OVERVIEW: The Home Depot Foundation funds programs and organizations dedicated to helping military veterans find housing and avoid homelessness. Smaller grantmaking initiatives support disaster relief and trades education.
IP TAKE: Though the Home Depot Foundation offers several types of grants, it is also known as a major funder of veterans’ causes. It prefers to fund large, well-known organizations with which it has established relationships rather than smaller efforts or individuals. This is not a transparent funder, as it does not provide much information about where funding goes or in what amounts. Check out its founder’s Marcus Foundation for other grant opportunities. It is unclear how Home Depot’s philanthropy will shape up in light of Bernard Marcus’s death at 95 in November 2024.
While this funder does not accept unsolicited applications, preferring a proactive funding approach, it does accept providing support via partnerships with NGOs whose housing beneficiaries consist at least of 20% or more veterans in specific geographic cities outlined below. This funder welcomes contact by email, so grantseekers whose work deeply aligns here should consider reaching out. Patience pays off here. Once Home Depot decides to invite your organization to submit a grant application, things move within 90 days of receipt if approved for funding.
PROFILE: The Home Depot Foundation is the philanthropic arm of its corporate sister, the Home Depot. The foundation “works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters.” Since 2011, Home Depot has given over $500 million to organizations that help veterans, and it has committed to invest over $750 million in veterans causes by 2030. Home Depot’s grantmaking includes support for Veterans, Disaster Relief and Trades Education.
Grants for Housing, Veterans and Work Opportunity
While it funds a variety of giving areas, the Home Depot Foundation conducts much of its philanthropy through a focus on veterans and military families. It has pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in veterans’ causes by 2025. Its Veterans program concentrates funding for three areas: combat-wounded veterans, aging veterans, and homeless and housing-insecure veterans.
The foundation’s Veteran Housing Grants Program provides grants to “develop and repair housing for veterans, including transitional living facilities and permanent supportive housing.”
Grant amounts range from $100,000 to $500,000. While this is a national program, it prioritizes support for the cities of Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Houston, Detroit, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and Tampa.
Check the FAQ on the program page for other requirements and guidelines. Current partnerships who have received funding from the Home Depot Foundation may be viewed here.
The Path to Pro program also works to support veterans and others, but investing in their skilled trade education and helping them find employment in the home improvement industry. Home Depot has collaborated with organizations including the Home Builders Institute, the SkillPointe Foundation and Atlanta Technical College to run in-person and online training, certification and career development programs. Priority populations include young people and veterans. Further information can be found on the program’s website.
Some of the organizations the foundation partners with in this space includes Community Solutions, Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors, Gary Sinise Foundation, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Housing Assistance Council, and Operation Homefront. It also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to create Repair Corps, “a program that provides local Habitat organizations with the resources to repair or modify the homes of veterans and their families.”
Grants for Disaster Relief
The Home Depot Foundation’s Disaster Relief program area mobilizes the company’s “merchandising, supply chain and operations teams” to provide relief services following natural disasters throughout the United States, including hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, and earthquakes. In disaster situations, Home Depot offers its stores as “command centers” and coordination sites for first responders and relief personnel.
- Previous disaster relief grantee-partners include the American Red Cross, Convoy of Hope, Inspiritus, Operation Blessing, and the World Central Kitchen, among others.
- A special branch of Home Depot’s philanthropy, the Homer Fund, provides support for Home Depot employees and associates who are themselves affected by such natural disasters.
Important Grant Details:
Grant awards typically range from $100,000 to $500,000. Home Depot does not provide detailed information about its past grants on its website but appears to work mainly through longer-term partnerships with large, well-established organizations. See its individual program pages for additional information about these partnerships.
The Home Depot Foundation accepts applications for its Veterans Housing Grants, but applications are limited to established veterans housing organizations operating in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, Houston, Detroit, San Diego, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta or Tampa.
The foundation reviews proposals three times per year, with due dates falling in March, July and December of each year, usually early during the first week of each month.
The foundation generally takes about 45 days to review proposals, with final funding determinations requiring a third-party review of “business practices and proposed project, conducted in order to identify potential issues for further consideration” by the Home Depot Foundation.
Organizations or individuals with projects focused on single home construction or repair would not qualify for funding here. Single repair requests should view Home Depot’s partnerships to find partners who are already funded to assist qualifying veterans. The foundation is not able to provide sponsorships, support fundraising events, or product donations of any kind.
- Questions about the application process may be submitted to foundation staff via email at THDF_VHG@homedepot.com.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
- Foundation Leadership
- Grant Application (for invited NGOs only)