Lowe's Grants 2026: Gable Grants and Community Giving

Lowe's grants open now: 6 routes checked November 12, 2026

Grantsights checked 6 Lowe's giving routes on November 12, 2026. Three are Foundation programs, two belong to the company, and none is taking applications today.

Recently closed: the national nonprofit window on September 30, 2026. Lowe's Foundation's FAQ says community-based and national nonprofit finalists get a virtual Q&A in October, the board decides in December, and approved groups receive the full grant as one lump sum by January 30.

Our honest read: if you run a public community or technical college with a construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing or maintenance program, Lowe's is one of the best-funded trades funders you can apply to directly, and the March window is worth planning for now. If you're a nonprofit, you can't apply cold; the interest form is the only door.

Who can apply: Gable Grants rules from the 2026 guidelines

The 2026 Gable Grants eligibility guidelines, a 2-page PDF linked from the Gable Grants page and checked November 12, 2026, set 3 tests every applicant has to pass.

1. The program. You must already offer skilled trades education, for adults or youth 16 and older, in 5 areas: facilities and property maintenance; carpentry, construction and masonry; electrical and emerging technologies; HVAC; and plumbing. Programs that plan to start trades training later don't qualify.

2. The people served. Programs must recruit and train participants who include women, people of color, adults and youth 16 and up, rural residents, or people who are justice-involved or in second-chance programs.

3. The organization type. Each type has its own door:

• Community and technical colleges apply directly. The college must be a public institution of higher education under Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act where the associate degree is primarily the highest degree awarded, accredited by an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognizes. College foundations that raise money for these colleges can also apply.
• Community-based nonprofits apply by invitation only. They must be 501(c)(3) direct training providers working at a state, regional or local level, and their trades programs must be free. A program that charges tuition, enrollment fees or course fees is ineligible.
• National nonprofits apply by invitation only. They must operate in 3 or more states through chapters or affiliates, and they run any sub-grants themselves. A chapter of a national group can't apply on its own.

What the Foundation won't fund: individuals; organizations that discriminate; religious organizations, unless the program is nonsectarian, serves the broad community and has a separate 501(c)(3); political committees, candidates, causes and lobbying; labor, alumni or fraternal groups; sports teams and leagues; for-profit companies, including small businesses; and endowments. The FAQs add that 4-year universities, private institutions, and high school or K-12 CTE programs can't apply.

What the money can pay for: program costs such as instructors, materials, new or remodeled training space, equipment and capacity building, plus student stipends and indirect costs, according to the Gable Grants FAQs. Grants last 24 months for colleges and community-based nonprofits and 12 months for national nonprofits.

Who actually gets Lowe's Foundation grants

Grantsights analysis of the 35 grants on Schedule I for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2025 shows a funder of large, concentrated grants. According to our analysis of that list, colleges and trades nonprofits took 32 of the 35 grants. The median grant was $500,000, and 22 of 35 grants were $500,000 or more.

The 6 grants of $1 million went to Central Piedmont Community College Foundation in Charlotte, Goodwill Industries International, Maricopa County Community College District Foundation in Arizona, Midlands Technical College Foundation in South Carolina, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) in Florida.

Colleges take the biggest share

For example, Baton Rouge Community College Foundation received $850,000, Community College of Baltimore County Foundation received $601,000, and Central Maine Community College received $500,000. Among nonprofits, Trade Institute of Pittsburgh received $800,000 and Alaska Works Partnership received $700,000. One organization in Mississippi, Moore Community House in Biloxi, received $600,000 for its construction and pre-apprenticeship courses, as did Hope Renovations in North Carolina and unCommon Construction in New Orleans.

The three non-trades grants are a reminder of the Foundation's older giving: Sleep In Heavenly Peace in Idaho received $916,150 for what the return describes as basic necessities for children in need, and two Rebuilding Together affiliates in Arizona and Charlotte received $75,000 each. The return's own program description counts $1,066,150 of the year's grants as community improvement and $16,759,000 as skilled trades.

Where the money went by state

Grants reached 25 states. North Carolina, home of Lowe's Mooresville headquarters, led with 4 grants, but the map is national, running from Alaska Works Partnership in Anchorage to Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Some addresses belong to national groups (Goodwill Industries International in Maryland, NCCER in Florida, LISC and Nontraditional Employment for Women in New York).

The year before, and the small-grant pattern

The return for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2024 lists 36 grants worth $20,030,000, which matches its Part IX total, so giving fell about 11% the next year by the Part IX measure. That earlier year's median was also $500,000, with 9 grants of $1 million or more, the largest $1,425,000 to Sleep In Heavenly Peace.

