Companies that donate to nonprofits: donation requests, companies that donate to schools and corporate giving programs
Search for companies that donate to nonprofits and you get a wall of logos with no amounts, no dates and no mention of the rules that decide whether you can apply at all. The useful version of this page is shorter and far more specific. Five large US retailers run the corporate giving programs that local nonprofits actually reach, the published awards run from $250 to $100,000, and the differences that matter are not the headline numbers. Two of the five will not pay you cash. One of the five cannot be applied to at all. And every one of them pushes the decision down to a store near you rather than a head office in Bentonville or Minneapolis.
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In short
Companies that donate to nonprofits in the United States mostly do it through a named corporate giving program with published amounts and fixed application windows. The five largest retail programs are Walmart Spark Good Local Grants at $250 to $5,000, Target community giving at roughly $1,000 to $15,000, Kroger Co. Foundation Community Grants at $1,000 to $5,000, The Home Depot Foundation Community Impact Grants of up to $5,000 paid in Home Depot gift cards, and Lowe’s Hometowns at $10,000 to $100,000 delivered as a renovation project rather than a check. Most require 501(c)(3) status, most are tied to the service area of one specific local store, and none of them will pay an operating cost such as salaries, rent, insurance or utilities. That recurring gap is what local business sponsorship covers, and on Sponsorships you publish your audience and packages and the sponsor pays you directly, with 0% commission taken.
Last updated September 2026
$250 to $100,000
the published range of awards across the five largest US retail corporate giving programs
3 of 5
of those programs actually pay cash. The other two award store gift cards or a renovation
0%
commission on sponsorship, so a $2,500 local sponsor is $2,500 in your account
Why direct
Companies that donate, without the middleman
The money is local, even when the logo is national
This is the fact that reframes the whole search. Walmart does not award its local grants from a national committee: you apply to a specific store or club, and the program requires that your organization serve the same service area that the facility you are requesting funding from serves. Kroger Co. Foundation Community Grants work the same way, funding nonprofits that serve Kroger communities. The practical consequence is that "companies that donate to nonprofits" really means the handful of stores within a few miles of your address, and the store manager and market leader matter more to your application than any corporate contact page. It also means a national list of fifty logos is close to useless unless you first check which of those companies actually operates a location in your service area.
Two of the five biggest programs cannot write you a check
Read the form of the award before you read the amount, because it decides what the money can do. The Home Depot Foundation Community Impact Grants award up to $5,000, but the award arrives as Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools, materials or services, and the project has to be completed within six months of approval. Lowe’s Hometowns carries the largest number on this page at $10,000 to $100,000, and it is not a cash grant either: Lowe’s selects up to 100 projects a year and delivers a physical renovation of a community space, carried out with Lowe’s associates and community volunteers. Both are genuinely valuable if you have a building or a field to fix. Neither one can cover a payroll run, and a board that budgets a Lowe’s award as revenue will be wrong about its cash position all year.
The largest cash program on the list is invitation only
Target runs the biggest published cash range of the five, roughly $1,000 to $15,000 across its community giving and foundation funding, aimed at areas including basic needs and youth development, community vitalization and green spaces, and creative and cultural programs. The part that most lists leave out is that these grants are by invitation, with priority given to programs already aligned to Target focus areas. There is no open front door you can push on. Schools additionally need a National Center for Education Statistics number, applications run in two narrow cycles, an organization may hold a maximum of 10 applications at any time, and the same program cannot be submitted in both cycles of a year. So Target belongs on your relationship list, not on your application list, and the work that gets you invited is local visibility rather than a better written form.
Corporate donations buy things. Sponsorship pays for the year.
Do the ceiling arithmetic once and the strategy becomes obvious. If a single organization won every cash program on this page in the same year, that is roughly $5,000 from Walmart, up to $15,000 from Target and $5,000 from Kroger, so about $25,000 at an absolute maximum, and one of those three cannot be applied for. Realistically most local nonprofits land one award between $250 and $5,000. Every dollar of it is restricted to a project, a purchase or a build, because that is what corporate giving programs are designed to fund. What none of them touch is the recurring cost of existing: staff, rent, utilities, insurance, software, program delivery and the fundraising work itself. That money comes from donors, earned revenue and local business sponsorship, and sponsorship is the only one of the three a company will renew every year for a marketing reason rather than a charitable one.
How it works
From listed to paid in four steps
Get your legal status and your verification settled before any window opens
Verification is the step that quietly costs organizations a cycle. Walmart requires you to hold a Spark Good account and be verified through Deed, its third party verification provider, before an application counts. The Home Depot Foundation expects a 501(c) organization recognized and in good standing with the IRS for at least one year, and it also accepts tax exempt public service agencies such as police and fire departments. Target requires schools and colleges to supply an NCES number. None of this is difficult, but all of it takes calendar time you will not have once a cycle opens. Do it in a quiet month, keep your IRS determination letter and your most recent financial statements in one folder, and you can file inside a window instead of watching one close.
