Grant Declination: Walmart Community Grant Request (BDPA Greater Tampa Bay)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with BDPA Greater Tampa Bay chapter (president, Andrea Johnson) to submit a $2,500 grant proposal to the Walmart Community Grant Request. If approved, the grant would provide partial funding for the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in Tampa, FL.

Unfortunately, our grant proposal was declined. The declination letter read as follows:

---

Thank you for submitting a request, Request ID 38527597, to facility #3197 for a grant through the Walmart Community Grant Program. Your grant request was not selected for funding at this time.

The Community Grant Program is a competitive application. On average, we receive more than 150,000 applications from more than 65,000 local organizations striving to improve their communities each year. A number of variables may influence each funding decision. Common reasons grants may be declined include lack of: alignment with our focus areas, local connection with the store, program timing, limited resources and clarity of programmatic work within the facility community.

Thank you again for your interest in the Walmart Community Grant Program. We appreciate your efforts to help people live better and wish you success in your future endeavors. If you would like to learn more about all of Walmart’s giving programs, we encourage you to visit http://giving.walmart.com.

Sincerely,
The Walmart Community Grants Team

---

BETF will continue to aggressively pursue funding for all 46 local BDPA chapters. However, God loves the child who has his own ... so we encourage you to support BDPA scholarship programs by making a secure online donation

Grant Proposal: Wal-Mart Foundation (BDPA Greater Tampa Bay Chapter)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked closely with the officers of the BDPA Greater Tampa Bay chapter to submit a grant proposal to the Wal-Mart Foundation seeking $2,500 for the 2018 Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. We submitted an application for community grant to Wal-Mart Store on 15302 N. Nebraska; Tampa 33613. We hope to have an answer within the next couple of months.

BETF is willing to work with any of the 46 local BDPA chapters to obtain the funding that they need to successfully deliver their 2018 SITES program. Simply reach out to the BETF executive director if you have questions or wish to discuss further

Wal-Mart Store and Sam's Club Giving Program

The Wal-Mart Foundation supports programs and initiatives addressing education, workforce development, economic sustainability, and health and wellness. For health and wellness in particular, the Foundation looks to improve access to healthcare, promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors, and reduce disparities.

Grant awards range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Eligible applicants include organizations with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)3, recognized government entities, volunteer Fire Departments, K-12 Public Schools/Districts, Charter Schools, Colleges, Universities, Private Schools with tax-exempt status, and faith-based organizations.

Grant Award: Walmart Foundation ($2,000)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very happy to report that our $2,000 grant proposal to Walmart Store #4379 has been approved. This funding will be used to support the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program located in Columbia, South Carolina.

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter president Mildred Allen and about a dozen students, volunteers and leaders were in Baltimore last week to participate in the 34th annual BDPA Technology Conference. This funding will help the chapter continue on its quest to provide meaningful science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experiences for exceptional students who want to 'win the future'.

The approval letter read as follows:

---

Dear Wayne Hicks,

The Walmart Foundation and Facility # 4379 are pleased to inform you that your organization has been selected to receive a grant through the Local Community Contribution/Hunger Outreach Grant Program in the amount of $2,000.00. We believe that your organization is doing important work to the communities you serve, and we are proud that we are able to support you in your efforts.

Your grant payment will be awarded to you by check, and it will be sent to the address listed in your grant application. Your grant check will be issued within the next few weeks and mailed to your organization as quickly as possible.

Thank you for the work your organization does to create opportunities so people can live better.

Sincerely,
The Walmart Foundation

---

BETF would like to aggressively approach the Walmart Foundation to support community initiatives where we have co-located BDPA chapters. Who wants to be next?

Grant Award: Walmart Foundation ($4,000)

BDPA Greater Columbia chapter president Mildred Allen took the initiative to meet with local Wal-Mart Store community outreach leaders earlier this year. As a result of her efforts the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) submitted $2,000 grant proposals to the local management at four different Wal-Mart stores in the Columbia, South Carolina area.

We are very pleased to report that two of those grant proposals were favorably received by the management at Store #1164 and Store #1286. This means that $4,000 in funding is coming to us in support of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in South Carolina.  We received a message about our successful grant application from both stores. Here is one of the approval messages received earlier this week:

---

Dear Wayne Hicks,

The Walmart Foundation and Facility # 1286 are pleased to inform you that your organization has been selected to receive a grant through the Local Community Contribution/Hunger Outreach Grant Program in the amount of $2,000.00. We believe that your organization is doing important work to the communities you serve, and we are proud that we are able to support you in your efforts.

Your grant payment will be awarded to you by check, and it will be sent to the address listed in your grant application. Your grant check will be issued within the next few weeks and mailed to your organization as quickly as possible.

Thank you for the work your organization does to create opportunities so people can live better.

