Office Depot Foundation

Office Depot provides three ways for BDPA (local or national) to receive product or cash donations.

1. Product Donations - Office Depot's product donation program is managed by Gifts In Kind International, the world's leading charity in product philanthropy. Each of Office Depot's retail stores, distribution centers and warehouses is matched to a nonprofit organization that helps children. On a regular basis, each Office Depot location makes a donation of products (supplies, furniture, business machines, etc.) to its matched charity.

Their ongoing Product Donation Program enables Office Depot to place its donated products in the hands of thousands of children's charities across the nation. For more information regarding Gifts In Kind International, and/or Office Depot's product donation program, send an e-mail to productdonations@giftsinkind.org. You may write to them at:



Gifts In Kind International
333 N. Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Please Note: Product donations through Gifts In Kind International are ongoing and involve a membership fee.

2. Sponsorships and Other Support - Each year, Office Depot supports a limited number of nonprofit organizations, initiatives and events in key markets where the company conducts business. Such support may take the form of store gift certificates, event sponsorships, and marketing and branding opportunities. These relationships are typically initiated by Office Depot. Unsolicited proposals are discouraged.

Office Depot is proud to help a large number of local nonprofit organizations every year. To aid in the review of requests for corporate support, they have established the following criteria:

• The nonprofit organization must be aligned with Office Depot's mission to directly impact the health, education and welfare of children.
• Funds provided by Office Depot must directly assist children.
• The inquiring organization must provide background on the specific program and other funding sources.
• The organization must have an established track record of community advocacy and a clear direction for its future initiatives.
• The organization must have 501(c)(3) status.
• The organization must provide a Federal Tax Identification Number

To apply for a grant from the Office Depot Foundation, please click here to see if you are eligible.

3. Office Depot Affiliate Program - From grassroots nonprofit organizations and small businesses to large-scale initiatives serving the entire nation, the Office Depot Affiliate Program provides its members with a simple and effective way to generate income. Businesses and organizations that join the Office Depot Affiliate Program agree to place links from OfficeDepot.com directly on their own websites. By doing so, they give their members, customers or clients the opportunity to choose from thousands of office supplies, furniture and technology items as well as to access useful information from Office Depot's small business services center.

The Office Depot Affiliate Program offers an excellent example of their Company's vision - Delivering Winning Solutions That Inspire Worklife™ - in action. Not only does it give nonprofit organizations and businesses a way to build instant credibility by associating with our corporate brand, but it also makes it possible for them to drive revenue, which helps to sustain their operations and enables them to grow. It also helps our customers with discounts, savings and other benefits.

Please click here for information about how to join the Office Depot Affiliate Program.

Grant Declination: Office Depot Foundation (BDPA Columbus)

Office Depot Foundation informed us that our grant proposal on behalf of BDPA Columbus chapter has been declined. Sabina Conte (Office Depot community relations manager) wrote,

"Thank you very much for your recent online application to the Office Depot Foundation. Regrettably, we are not able to assist you with your special request at this time. Our contributions budget is fully committed."

Perhaps we will have better luck with Office Depot Foundation in the future!

Grant Proposal: Office Depot Foundation (Chicago)

BETF and BDPA Chicago submitted and online grant application requesting $2,000 funding support from the Office Depot Foundation.

Grant applications are retrieved on a monthly basis and are reviewed by the Office Depot Foundation Contributions Committee and final decisions on proposals are made by the Foundation's Board of Directors. They indicate that we should allow at least eight weeks after we submit our completed application before we receive a response.

Grant Declination: Office Depot Foundation

Our grant proposal to Office Depot Foundation on behalf of BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter has been declined. The grant declination letter read as follows:

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TO: BDPA Education and Technology Foundation,

Thank you very much for your recent online application to the Office Depot Foundation. Regrettably, we are not able to assist you with your special request at this time. Our contributions budget is fully committed. After reviewing your request we would like to give you information about some important resources that will benefit your organization.

Office Depot Foundation In-Kind Giving Program - The Office Depot Foundation's product donation program is managed by Gifts In Kind International, a global leader in new product philanthropy. Each Office Depot retail store and warehouse is matched to a nonprofit organization that helps children. On a regular basis, each of these locations makes a donation of products (supplies, furniture, business machines, etc.) to its matched charity. Please note that product donations through Gifts In Kind International are ongoing and involve a membership fee.

Our ongoing Product Donation Program enables the Office Depot Foundation to place donated products in the hands of thousands of children's charities across the nation. I have attached some information about Gifts In Kind International. For more information regarding Gifts In Kind International, and/or the Foundation's product donation program, please visit the Gifts In Kind website.

Put Your Passion Into Action – Volunteer! - Recognizing the powerful role that volunteerism plays in keeping our communities strong, the Office Depot Foundation has created the Caring Connection – a user-friendly, online resource that makes it simple to learn about and enroll in thousands of volunteer opportunities. Also, non-profit organizations that use volunteers to help them carry out their programs can register for free to list their opportunities directly on the website.

We are presenting the Caring Connection in collaboration with VolunteerMatch. The website provides access to information about 55,000 volunteer positions offered by more than 60,000 non-profit organizations across the United States. When people visit the site, they just need to enter their zip code to see a list of volunteer opportunities available in their area. When they find something they like with your organization, they can automatically send an e-mail to you to express their interest, and then you can contact them directly.

The tagline we use for the Caring Connection is “Put Your Passion into Action!” We believe that everyone can find an organization or a cause that they are passionate about by visiting the Caring Connection site – and they can help to strengthen the community in so many ways by getting involved. “Strengthening communities” is one of our key strategic priorities at the Office Depot Foundation, so this program – as well as our grants program − fits perfectly with our mission and goals.

Office Depot WorkLife Rewards - Office Depot program that you should know about that can help save you some money. Office Depot WorkLife Rewards is a customer loyalty program that gives you rebates on almost everything you buy at Office Depot. Here’s a quick overview of the program:

• FREE Membership
• Offers 10% back on Ink, Toner, Paper and Design, Print & Ship Services
• Offers 1% back on almost everything else
• There is no limit to the amount of Rewards you can earn
• If you earn less than $10 in Rewards, your Rewards will carry over from quarter to quarter for an entire calendar year
• Discount offers at My Worklife Partners™
• Bonus Opportunities at My Special Offers

You can see all the details at http://www.officedepot.com/.

Thank you for thinking of the Office Depot Foundation. We take corporate responsibility and community involvement seriously. We are committed to Learning, Listening and Caring. For more information please visit our website.

Best wishes for much continued success in all that you do to enrich the lives of others in the communities in which we live, work and conduct business.

Warmest regards,
Sabrina Conte
Office Depot Foundation
6600 N. Military Trail
Boca Raton, FL 33496

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I must admit that this is most useful declination letter that I've ever seen. They provide a number of other options for our BDPA partners to consider.

What are your thoughts about Office Depot and these various options?

Grant Proposal: Office Depot Foundation

BETF and BDPA Middle Tennessee submitted and online grant application requesting $2,000 funding support from the Office Depot Foundation.

Grant applications are retrieved on a monthly basis and are reviewed by the Office Depot Foundation Contributions Committee and final decisions on proposals are made by the Foundation's Board of Directors. They indicate that we should allow at least eight weeks after we submit our completed application before we receive a response.