Pick the store, not the company
Because the local programs are facility based, your first task is a map exercise rather than a writing exercise. List every Walmart store and Sam’s Club, every Kroger banner store, every Home Depot and every Lowe’s whose service area plausibly covers the people you serve. That list is your actual funder list. Walmart lets an organization hold up to 25 applications in pending or approved status at any one time and will not accept a repeat application to the same facility inside the same fiscal year, so spreading requests across several nearby facilities is not just allowed, it is how the program is designed to be used. Introduce yourself to the store before you apply if you can, because these decisions are made by people who can see your work from the parking lot.
Put every window on one calendar and work backwards from it
The windows are narrow and they do not line up with each other. Walmart runs three cycles, published for its 2027 fiscal year as February 1 to April 15, May 1 to July 15, and August 1 to November 30. Target ran two cycles in 2026, April 6 to May 6 with decisions in July, and August 3 to September 3 with decisions in November. Lowe’s opened its 2026 Hometowns nominations from February 18 to March 20. The Home Depot Foundation runs closer to rolling windows. One more detail worth knowing: Walmart cycles begin on February 1 because the Walmart fiscal year begins on February 1, so the "same fiscal year" in its no repeat rule means February through January, not the calendar year. A decline in January and a fresh application in February are two different years.
Run local sponsorship alongside the applications, all twelve months
Grant windows open twice or three times a year and most applications are declined. Sponsorship has no window, no income test and no nonprofit requirement, and the same local businesses that sit on your corporate giving map already buy advertising. Publish what a sponsor gets rather than asking for a donation: your audience size, the signage, the newsletter placement, the event mention, the jersey or the banner, each with a price attached. Approach the businesses whose customers are your people, which usually means restaurants, dentists and orthodontists, urgent care, banks and credit unions, real estate offices, car dealerships, hardware stores and home service contractors. This is the column that covers the operating cost no grant on this page will touch.
The numbers
Named US corporate giving programs, with published amounts and how each one pays
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| Program | Published amount | Cash or in kind | Who is eligible | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart Spark Good Local Grants | $250 to $5,000 per award | Cash | 501(c)(3) public charities, government entities, K-12 public and nonprofit private schools, charter schools, colleges and universities, and faith based organizations running community benefit projects. You apply to a specific store or club and must serve that facility service area | Three cycles, published for fiscal 2027 as Feb 1 to Apr 15, May 1 to Jul 15 and Aug 1 to Nov 30. Maximum 25 applications pending or approved at any time, and no repeat to the same facility in the same fiscal year |
| Target community giving and Target Foundation | Roughly $1,000 to $15,000 | Cash | 501(c)(3) public charities and schools including K-12 public and nonprofit private, charter, community and junior colleges and universities, which need an NCES number. Grants are by invitation, with priority for programs aligned to Target focus areas | Two cycles in 2026, Apr 6 to May 6 with decisions in July and Aug 3 to Sep 3 with decisions in November. Maximum 10 applications at any time and the same program cannot be entered in both cycles |
| Kroger Co. Foundation Community Grants | $1,000 to $5,000 | Cash | Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations serving Kroger communities, with a focus on building stronger communities and addressing hunger | Administered locally through Kroger divisions and banner stores |
| The Home Depot Foundation Community Impact Grants | Up to $5,000 | In kind. Paid as Home Depot gift cards for tools, materials or services | 501(c) designated organizations recognized and in good standing with the IRS for at least one year, plus tax exempt public service agencies such as police and fire departments, in the US | Rolling or periodic funding windows. The funded project must be completed within six months of approval |
| Lowe’s Hometowns community impact grants | $10,000 to $100,000 | A completed renovation project rather than a cash payment | Nonprofit organizations and municipal government agencies in the US, for the physical improvement or renovation of a community space such as a food pantry, senior center, youth club, shelter, park or historic theater | A single annual nomination window, opened for 2026 from Feb 18 to Mar 20. Lowe’s selects up to 100 projects a year |
Amounts, cycles and eligibility are as published by each company in September 2026 and are not offers or commitments. Corporate giving programs are revised between fiscal years and several of these were renamed recently, so confirm every figure on the company site before you budget against it. Sponsorships is not affiliated with any company listed and does not administer grants or donations.
Who it is for
Who books companies that donate here
Local nonprofit directors and development staff
You are the intended applicant for every program on this page, and your advantage is that you already hold the 501(c)(3) determination letter and the financial statements the applications ask for. Spend your first hour on the map rather than the prose: find the Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Home Depot and Lowe’s locations inside your service area, since those facilities are your real funders. Then be honest with your board about what the money can do. A $5,000 restricted award for a project is a good year on this page, and it will not move your operating budget, so keep a sponsorship track running for the salaries, rent and insurance that no corporate giving program funds.
