Through the Affordable Housing Built Responsibly grant program, The Home Depot Foundation administers millions of dollars in grants each year to nonprofit organizations whose missions align with the Foundation's interests in supporting the production and preservation of affordable, efficient and healthy housing.

The Home Depot Foundation makes grants to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charities in the United States and to charitable organizations in Canada.  Support is given to programs and projects that align with the Foundation's mission and grant criteria. 

To better support its mission, The Home Depot Foundation awards most of its grants by directly soliciting proposals from high-performing nonprofit organizations with the demonstrated ability to create strong partnerships, impact multiple communities and leverage grant resources.  In order to identify potential future nonprofit partners or respond to unique community revitalization opportunities, a limited amount of unsolicited grant funding is set aside to be awarded through a competitive process.

UPDATE: Community Tree Grants

The Home Depot Foundation has combined its community trees grant program with its Affordable Housing Built Responsibly grant program. The Foundation remains firmly committed to supporting the planting of trees and the development of greenspace in order to provide our communities with the many economic, social and environmental benefits of the urban forest. This change in our programming structure reflects our understanding that it is more effective to support the creation of healthy and sustainable communities through the integration of our focus areas.

Grant Criteria

Preference is given to proposals that include community engagement that result in the production, preservation, or financing of housing units for low- to moderate-income families.  The most promising proposals incorporate a number of “green” building design practices. Also, in 2009 proposals that clearly demonstrate how tree strategies integrated with affordable housing production/preservation create healthier, more vibrant communities will have a distinct advantage.

Building responsibly, often referred to as "green" building, incorporates the following measures in the design and construction of housing:

• Minimize the depletion of natural resources, including timber and water
• Decrease the amount of construction waste going to landfills
• Control erosion and minimize impact on natural areas
• Increase energy efficiency and conserve water in construction and operation
• Incorporate the integration of tree and landscaping strategies to complement the built environment
• Reduce maintenance costs using innovative and durable materials
• Assess the life-cycle costs and benefits of greening the project
• Improve indoor air quality
• Control moisture and provide proper ventilation
• Use more environmentally friendly materials
• Ensure smart site planning and land use

Grant Cycles

Please visit this Web site regularly for the latest information regarding grant cycle deadlines.

The Foundation will consider only one proposal from the same organization per calendar year. 

Given the high quantity of requests, the Foundation staff is unable to discuss details regarding grant declinations.

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

• Organizations that are not 501(c)(3) or Revenue Canada designated charities
• Scholarships or other direct support to individuals or families
• Religious, fraternal, political, labor, athletic or social organizations, civic clubs, candidates or projects
• Special events, such as conferences, dinners, sports competitions or art exhibits
• Sponsorship of fundraising events (i.e. dinners, walks, golf tournaments and auctions)
• 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
• Equipment purchases not part of a larger program request
• United Way chapters (The Home Depot company provides support to United Way of America)

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