One pattern stands out across the two years. Several organizations got a small grant first and a large one later: Hope Renovations went from $25,000 to $600,000, Latino Academy of Workforce Development from $25,000 to $325,000, Central Piedmont from $100,000 to $1,000,000, and Wilkes Community College and Community College of Baltimore County from $100,000 to $500,000 and $601,000. Two of the $25,000 grantees in the later year, Revolution Workshop and WSU Tech, now appear on the Foundation's own Gable Grants recipient lists. The $25,000 and $100,000 grants fall below the FAQ's published range, and the Foundation's pages don't explain them.

What the Lowe's Foundation has said since that return

The return above ends in January 2025, and the Foundation has grown since. According to the Foundation's July 27, 2026 press release, it announced nearly $8 million in new Gable Grants to 10 community and technical colleges, bringing its skilled trades investment past $60 million since 2023 and its network to 73 funded partners in 30 states. Those 10 colleges were Chattahoochee Technical College, Dixie Technical College, Durham Technical Community College, Elaine P. Nunez Community College, Houston City College, Miami Dade College, Mountwest Community and Technical College, Northeast Iowa Community College, WSU Tech and York Technical College.

According to the 2025 annual report from the Lowe's Foundation, it had already invested $43 million across 60 institutions by early 2026. Other figures from the Foundation's own pages:

On September 1, 2026, the Foundation also launched the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition with more than 75 founding members, including NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DEWALT and Duke Energy, aiming to help train 1 million people by 2035. The press release describes it as a network, not a new grant program, so it isn't a funding route today.

Lowe's Community Impact Grants: the company program

Lowe's Community Impact Grants are a separate, company-run program, and 2026 was its fifth year. According to the Community Impact FAQ on corporate.lowes.com, the program is part of a five-year, $100 million commitment to renovating community spaces, with nominations each year from 2022 through 2026 and up to 100 projects selected per year. Lowe's Our Communities page says that through 2024 it had invested over $62 million through the Lowe's Hometowns Grant program, the earlier name for the same effort.

How it works, per the 2026 FAQ and program terms:

1. A person nominates the project. Nominators must be legal U.S. residents aged 21 or older. Lowe's associates can nominate too.
2. The project must be a physical renovation of a shared space: a community center, shelter, fire station, park, garden, food pantry or a skilled trades training space.
3. A nonprofit, school or local government must lead it. The terms require a 501(c)(3) or government entity to sponsor and oversee the work.
4. It must sit within 30 miles of a Lowe's store. The FAQ says that's the only geographic factor in selection.
5. Lowe's judges community impact and need, the type of space, feasibility and lasting benefit, and wants projects that can be finished in about 4 months.

The 2026 signature projects page lists projects in 90 communities in 38 states, including a fire station kitchen remodel in Enterprise, a domestic violence shelter kitchen, a county library playground in Cullman, Alabama, and a veterans' facility. Churches can receive a grant if the renovated space serves the whole community.

Red flag for small groups: the 2026 terms require grant recipients to carry general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence, umbrella coverage of at least $1 million and other policies, and they allow up to $5,000 of the grant to cover the cost. A volunteer group without insurance should line up a fiscal sponsor or a city partner before a nomination is filed.

How to apply for Lowe's grants, step by step

The Gable Grants FAQs and application template describe 7 steps, checked November 12, 2026. Use them to prepare for the next cycle.

1. Pick your door. Colleges apply directly in March. Community-based nonprofits fill out the interest form, which was open April to July in 2026. National nonprofits wait for an invitation.
2. Check your program fits the 5 trades areas and already runs. The application asks whether you "currently directly provide" trades programs.
3. Download the application template from the Gable Grants page and draft offline. It asks for enrollment and completion forecasts for year 1 and year 2, a 2-year budget on the Foundation's template, a signed W-9 and a plan for funding the program after the grant ends.
4. Submit through the Lowe's Foundation Gable Grants online portal. The FAQs say email, fax and late applications aren't accepted, and you can't edit after submitting. Bookmark your application link, because clearing your browser history loses access to drafts.
5. Prepare for the finalist Q&A. College finalists meet virtually with Lowe's Foundation board members in May; nonprofit finalists meet in October.
6. Expect a lump sum. Colleges hear in July and are paid the full amount by July 31; nonprofits hear in December and are paid by January 30.
7. Plan for the grant's obligations. Grantees complete pre- and post-assessments, attend onboarding and an annual in-person summit, meet a local Lowe's captain, hold check-ins twice a year and file impact reports.

Common mistake: a high school CTE program or a 4-year university applying for a Gable Grant. The FAQs rule both out. A K-12 or high school trades space can still be nominated for a Community Impact Grant, since "high school vocational" programs appear in Lowe's list of past nominations.

