinist and aspiring meteorologist, she represents Nebraska in the Miss Volunteer America system and uses her platform to advocate for leadership, service, and STEM opportunities for students.
Financial Summary
The State Championship is gainingSTEAM's largest annual event and the centerpiece of our financial operations. Below is a summary of actual costs and revenue for the 2025 Nebraska VEX IQ State Championship.
State Championship — Expenses
| Category | Actual Cost |
|---|---|
| Venue (SAC Museum) | $4,000 |
| Stadium Seating Rental | $2,000 |
| Awards & Medals | $1,150 |
| Concessions (cost of goods) | $1,200 |
| Welcome Bags for Teams | $600 |
| Stage & PA System | $500 |
| Event Operations & Supplies | $362 |
| Volunteer Meals | $350 |
| Total Expenses | $10,162 |
State Championship — Revenue
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Team Registration Fees (51 teams) | $4,335 |
| Google.org Event Support Grant | $4,000 |
| Concessions Revenue | $1,300 |
| Buildertrend Sponsorship (medals) | $1,000 |
| Equipment Rentals | $1,000 |
| Total Revenue | $11,635 |
Net position: +$1,473 — reinvested into equipment and future programming.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, gainingSTEAM is committed to transparent financial stewardship. Full financial statements are available upon request. This summary covers the State Championship only; additional fundraising from regular-season tournaments is not included.
Technology & Website
In 2025, we launched gainingsteam.net as our digital home, built with modern web technologies to serve our community:
- Event calendar with competition, training, and student camp schedules
- Blog for sharing news and celebrating student achievements
- Practice timer tool for robotics teams
- Building a volunteer management system to streamline event coordination
Looking Ahead to 2026
Building on our inaugural year, we're expanding our impact in 2026:
- Launch summer STEAM camps for students
- Expand tournament support across more of Nebraska
- Deploy the volunteer management system for seamless event coordination
- Grow our training and development programs for coaches and mentors
- Deepen partnerships with schools and community organizations
Get Involved
Help us grow our impact in 2026 and beyond.