Donation Request

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OUR MISSION

Improve and enrich the lives of families and children

OUR FOCUS

Our giving priorities include supporting programs or organizations in the areas of healthcare, housing, hunger, and education, especially those serving women and children. Our giving takes place throughout the United States where we operate stores, distribution centers, and our corporate office.

WHAT WE FUND

Support is provided in the form of monetary gifts, gift cards, and merchandise in-kind. Significant partnership projects and capital requests are by invitation only.

Big Lots Foundation expects requests from 501(c)3 public nonprofit organizations only. Requests from individuals, families, and other sources will not be accepted.

We receive a very high volume of requests. Only the most competitive of those will be considered. Fewer will be funded.

At minimum, nonprofits requesting support from Big Lots must:

• Be a 501(c)3 public nonprofit charity as sanctioned by the IRS;
• Serve areas where we operate stores (across the United States), distribution centers (Columbus, OH, Tremont, PA, Durant, OK, Montgomery, AL, Rancho Cucamonga, CA), or our corporate office (Columbus, Ohio);
• Not exhibit discriminatory behavior or practices

Big Lots Foundation will consider requests from organizations:

Healthcare

• Improving healthcare through research and education
• Providing preventative education and care
• Providing affordable, critical medical care

Housing

• Preventing families or individuals from losing their housing
• Providing affordable, stable housing
• Providing emergency shelter for families and individuals

Hunger

• Providing nutritious food or meals
• Providing emergency food assistance
• Educating families or individuals about the importance of healthy eating

Education

• Providing service-learning curriculum that aligns with education standards
• Promoting servant leadership through academic and experiential learning
• Improving classroom learning outcomes through innovation

Priority is given to projects that:

• Have a Big Lots associate involved as a board member, board committee member, or key volunteer;
• Support needy families, helping them transition from poverty to self-sufficiency;
• Come from organizations with strong fiscal management and board member commitment and involvement.

Note: Gifts outside of this criterion are considered on a case-by-case basis. For instance, grant awards for environmental causes, diversity, or the arts.

WHAT WE DO NOT FUND

• Organizations that are not 501(c)3 public charities
• Individuals, for any purpose (e.g. hardship, illness, scholarship)
• Political candidates, committees, or organizations
• Athletes, teams, sporting events or tournaments of any kind
• Fraternal, labor, social, or veterans organizations
• Churches and religious sectarian organizations, with the exception of those that have an outreach program that benefits the whole community
• Non-academic educational activities such as bands, choirs, proms, after-proms, graduations, etc.
• Individual K-12 schools and public service agencies such as police and fire departments
• Organizations that spend more than 20% of their revenue on overhead and fundraising costs
• Organizations that discriminate against people on the basis of age, race, creed, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, or national origin
• Staff positions for government agencies
• Requests to fund publications, or audio or video productions, unless they serve as supporting materials to a project within our focus
• Requests to support travel for groups or individuals when that is the primary reason for the proposal

FAQ

Does Big Lots have a charitable giving program?
Yes. Giving back to our communities is an important company value. The company and our associates have a long history of sharing that belief. The Big Lots Foundation was created in December 2014 to amplify and augment this important work.

The Big Lots Foundation provides support to registered, non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations that fit within our philanthropic focus and meet our guidelines. A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is a tax-exempt charitable organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Service.

What type of support do you provide?
Support is provided in the form of monetary gifts, gift cards, and merchandise in-kind. In addition, Big Lots associates volunteer thousands of hours in the community.

What is the focus of the Big Lots Foundation?
Big Lots Foundation directs its support to nonprofit programs or organizations with a focus on healthcare, housing, hunger and education.

Who do you support?
Big Lots Foundation accepts requests ONLY from 501(c)3 public nonprofit organizations where we operate stores, distribution centers or our corporate office. Priority is given to projects that have a Big Lots associate actively involved. Requests from individuals, families, and other sources will not be accepted.

What do you NOT support?

• Organizations that are not 501(c)3 public charities
• Individuals, for any purpose (e.g. hardship, illness, scholarship)
• Political candidates, committees, or organizations
• Athletes, teams, sporting events or tournaments of any kind, including charity golf tournaments
• Fraternal, labor, social, or veterans organizations
• Churches and religious sectarian organizations, with the exception of those that have an outreach program that benefits the whole community
• Non-academic educational activities such as bands, choirs, proms, after-proms, graduations, etc.
• Individual K-12 schools and public service agencies such as police and fire departments
• Organizations that spend more than 20% of their revenue on overhead and fundraising costs
• Organizations that discriminate against people on the basis of age, race, creed, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin
• Staff positions for government agencies
• Requests to fund publications, or audio or video productions, unless they serve as supporting materials to a project within our focus
• Requests to support travel for groups or individuals when that is the primary reason for the proposal

How do we apply for financial support?
Before submitting an application via our online application portal, please review the Giving Guidelines to assess whether your organization meets our criteria. After reviewing our guidelines, have your charitable tax ID/EIN number ready to submit your request via the application portal.

Please note that we have two grant request deadlines per year. Complete grant applications submitted online will only be considered by the deadlines provided.

Please be aware that the Spring Cycle has closed and the Fall Cycle closes on 7/1/2021.

Spring - Summer Request deadline: January 1 at Midnight PST
Organizations will be notified of their application status in May of that year.

Fall - Winter Request deadline: July 1 at Midnight PST
Organizations will be notified of their application status in November of that year.

Please note: Faxed, mailed or emailed requests will not be considered.

How do we request an in-kind donation?
Because demand for in-kind donations outweighs our resources, we will consider a limited number of donation requests to nonprofit partners for auction or fundraising raffle items or for bulk merchandise donations to eligible nonprofits directly serving neighbors in need. Priority is given to organizations that align with our giving areas and have a Big Lots associate involved as an active volunteer, board member or committee member. Organizations may only request one in-kind donation per calendar year, submitting an application via the online application portal.

Please note, we request your information to assist our philanthropy team to connect with you about your request for donations. To learn more or to control how we collect, use, and process your information, please visit our Privacy Policy.