Sincerely,
The Walmart Foundation

---

We are still waiting to learn the results from the other two stores. Mostly, we look forward to seeing the young people trained by BDPA Greater Columbia chapter at the upcoming national conference!

Wal-Mart Foundation

The Community Grant Program is the largest program funded by the Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB Foundation and includes both matching and direct grants.

The Matching Grant program allows local nonprofit organizations to hold fundraisers outside their local Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB. Wal-Mart and SAM'S can elect to match a portion of the funds raised up to $1,000. Events held off the premises of a Wal-Mart store or SAM'S CLUB are also eligible for funding when a Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB associate is actively involved in the event.

Additionally, once the Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB has met certain criteria in the Matching Grant Program each year, a second source of funding, direct grants, is awarded to the store / club to use in the community. These funds do not require a fundraiser to be held; instead the funds can be awarded directly to a deserving organization.

More than 80,000 grants, totaling $61 million, are awarded through the Community Grant program annually. Additional funds were also raised by participating community organizations who received matching funds.

To learn more about receiving a grant from your local Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB, please see the Community Involvement Coordinator at the location closest to you.
Please let the BDPA Foundation know if you are interested in working with the Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB in your chapter city on some fundraising effort in 2009. This is a grant opportunity available to all 45 chapters simultaneously since the decision-makers are at the local level.

Wal-Mart Foundation

The Wal-Mart Foundation strives to provide opportunities that improve the lives of individuals in their communities including their customers and associates. Through financial contributions, in-kind donations and volunteerism, the Wal-Mart Foundation supports initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities in our four main focus areas:

1. Education
2. Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity
3. Environmental Sustainability
4. Health and Wellness

The Wal-Mart Foundation has a particular interest in supporting the following populations: veterans and military families, traditionally underserved groups, individuals with disabilities and people impacted by natural disasters.

In all of their giving efforts, Wal-Mart strives to meet the unmet needs of underserved populations and support organizations that give individuals access to a better life. Wal-Mart believes in operating globally and giving back locally. They encourage associates to support programs that make a positive difference in their communities through volunteer efforts and financial contributions. Wal-Mart involve associates in determining how Wal-Mart Foundation dollars are used to support causes that are important to them.

Wal-Mart Stores and Sam’s Clubs can recommend grants of up to $5,000 to local nonprofit organizations. To learn more about requesting a grant through these programs, please first review the Wal-Mart Store and Sam’s Club Giving Guidelines and then contact the Community Involvement Coordinator at the Wal-Mart Store or Sam’s Club facility nearest you. This is an opportunity open to multiple chapters. BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) will work with any local BDPA chapter once they identify contact information for a specific Wal-Mart Store in their area.

National BDPA may also want to consider partnering with BETF on a grant proposal seeking up to $250,000. The Wal-Mart Foundation’s National Giving Program awards grants of $250,000 and above to nonprofit organizations implementing programs at multiple sites across the country. The Foundation may award grants through the National Giving Program which support the replication of a particularly innovative local or regional initiative at other sites around the country. National nonprofit organizations interested in applying for funding must first submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) that briefly outlines the program, the unmet need it addresses, the intended outcomes, the constituencies served, and the organization’s capacity to carry out the work.

Here are the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this funding opportunity.

Letter of Inquiry: Wal-Mart Stores (BDPA Chicago)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and BDPA Chicago chapter submitted a letter of inquiry to Wal-Mart Store #5485 in Evergreen, Illinois. We are hoping to receive funding or in-kind donation of books, flash drives and supplies.

Click here if you want to help BDPA Chicago chapter while we wait for an answer from Wal-Mart Store #5485.

Letter of Inquiry * Wal-Mart Community Grant (BDPA New York)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) partnered with BDPA New York chapter to submit an application for community grant to Wal-Mart Store #5293 in Valley Stream, NY. BDPA New York chapter president Renetta English made a visit to the store manager to obtain a copy of the grant application. We hope to hear back from Wal-Mart in the near future on this funding request.

Where Wal-Mart Donated in 2010 (Washington DC)

Wal-Mart may have only recently announced plans to open stores in the District of Columbia, but the company's charitable foundation has been an active funder of Washington DC nonprofits for the past few years. Nationally, the company's foundation focuses on giving in four main areas: education, workforce development/economic opportunity, environmental sustainability and health and wellness.

The company and the foundation recently announced an additional focus on fighting hunger, with a pledge to spend $2 billion by 2015 to support hunger relief in America.

Read the rest of the Washington Post article.

Wal-Mart Store and Sam's Club Giving Program

The Wal-Mart Foundation supports programs and initiatives addressing education, workforce development, economic sustainability, and health and wellness. For health and wellness in particular, the Foundation looks to improve access to health care, promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors, and reduce disparities.

