Grants for school, college, and university drone programs.
Four funding streams have built drone programs at high schools, community colleges, and universities. Here is what each has actually paid for, and how to put a compliant fleet in the budget.
| Program | Administered by | Who applies | What it has funded | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perkins V (Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act) | US Department of Education, through state CTE offices | Secondary and postsecondary CTE programs | Aircraft, flight labs, instructor training, Part 107 preparation inside approved pathways | Annual state allocations; local plans |
| NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) | National Science Foundation | Two-year colleges, often with partners | Technician education projects; 21 colleges funded for drone programs since 2008, awards in the $288,000 to $346,000 range recently | Annual competitive solicitation |
| FAA workforce development grants | Federal Aviation Administration | Universities and partners | Educator training and Part 107 instruction delivered to students | Competitive, periodic |
| State workforce and CTE equipment funds | State education and workforce agencies | Schools, colleges, training providers | Equipment for in-demand occupations; drone pathways qualify in many states | Varies by state |
Matching the program to the purchase
- A high school or CTE flight lab: Perkins V through the district's local plan, with the aircraft tied to an approved pathway.
- A community college program: NSF ATE for the program and curriculum, with equipment inside the project budget; Perkins for the lab itself.
- A university course or educator pipeline: FAA workforce grants, and the university's own equipment funds.
- Any of the above replacing a DJI fleet: the universities page prices a ten-aircraft lab and the replacement guide for training programs lays out the sequence.
What people get wrong
They budget one aircraft per student and nothing for crashes. A teaching fleet is consumed; spare arms, motors, and batteries belong in the grant budget, and a printer turns part of that line into a curriculum. Reviewers respond to cost per trained student, which spares improve more than anything else.
The budget line
A Corvin complete kit is $2,999: airframe, handheld FPV monitor, and remote controller, built in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without Section 889 covered components. Detachable arms and 3D-printable frame parts make it the trainer students are allowed to break. EnCor provides a written component-origin statement and a line-item quote for any application. To find the open cycle for your institution and prepare the application, use Quillify.
Questions buyers ask
Can Perkins V money buy drones?
Yes, where the purchase supports an approved career and technical education pathway. Schools and colleges have used Perkins funds for aircraft, flight labs, instructor training, and Part 107 preparation inside pathways such as engineering, agriculture, and public safety. Your state CTE office sets the local rules.
What does NSF ATE fund?
Advanced Technological Education grants to two-year colleges for technician education, including drone programs. Recent awards include $345,647 to Harper College for uncrewed aerial systems in biological monitoring and $288,318 to Warren County Community College for a counter-UAS program. Equipment can be part of a funded project; the grant funds the program, not a purchase on its own.
Is there FAA money for drone training?
FAA workforce development grants have funded universities to train educators and deliver Part 107 instruction to students. They are competitive and program-shaped rather than equipment-shaped.
Does grant-funded equipment need to be NDAA-compliant?
If federal money is involved, federal funds cannot buy covered foreign-made aircraft since December 22, 2025. State funds follow state rules, and several states restrict foreign drones too. Buying compliant removes the question.
What does a grant-sized teaching fleet cost?
Ten Corvin complete kits are $29,990; with spare arms, motors, and batteries a ten-aircraft lab is about $42,190. CorCommand Training at $2,400 a year adds fleet, pilot, and flight records for the program. Full arithmetic is on the universities page.
- Community College Daily, "Drone program flies high with new NSF ATE grant", 2026-08.
- Harper College, "Harper receives National Science Foundation grant for expanding drone technology education", 2023.
- Ohio State University College of Engineering, "FAA workforce grant provides funding for drone pilot training", 2024-05.
- National Center for Autonomous Technology, "Starting a Drone Program", accessed 2026-09-05.
Quick reference
- Perkins V: state CTE office, equipment inside a pathway
- NSF ATE: two-year colleges, program grants
- FAA workforce grants: universities, educator training
- State CTE and workforce funds: varies
- Federal money: compliant aircraft only
- All grant guides · Training programs