# Do Hardware and Home Improvement Stores Donate to Fundraisers?

> The big chains mostly fund building projects, not raffle prizes: Home Depot through foundation grants, Lowe's through nominated Community Impact Grants. For a prize, ask a locally owned hardware store or garden center. Here is which ask fits which need.

Source: https://ultimatedonations.org/hardware-stores-that-donate  
Last updated: 2026-11-02  
Publisher: Ultimate Donations

The large home improvement chains mostly fund building projects, not raffle prizes. The Home Depot Foundation gives through three grant programs — Veteran Housing Grants, Retool Your School for HBCUs, and Path to Pro trades training — and no longer lists a program aimed at school or event fundraisers. Lowe's funds renovations of community spaces through Community Impact Grants, nominated by the public during a yearly window. For Menards, Lumber Liquidators and Sears we found no published program at our last check. If you need a prize for an auction or raffle, a locally owned hardware store or garden center is usually the better ask; if you have a project to build, a grant may fit.

This guide is part of our [fundraiser donation answers](https://ultimatedonations.org/fundraiser-donation-answers) library. Each company below links to its page in our donor directory, which records what its own donation page says. For other big-box retailers, see [do big-box stores like Lowe's, Target and Staples donate](https://ultimatedonations.org/stores-that-donate-to-fundraisers).

## Start with what you need

| What you need | Where to ask | Examples from our directory |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A raffle or auction prize | A locally owned hardware store or garden center | [Donaldson's Greenhouse & Nursery](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/donaldsons-greenhouse-and-nursery-donation) |
| A community space renovated | A grant nomination | [Lowe's](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/lowes-product-donation) Community Impact Grants |
| Veteran housing or trades training | A foundation grant | [The Home Depot](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/home-depot-product-donation) Foundation |
| Seed for a school or community garden | A written request | [Territorial Seed Company](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/territorialseedcompany-donation) |
| Funding for a robotics team | A team grant | [John Deere](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/john-deere-donation) FIRST Team Grants |
| Supplies bought at a discount | A discount certificate | [Ollie's Bargain Outlet](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/ollies-donation) |

## The national chains

**The Home Depot.** The Home Depot Foundation focuses on the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, training skilled tradespeople, and communities affected by natural disasters. Its grants page lists Veteran Housing Grants, which go to nonprofits building or rehabilitating permanent supportive housing for veterans; Retool Your School, for campus projects at HBCUs; and Path to Pro trades training. The Community Impact Grants gift-card program that our page used to describe is no longer listed. None of these is a route to a raffle prize.

**Lowe's.** Lowe's Community Impact Grants pay for the physical improvement of a community space, such as a food pantry, park, local firehouse or a place for veterans to gather. Anyone who is a legal U.S. resident aged 21 or older can nominate a project during the annual window — in 2026 it ran from February to March — and the project must be within 30 miles of a Lowe's store. Lowe's selects up to 100 projects a year. If your school or group has a renovation in mind, that is the Lowe's route; it describes no product or gift-card donation for events.

**Menards, Lumber Liquidators and Sears.** At our last check we found no company-wide donation program for [Menards](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/menards-product-donation), [Lumber Liquidators](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/lumber-liquidators-product-donation) or [Sears](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/sears-donation). That is a record of what we found, not a refusal. Look on each company's own website for a community page before you write, and if you find none, ask the manager of your local store in person.

## Garden centers and seed

A local garden center can be a better prize source than a big chain, and some publish how to ask. **Donaldson's Greenhouse & Nursery** in Hackettstown, New Jersey, considers donation requests to worthy causes from its local area. Download and complete its official request form — requests without the form are not considered — and give it ample time; it will tell you whether it can help.

**Territorial Seed Company** in Cottage Grove, Oregon, donates vegetable, flower and herb seed to local and national organizations once a year. Mail a written request on your letterhead describing your program and why you are asking. Requests are accepted all year, and seed ships in the fall or winter, so it suits a spring school garden better than an event a few weeks away.

## Robotics teams and discount routes

**John Deere** no longer publishes general grant request guidelines. The open program its community page links to is John Deere FIRST Team Grants, for school or nonprofit robotics teams in a John Deere home community or with a John Deere employee mentor or coach. Funding can cover registration fees, robot kits and field setup kits in full or in part, through its Submittable portal.

Two home-goods companies offer discounts rather than donations. **Ollie's** gives eligible 501(c)(3)s a 15% discount certificate for one transaction at any Ollie's store, one per organization per year, expiring six months after issue. [YETI](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/yeti-product-donation) says it cannot make in-kind product donations, but nonprofits with active 501(c)(3) status can buy select products at a discount for raffles, auctions and giveaways. Both help if your group has a budget to buy prizes; neither is a free item.

## Asking a locally owned hardware store

A locally owned hardware store has no corporate program to point you to, so the owner or manager is the person who decides. Go in person at a quiet time, bring a one-page request with your tax ID, event date and purpose, and ask for one specific thing: a gift card, a tool set for a "fix-it" raffle basket, or garden supplies for a spring lot. Leave the page behind so they can decide after you have gone. The [restaurant and local company ask sheet](https://ultimatedonations.org/resources/restaurant-local-company-ask-sheet) walks through that in-person ask, and our [raffle basket ideas](https://ultimatedonations.org/raffle-basket-ideas) show how organizers build themed baskets around a few donated items.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Home Depot donate to school fundraisers?

Not through a published program. The Home Depot Foundation lists Veteran Housing Grants, Retool Your School and Path to Pro only. See [The Home Depot](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/home-depot-product-donation).

### Does Lowe's donate raffle prizes?

Lowe's describes no product or gift-card donation for events. Its Community Impact Grants renovate community spaces within 30 miles of a store, by public nomination. See [Lowe's](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/lowes-product-donation).

### Does Menards donate to fundraisers?

We found no company-wide Menards program at our last check. Ask the manager of your local store directly; see [Menards](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/menards-product-donation).

### Who donates seed for a school garden?

[Territorial Seed Company](https://ultimatedonations.org/donor/territorialseedcompany-donation) donates vegetable, flower and herb seed once a year by mailed request, shipping in the fall or winter.