We Build CommUnity

Building Healthy Communities Grant Program

At The Home Depot, we understand the impact of hard work and sweat equity. We believe in the power of hands-on service- of rolling up our sleeves and getting dirty while working beside your neighbors to improve your community.

More importantly, we understand that volunteering to improve the physical health of your neighborhood by planting trees, developing green spaces and updating school facilities and community centers creates a healthier, more stable community where families can thrive. 

We recognize that committed and motivated neighbors accomplish an enormous amount of important in work in communities across the country. That’s why we support these efforts by lending a hand or a hammer… or a shovel… or flats of perennials.

Building Healthy Communities Grant Program
Grants, up to $2,500, are now available to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies in the U.S. who are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community.  Grants are made in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase or tools or materials.

Only grants submitted through the online application process will be considered for funding. All unsolicited donation requests received via mail, phone or e-mail will be referred to this online grant program.

Grants are highly competitive and there are three grant cycles planned for 2009:

All applicants are required to pass an eligibility quiz before applying. Organizations that pass will be considered, but not guaranteed a grant. The Home Depot Foundation receives many worthwhile requests and can not accommodate all of them.  Many times, requests that pass the eligibility test and fall within the stated guidelines are not funded.

Once grant applications are reviewed and approved, all applicants will be contacted within the timeframe set forth above. Please do not contact your local store or Customer Care to inquire about the status of your application. Should you have any questions about this grant program, please e-mail us.

Guidelines:

• Only registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, tax-exempt public schools and tax-exempt public agencies in the U.S. are eligible to apply.
• Grants are for community improvement projects that include activities such as construction or refurbishment of affordable or transitional housing, building, rebuilding, painting, refurbishing, increasing energy efficiency or sustainability, landscaping, planting of native trees, community facility improvements and the development and/or improvement of green spaces.
• Grants must support work completed by community volunteers in the U.S.
• Projects must be completed within six months following notification that the grant has been awarded.
• Grants are solely given in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools and materials.
• Grants are not awarded for recurring funding. We invite grantees to re-apply in subsequent years based on program results, although there are no guarantees of receiving grants in subsequent years.
• Organizations who have received a Building Healthy Communities grant must wait 12 months before applying for additional grants through this program. Each approved applicant must complete a Final Report before additional funding requests will be considered.

The Home Depot Foundation does not make grants through this program to support any of the following:  

• Organizations that are not registered 501(c)(3) charities, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies
• Scholarships or other direct support to individuals or families
• Fraternal, political, labor, athletic or social organizations, civic clubs, candidates or projects
• Religious organizations whose improvement project primarily serves their congregation and not the overall community
• Sponsorship of events such as conferences, festivals, dinners, sports competitions, art exhibits, fundraisers(e.g. dinners, walks/runs/relays, golf tournaments and auctions)
• Requests for our Kids Workshop kits and/or aprons
• Capital campaigns, endowments or endowed chairs
• Activities of organizations serving primarily their own membership
• Institutional overhead and/or indirect costs
• Film, music, television, video or media production projects or broadcast underwriting
• Goodwill advertising or marketing

If you pass the eligibility quiz, you will be automatically directed to the Building Healthy Communities grant application. If you do not pass the eligibility quiz, your request does not fall within the guidelines for funding through the Building Healthy Communities grant program.

Click here to take the eligibility quiz

Other ways we invest in the community:

• Our national partners help us build healthy communities through activities like the construction and preservation of affordable housing, the construction of playgrounds and the planting of native trees. To learn more, please visit our national partners’ page on The Home Depot Foundation’s Web site.
• Through the Affordable Housing Built Responsibly grant program, The Home Depot Foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations whose missions support the production and preservation of affordable, efficient and healthy housing. Visit The Home Depot Foundation’s Web site for more information.
• In-kind product donations are handled through our Framing Hope program in partnership with Gifts In Kind International. Please visit the program’s Web site to find out how your nonprofit organization could be matched to receive donations from a local Home Depot store.
• Our stores have a limited supply of $25 donation coupons to assist local nonprofits with their small donation needs. Please see a member of the store management team or the Team Depot Captain for more information.
• Team Depot, our associate volunteer force, uses the time and talents of our associates to meet community needs through hands-on service. Team Depot Captains at our retail locations actively seek great nonprofit partners to work with throughout the year. Visit our page on The Home Depot Foundation’s Web site for further information.
• Organizations requesting event and sports sponsorships should apply at www.homedepotproposals.com.
• The National Gardening Association, in partnership with The Home Depot, awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs. Please visit the National Gardening Association’s Web site for more information or to apply.