Grants for Tool Libraries 2026: Who Funds Tool Lending

3 Kinds of Tool Lending Programs and Who Pays Each

Tool lending comes in 3 forms, and the funders barely overlap. Single gifts in the October 31, 2026 search ran from $50 to $115,000, and the kind of program explains most of that spread. Know which one you are before you write a single letter.

A community tool library pitches thrift and neighborliness. A ToolBank pitches capacity for other charities. A public library pitches equal access. Use the pitch that matches your row; mixing them confuses funders.

Grants for Tool Libraries: What 990-PF Filings Show

Foundations reporting grants on IRS Form 990-PF are a main grant source for tool libraries, but member dues, late fees, tool donations and volunteer labor often carry more of the budget. According to IRS guidance, private foundations use Form 990-PF to report their grants and activities, so each gift below traces to a filing. Grantsights analysis of 990-PF education grants pulled October 31, 2026 found 39 foundations that made 49 grants to tool libraries and libraries of things, totaling $438,169, about $8,900 each on average.

These gifts come from a wider search of tool lending grants across all causes, so several carry no education tag. They show the range:

For example, the North Kohala Tool Library in Hawaii received $10,000 from the Dorrance Family Foundation in 2024, and the Asheville Tool Library in North Carolina received $10,000 from the Windgate Charitable Foundation the same year. One organization in Idaho, the Creative Confluence Tool Library in Salmon, drew $9,938 from the CHC Foundation in 2024 to cover a container tool shed and add tools, which shows how concrete a small request can be.

Tool library grants by state

These figures come from the October 31, 2026 Grantsights pull of 990-PF education grants and count where the recipient sits. 5 places had 3 or more foundations giving education grants to tool libraries.

Why New York leads

All 11 New York foundations gave to 1 recipient, The Tool Library in Buffalo, according to our analysis of the October 31, 2026 pull. The free preview on the Grantsights education funder list for New York leads with The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, which says it takes requests and lists what to send, deadlines, limits and a contact. Its $78,750 gift in 2024 is the largest education-tagged tool library grant in the pull. The James H. Cummings Foundation gave The Tool Library $50,000 in 2024 for a project its filing ties to 2626 Main Street, the East Hill Foundation gave $7,500 in 2023 for tools and storage and $10,000 in 2024 for a storage container, and The Edward H. Butler Foundation gave $10,000 in 2024 for capacity building.

The honest reading is that Buffalo shows what a tool library can raise once it's an established local institution with its own building plan. It doesn't mean 11 New York funders are waiting for a new tool library in Albany.

No California sample this time

California had only 1 education foundation in the pull, the Manitou Fund's $50,000 to the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation, so there's no California sample in the free preview. Californians should start with the statewide education list and look for funders that already give to their own public library.

ToolBank money runs on a different track

Most gifts to ToolBank affiliates carried no cause tag, so they sit outside the education count. They're often larger and come from corporate foundations. The Generac Foundation gave ToolBank USA $15,000 in 2025 for its disaster services fund, the CenterPoint Energy Foundation gave Houston Community ToolBank $20,000 in 2024, and The Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation gave Houston Community ToolBank $15,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for tool lending in Richmond and Rosenberg, Texas.

Why the Education List

Education is where tagged tool library gifts lead, because funders file tool libraries the way they file other libraries. In a broader October 31, 2026 search across causes that Grantsights didn't hand-check, about 39 foundations tagged tool library gifts as education, against about 6 with a community tag and about 3 with a human services tag, and about 53 foundations, mostly giving to ToolBank affiliates, used no tag.

Median education gifts were $5,000 in 5 of these 6 states and $3,500 in Minnesota, according to Grantsights analysis of 990-PF education filings pulled October 29, 2026. That's close to what a tool library needs for a year of blade sharpening and replacement drills. A Grantsights list of one state's education funders costs $29, a year with every cause costs $99, and you can ask for a refund within 30 days on either. Libraries ask many of the same funders, so grants for libraries is worth reading next.

What IMLS Doesn't Tell You About Tool Library Funding

According to the IMLS Grants to States program page, more than $160 million is distributed each year to state library administrative agencies by a population formula. That's the largest federal source for library services, but none of the federal pages mentions tool lending. Put next to tool library filings, the federal pages suggest 5 lessons.