Grant awards range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Eligible applicants include organizations with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3), recognized government entities, volunteer Fire Departments, K-12 Public Schools/Districts, Charter Schools, Colleges, Universities, Private Schools with tax-exempt status, and faith-based organizations.

Grant Award: Wal-Mart Community Grants ($250)

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) worked with the leadership of our BDPA Triangle chapter to submit a funding request to Wal-Mart Store #5292 in Raleigh NC. The store approved a $250 quarterly donation to support youth education programs for students in the Research Triangle area.

For the past two years, Wal-Mart has been recognized as the largest corporate cash contributor by Chronicle of Philanthropy. In addition to their individual donations, Wal-Mart associates volunteered more than 1 million hours to causes of their own choosing. In support of their dedication, the Foundation matched associates’ volunteer hours with $6 million in grants.

Letter of Inquiry * Wal-Mart Community Grants

BDPA Triangle talked with Wal-Mart store managers in the Raleigh/Durham NC area about their SITES program. BETF agreed to partner with the chapter to complete community grant applications to each store. The cover letter and community grant application is being hand-delivered by the chapter leadership.

Has your chapter approached the local store manager in your area about funding? Let us know if you want BETF support in your efforts to obtain a community grant from your local Wal-Mart store manager.

Personally, I think that all 45 chapters should be going after this one!

Sam Walton Community Scholarship

Each operating Wal-Mart Store, SAM'S CLUB and Walmart's grocery stores are eligible to award one $3,000 scholarships to qualifying local high school seniors.

Students must be graduating high school seniors and must not be an Associate of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., or be the child/dependent of an Associate of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. This award is used for the student's freshman year tuition, books, fees and on-campus room and board at an approved, accredited U.S. college or university. [Read More]

Sam Walton Community Scholarship $3,000 (one-time, non-renewable)

Letter of Inquiry: Wal-Mart Community Grant (Triangle)

BDPA Triangle talked with Wal-Mart store managers in Sanford NC and Durham NC about their SITES program. BETF agreed to partner with the chapter to submit $2,500 community grant request to each store. The cover letter and community grant application is being hand-delivered by the chapter leadership this week.

We obtained a $1,000 grant in support of BDPA New York chapter SITES program earlier this year. The funding was result of application submitted to the Wal-Mart Store in Long Island, NY.

Has your chapter approached the local store manager in your area about funding? Let us know if you want BETF support in your efforts to obtain a community grant from your local Wal-Mart store manager.

Personally, I think that all 51 chapters should be going after this one!

Grant Award: Wal-Mart Foundation

We are pleased to announce that the Wal-Mart Foundation provided us with a $1,000 grant in support of BDPA New York chapter SITES program. The funding was result of application submitted to the Wal-Mart Store in Long Island, NY. Our points of contact at the Wal-mart store in Westbury were Maria Carbello and her supervisor Edwina Hedley.

Wal-Mart Store #3420
1220 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
(516) 794-7280

Judaea Lane and Renetta English are the two BDPA New York chapter leaders that worked with BETF to 'make it so'. There are Wal-Mart stores in all 51 chapter cities. Has your chapter approached the local store manager in your area about funding?

Letter of Inquiry * Wal-Mart Community Grant (New York)

BDPA New York chapter visited with the manager of Wal-Mart Store #3420 in Westbury, NY to discuss possible funding from Wal-Mart Community Grants. BDPA Foundation subsequently agreed to partner with BDPA New York chapter on an application for $2,500 community grant.

BETF encourages the other 50 chapters to reach out to the Wal-Mart Store in their local area for similiar funding discussion.

Wal-Mart Foundation

The Community Grant Program is the largest program funded by the Wal-Mart and SAM'S CLUB Foundation and includes both matching and direct grants. The Matching Grant program allows local nonprofit organizations to hold fundraisers outside their local Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB. Wal-Mart and SAM'S can elect to match a portion of the funds raised up to $1,000.

Events held off the premises of a Wal-Mart store or SAM'S CLUB are also eligible for funding when a Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB associate is actively involved in the event.

Additionally, once the Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB has met certain criteria in the Matching Grant Program each year, a second source of funding, direct grants, is awarded to the store / club to use in the community. These funds do not require a fundraiser to be held; instead the funds can be awarded directly to a deserving organization.

More than 80,000 grants, totaling $61 million, were awarded through the Community Grant program last year. Additional funds were also raised by participating community organizations who received matching funds.

To learn more about receiving a grant from your local Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB, please see the Community Involvement Coordinator at the location closest to you.

Please let BETF know if you are interested in working with the Wal-Mart or SAM'S CLUB in your chapter city on some fundraising effort in 2008-2009. This is a grant opportunity available to all 50 chapters simultaneously since the decision-makers are at the local level.