What the Lowe's Foundation Doesn't Tell You

Grantsights checked the Lowe's Foundation's pages against its two latest Form 990 returns, and 6 things stood out.

1. Most nonprofits can't apply at all. Gable Grants for nonprofits are invitation only, and the interest form is the only way to get on the list. In the fiscal year ending January 2025, 12 community-based training nonprofits were paid, against 14 colleges.

2. The published floor isn't the real floor. The FAQ says $100,000 to $1,000,000, but the returns show $25,000 and $75,000 grants. The small grants often came a year before a large one to the same organization.

3. It's a public charity run by Lowe's executives. The latest return lists $31,265,117 in contributions and grants received that year, and the About page says Lowe's founded the Foundation and lists Lowe's executives as its president, vice chair, treasurer and secretary. It files like a public charity but decides like a corporate foundation.

4. Renewals happen, but they aren't the plan. The FAQs say grantees can reapply after the grant period ends but that funding "should not serve as a long-term funding source." The recipient pages already list several second grants (Miami Dade College, Mountwest, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Palm Beach State College, Ivy Tech and others).

5. The newest grants aren't on a return yet. The fiscal year ending January 2026 return isn't due until mid-December 2026 with extensions, so the July 2026 college grants and the January 2026 nonprofit grants don't show up in any filing.

6. Lowe's company giving is bigger and harder to reach. Lowe's Our Communities page set a goal to invest $350 million in communities by 2025 and says it beat its initial goal by $218 million through 2024. Very little of that runs through an application a local group can file; most moves through national partners, disaster relief and the nomination program. Don't underestimate how few of those dollars are open.

Federal funding for trades training programs

Federal money for trades training is larger than any company program, and it pairs well with a Gable Grant. According to the U.S. Department of Education's Perkins V page (opens in a new tab), the law provides nearly $1.4 billion a year for career and technical education programs. Our Perkins CTE grants guide explains how a college gets its share.

For nonprofits running construction boot camps, the Department of Labor's pre-apprenticeship page (opens in a new tab) lists the elements of a quality program, including training approved by a Registered Apprenticeship partner and agreements that let graduates enter an apprenticeship directly. Many Gable recipients describe their programs in exactly those terms, so building those agreements helps on both fronts. The WIOA workforce grants guide and the workforce development grants guide cover the federal job training money that runs through local workforce boards.

Where to look if Lowe's isn't a fit

The obvious comparison: Home Depot Foundation grants also back the trades, but differently. Our Home Depot guide found its Path to Pro Education Grants paying up to $10,000 in Home Depot gift cards as of November 6, 2026, a small, product-based award, while a Gable Grant is cash in six or seven figures for a whole program. A community college might pursue both: Gable for the lab, Path to Pro for student tools.

Community space projects: if your project was a Community Impact nomination, grants for community projects lists funders for parks, centers and renovations. The T-Mobile Hometown Grants guide covers another company program for small-town spaces, which closed its final round in June 2026, and points to where those towns can apply instead.

Training nonprofits: grants for workforce training and the best grants for workforce development nonprofits in 2026 list foundations with open cycles. Corporate grants for nonprofits covers other company funders, and North Carolina groups near Lowe's headquarters can start with North Carolina nonprofit grants.

Find local funders: the Lowe's Foundation files Form 990 as a public charity, so it won't appear on Grantsights' community funder lists. Those lists sort private foundations by state from their 990-PF filings, which is where the hometown family and community funders that pay for job training and building projects show up. The preview for your own state is free.

How Grantsights Checked This Guide

Grantsights checked 11 Lowe's pages and documents and 2 returns on November 12, 2026. According to IRS guidance on its public charities page (opens in a new tab), private foundations usually have one major funding source, such as a single corporation, while public charities draw support from many sources. The Lowe's Foundation's Schedule A marks it as publicly supported.

Sources

• Lowe's Foundation: Gable Grants (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Gable Grants FAQs (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Gable Grants Eligibility Guidelines 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Gable Grants Application Template 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Community and Technical College Recipients (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Community-Based Nonprofit Recipients (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: National Nonprofit Recipients (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: About Us (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Tops $60 Million in Skilled Trades Training (July 27, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition (September 1, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's Foundation: 2025 Annual Report (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's: Our Communities (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's: Community Impact Grants FAQs (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's: Community Impact Signature Projects (opens in a new tab)
• Lowe's: 2026 Community Impact Grants Program Terms and Conditions (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Lowe's Foundation filings (opens in a new tab)
• U.S. Department of Education: Perkins V (opens in a new tab)
• U.S. Department of Labor, Apprenticeship.gov: Explore Pre-Apprenticeship (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: Public Charities (opens in a new tab)