1. Grants to States money goes to libraries, not tool libraries. The IMLS page says state library agencies may pass funds on through competitive subawards or cooperative agreements to public, academic, research, school or special libraries. A stand-alone nonprofit tool library isn't on that list. Its best route is a partnership with a public library that applies to the state.
2. The law names partnerships. Under 20 U.S.C. 9141, a state library agency must spend at least 96 percent of these funds on listed purposes, which include expanding access to resources "in a variety of formats" and developing partnerships with community-based organizations. Whether a library of things fits is the state's call, set in its five-year plan. Ask before you assume.
3. CDBG runs through your city. According to HUD, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program gives annual formula grants to states, cities and counties, and eligible uses include public services "within certain limits." Each activity must meet a national objective, such as benefiting low- and moderate-income people. A tool library serving a low-income neighborhood can ask the city during its public comment period. The CDBG guide explains how that process works.
4. EPA recycling grants aren't a fit. According to EPA, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $275 million for Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grants, but the funding opportunities are for states and territories, political subdivisions, and tribes. EPA's consumer recycling education grant page (opens in a new tab) says round two ended with one cooperative agreement on August 25, 2025, to a coalition of national groups. Skip both and spend that week on local funders instead.
5. Disaster funders back ToolBanks. The largest untagged gifts went to ToolBank disaster work, such as Ford Philanthropy's $100,000. A community tool library that lends cleanup gear after storms can make the same case locally.

One more gap: federal pages talk about waste and reuse, but no agency measures how much a shared tool keeps out of a landfill. A tool library that tracks loans per item can make that argument better than any agency page.

Costing a Tool Library for a Grant Request

The 49 education grants averaged about $8,900, and a common mistake is spending all of it on new tools. Most new tool libraries underestimate repair, insurance and space, which keep going long after the shelves fill up. This table is illustrative, not data: costs vary by city, rent and how many tools are donated.

Report loans per year, active members, the share of members from low-income households and the cost per loan. Those numbers let an education funder compare your tool library with a branch library's lending.

5 Tool Library Projects Foundations Have Paid For

Lending programs got foundation money for each of these 5, per the October 31, 2026 search.

1. A library of things in a small town. The Doris E. Stackpole Foundation gave the St. Marys Public Library in Pennsylvania $9,500 in 2023 for middle school STEM camps and its library of things.
2. A tool library inside a housing nonprofit. The MidContinent Foundation gave Lawrence Habitat for Humanity in Kansas $1,500 in 2023 to start a tool library.
3. A youth program at a ToolBank. The Charles H. Dater Foundation gave Cincinnati ToolBank $20,000 in 2024 for a summer youth series.
4. A rural tool library. The Rasmuson Foundation gave the Four Winds Resource Center in Haines, Alaska, $4,000 in 2024 for a community tool library.
5. A tool library at a public library foundation. The PSEG Foundation gave the Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation $2,500 in 2023 for a tool library program.

Common Mistakes in Tool Library Grant Requests

Some funders in the pull gave as little as $100, so every request has to earn its place. These 5 mistakes show up when a tool library writes as if a funder already knows what one is.

• Skipping the explanation. A common mistake is assuming a funder has seen a tool library. Describe a member walking in for a ladder and walking out with it.
• Counting tools, not loans. A red flag for education funders is a report that lists 1,200 tools and never says how often they go out.
• No plan for losses. Funders ask what happens when a saw doesn't come back. Show your deposit or late-fee policy.
• Asking with no tax status. Many foundations give only to 501(c)(3) groups. A volunteer tool library without its own status can use a fiscal sponsor, explained in what is a fiscal sponsor.
• Sizing asks blindly. Check each funder's past gifts with how to read a 990-PF before you name an amount.

A Tool Library's Funding Calendar

This 12-month plan follows the busy spring and summer project season.

The Grantsights grant database tracks open federal and state notices, including library and community development programs a partner might use.

Related Guides for Tool Lending Programs

These 4 guides cover funders that also back shared spaces and reuse. The T. Rowe Price Foundation filed its $10,000 gift to Station North Tool Library in 2024 under creativity, a hint that makerspace funders are worth a look.

Groups that add workshops and equipment should read grants for makerspaces. Tool libraries that pitch waste reduction will find overlapping funders in grants for recycling programs. Neighborhood groups that host a tool shed can use grants for neighborhood associations. If you lend garden tools for habitat plantings, pollinator groups are natural partners, and grants for pollinator conservation groups lists who funds them.

FAQ: Common Questions

Is there a federal grant for tool libraries? No; federal money reaches them only through public libraries or city CDBG plans.

How many foundations fund tool libraries? 39 in Grantsights' search of 990-PF education grants pulled October 31, 2026.

Can a public library use federal money for a library of things? Possibly, through a state library subaward if the state's plan allows it.

Who funds tool libraries in New York? The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and other Buffalo funders of The Tool Library.

Do ToolBanks get grants too? Yes, often larger corporate and disaster gifts.

What's a typical tool library grant? About $8,900 on average, but the median gift was $5,000.

Sources

• Institute of Museum and Library Services: Grants to States (opens in a new tab)
• 20 U.S.C. 9141: Grants to States (United States Code, 2024 edition) (opens in a new tab)
• HUD: Community Development Block Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
• EPA: Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
• EPA: Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)