Big Lots Foundation Grants

From Big Lots Foundation

Improve and enrich the lives of families and children. The funder focuses on supporting programs or organizations in healthcare, housing, hunger, and education, particularly serving women and children, in locations throughout the United States where they operate stores, distribution centers, and corporate offices.

Type of Support

Overview

Big Lots Foundation Grants aim to improve and enrich the lives of families and children by providing support in the form of monetary gifts, gift cards, and merchandise in-kind. The foundation favors organizations that impact hunger by providing nutritious foods, meals, and emergency food assistance, and educating on healthy eating; housing through preventing homelessness, offering affordable housing, and emergency shelter; healthcare by improving it through research and education, preventative education and care, and affordable critical medical services; and education by promoting service-learning, servant leadership, and innovation in classroom learning outcomes. Requests are accepted from 501(c)3 public nonprofit organizations only, with a high volume of requests leading to a highly competitive selection process.

Eligibility

Organization's Location
USA
Program Location
DC, AL (Autauga County, Baldwin County, Calhoun County, Covington County, Cullman County, Dale County, DeKalb County, Elmore County, Etowah County, Henry County, Houston County, Jefferson County, Lauderdale County, Lee County, Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County, Mobile County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Russell County, Shelby County, Talladega County, Tuscaloosa County, Walker County), AZ (Cochise County, Coconino County, Gila County, Maricopa County, Mohave County, Navajo County, Pima County, Pinal County, Yavapai County, Yuma County), AR (Baxter County, Boone County, Craighead County, Faulkner County, Garland County, Greene County, Pulaski County, Saline County, Sebastian County, Washington County, White County), CA (Alameda County, Butte County, Contra Costa County, El Dorado County, Fresno County, Kern County, Kings County, Los Angeles County, Mendocino County, Merced County, Monterey County, Orange County, Placer County, Riverside County, Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Joaquin County, San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, Shasta County, Solano County, Sonoma County, Stanislaus County, Sutter County, Tulare County, Tuolumne County, Ventura County, Yolo County), CO (Adams County, Arapahoe County, Boulder County, Douglas County, El Paso County, Jefferson County, Mesa County, Pueblo County, Weld County), CT (Hartford County, Litchfield County, Middlesex County, New Haven County, New London County), DE (Kent County, New Castle County, Sussex County), FL (Alachua County, Baker County, Bay County, Brevard County, Broward County, Charlotte County, Citrus County, Clay County, Collier County, Columbia County, Duval County, Escambia County, Hendry County, Hernando County, Highlands County, Hillsborough County, Indian River County, Jackson County, Lake County, Lee County, Leon County, Manatee County, Marion County, Martin County, Miami-Dade County, Okaloosa County, Orange County, Osceola County, Palm Beach County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Polk County, Putnam County, Santa Rosa County, Sarasota County, Seminole County, St. Johns County, St. Lucie County, Suwannee County, Volusia County), GA (Baldwin County, Bartow County, Bibb County, Bulloch County, Carroll County, Catoosa County, Chatham County, Cherokee County, Clarke County, Cobb County, Columbia County, Coweta County, DeKalb County, Dougherty County, Douglas County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, Glynn County, Gwinnett County, Habersham County, Hall County, Henry County, Houston County, Laurens County, Liberty County, Lowndes County, McDuffie County, Muscogee County, Newton County, Paulding County, Peach County, Richmond County, Rockdale County, Spalding County, Thomas County, Tift County, Toombs County, Troup County, Walker County, Walton County, Ware County, Whitfield County), ID (Ada County, Bannock County, Bonneville County, Kootenai County, Nez Perce County), IL (Adams County, Champaign County, Clinton County, Coles County, Cook County, DuPage County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Kane County, Kankakee County, Kendall County, Knox County, LaSalle County, Lake County, Macon County, Madison County, Marion County, Peoria County, Rock Island County, Sangamon County, St. Clair County, Tazewell County, Vermilion County, Washington County, Will County, Winnebago County), IN (Allen County, Cass County, Clark County, Dearborn County, Delaware County, Dubois County, Elkhart County, Floyd County, Franklin County, Grant County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Hendricks County, Howard County, Huntington County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Knox County, Lake County, Lawrence County, Madison County, Marion County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Porter County, Shelby County, St. Joseph County, Tippecanoe County, Vanderburgh County, Vigo County, Wayne County), IA (Des Moines County, Polk County, Scott County), KS (Crawford County, Johnson County, Saline County, Sedgwick County, Shawnee County, Wyandotte County), KY (Barren County, Bell County, Boone County, Boyd County, Boyle County, Bullitt County, Calloway County, Campbell County, Christian County, Daviess County, Fayette County, Floyd County, Franklin County, Graves County, Hardin County, Harlan County, Henderson County, Hopkins County, Jefferson County, Kenton County, Knox County, Laurel County, Madison County, Mason County, McCracken County, Meade County, Montgomery County, Perry County, Pike County, Pulaski County, Rowan County, Scott County, Taylor County, Warren County, Whitley County), LA (Ascension Parish, Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish, Calcasieu Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, Jefferson Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Livingston Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Ouachita Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Terrebonne Parish), ME (Androscoggin County, Cumberland County, Franklin County, Kennebec County, York County), MD (Allegany County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Cecil County, Charles County, Frederick County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Queen Anne's County, St. Mary's County, Talbot County, Washington County, Wicomico County), MI (Allegan County, Alpena County, Bay County, Berrien County, Branch County, Calhoun County, Cass County, Chippewa County, Eaton County, Genesee County, Grand Traverse County, Ingham County, Isabella County, Jackson County, Kalamazoo County, Kent County, Lapeer County, Leelanau County, Lenawee County, Livingston County, Macomb County, Mecosta County, Monroe County, Muskegon County, Oakland County, Ot...(The input exceeds the limit, so this solution is partial. Please submit the rest of the list in another request.)
Organization Type
Organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
Other
  • Located in areas where stores are operated across the United States
  • Located in areas with distribution centers in Columbus, OH; Tremont, PA; Durant, OK; Montgomery, AL; Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  • Located in the area of the corporate office in Columbus, Ohio
  • Must not exhibit discriminatory behavior or practices

Ineligibility

Organizations not 501(c)3 public charities
Individuals for any purpose
Political candidates, committees, or organizations
Athletes, teams, sporting events or tournaments
Fraternal, labor, social, or veterans organizations
Churches and religious sectarian organizations, except those with community outreach programs
Non-academic educational activities (e.g., bands, choirs, proms)
Individual K-12 schools and public service agencies (e.g., police, fire departments)
Organizations spending over 20% of revenue on overhead and fundraising
Organizations that discriminate based on age, race, creed, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or national origin
Staff positions for government agencies
Requests for funding publications, or audio/video productions not part of a focused project
Requests supporting travel as the primary proposal reason.
not specified

Submission

Review Criteria

Preferences for funding are particularly directed towards initiatives that:

  • Involve the participation of a Big Lots associate in a significant role, such as a board member, member of a board committee, or a prominent volunteer role.
  • Aim to assist underprivileged families on their journey towards financial independence and self-sufficiency.
  • Are carried out by organizations characterized by robust financial governance and a high level of engagement and commitment from their board members.

While these are the primary criteria, proposals that fall outside these preferences are still reviewed on an individual basis. This includes projects focused on environmental sustainability, promoting diversity, or supporting the arts.

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