School fundraisers, PTAs and booster clubs
Schools are explicitly eligible almost everywhere here, which is unusual and worth using. Walmart names K-12 public and nonprofit private schools, charter schools, colleges and universities among its eligible applicants, and Target extends to schools that can supply an NCES number. The Home Depot route is a strong fit for a specific build such as a courtyard, a garden, a press box or a shade structure, because the gift card award covers exactly the tools and materials that kind of project needs. What none of it covers is transportation, officials, entry fees or coaching stipends, which is why school booster funding is usually a mix of a project grant, a local sponsor list and family fundraising rather than any single source.
Youth league boards and community event organizers
Your funding problem is almost entirely operating cost, and that is the one thing corporate giving programs are written to avoid. A Walmart local grant can buy a set of nets, a scoreboard or a first aid station. It cannot pay umpires, field rental, insurance or background checks, and neither can any other program listed above. Treat the corporate applications as a way to fund the capital list you keep deferring, then build a proper sponsor sheet with named assets and published prices for the recurring costs. Local businesses buy sponsorship out of a marketing budget, they renew it annually when they get what they paid for, and unlike a grant cycle it is available in every month of the year.
Questions
Companies that donate to nonprofits questions people ask
What companies donate to nonprofits?
The US companies with the largest published giving programs local nonprofits can reach are Walmart, through Spark Good Local Grants of $250 to $5,000, Target, through community giving of roughly $1,000 to $15,000, the Kroger Co. Foundation at $1,000 to $5,000, The Home Depot Foundation at up to $5,000 in gift cards, and Lowe’s, through Hometowns renovation projects of $10,000 to $100,000. Beyond those, most large grocery, hardware, banking and utility companies run some form of local giving or in kind donation program administered by the individual store, branch or regional office rather than by a national office.
How do I get a company to donate to my nonprofit?
Confirm you are eligible, then apply to a specific local facility inside its published window. In practice that means holding current 501(c)(3) status, completing any required verification such as a Walmart Spark Good account verified through Deed, identifying the individual stores whose service area covers the people you serve, and submitting during one of the two or three annual cycles. Ask for a defined project with a real number rather than general support, because almost every corporate program funds projects and purchases and declines requests for operating costs.
What companies donate to schools?
Walmart, Target, The Home Depot and Lowe’s all fund schools directly. Walmart lists K-12 public and nonprofit private schools, charter schools, colleges and universities as eligible for Spark Good Local Grants of $250 to $5,000. Target funds schools that can provide an NCES number. The Home Depot Foundation grants of up to $5,000 arrive as gift cards, which suits a build such as a garden, courtyard or shade structure. Lowe’s funds larger renovations of community spaces. Many national retailers also run separate teacher and classroom programs, and local grocery chains commonly run register round up and community rewards programs schools can enroll in.
How do I write a donation request for a nonprofit organization?
Lead with the specific thing you want funded and its cost, not with your history. A corporate reviewer needs four things quickly: what the project is, exactly how much it needs, how many people in that store service area it reaches, and proof you are eligible, which usually means your 501(c)(3) determination letter and a simple budget. Keep it to one page, name the amount in the first two sentences, tie the project to one of the company published focus areas, and say what the company gets by name, whether that is recognition on signage, in a program or at an event.
Do companies match employee donations to nonprofits?
Many large employers do, through corporate matching gift programs that match an employee gift to an eligible nonprofit, commonly at a one to one ratio up to an annual cap per employee. Matching gifts are one of the most underclaimed sources in the sector because the employee has to file the match, not the nonprofit. The practical step is to ask your existing donors where they work and to add a single line to your thank you email asking them to check whether their employer matches, since the money is already committed and the match costs the donor nothing.
How much do companies donate to nonprofits?
For a typical local nonprofit the realistic figure from a retail corporate giving program is a single award between $250 and $5,000. The larger published numbers are tied to a specific form: Target reaches roughly $15,000 but is invitation only, and Lowe’s Hometowns reaches $100,000 but arrives as a completed renovation rather than money. Even an organization that won every open cash program on this page in one year would total roughly $25,000, which is why corporate grants generally fund a project list and not an operating budget.
Do you need 501(c)(3) status to get a corporate donation?
For most of the named programs, yes or close to it. Walmart accepts 501(c)(3) public charities alongside government entities, schools and faith based organizations running community benefit projects. The Home Depot Foundation accepts 501(c) organizations in good standing with the IRS for at least a year plus tax exempt public service agencies. Kroger and Target both work from 501(c)(3) status. If your group is unincorporated, the usual routes are to apply through a school, a parks department or a church, or to find an established nonprofit willing to act as a fiscal sponsor.
Can a company sponsor my nonprofit instead of donating?
Yes, and for recurring costs it is usually the better ask. A donation comes from a charitable budget, is normally one time, is restricted to a project and carries no obligation to repeat. A sponsorship comes from a marketing budget, buys defined benefits such as logo placement, event presence, naming or an audience mention, and renews annually when the sponsor gets what they paid for. Sponsorship also has no 501(c)(3) requirement and no application window. Most stable community organizations run both: grants and donations for capital and projects, sponsorship for the operating cost of the year.
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