7 survey respondents
Location: 7601 Penn Ave S, Richfield, 55423 MN
EIN: 41-1784382
75%
25%
8 hours
Median
71%
29%
79%
21%
2017 Deadlines:
Types of Grants Awarded:
Geographic Focus:
For Fiscal Year
Total Assets:
Total Grants:
Change in Assets FY :
Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:
Largest Grant:
Smallest Grant:
Average Grant:
Reviewer 9490 - Did not apply
Best Buy is no longer giving community grants. This is a disappointment. I do appreciate all they are doing nationally, especially for underserved youth, teaching tech skills, etc.
New Jersey
Did not apply
2020
Average
I have not applied, just sharing an update on community grants.
Average
0
Reviewer 870 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Know that organizations in the Twin Cities are treated differently than organizations elsewhere in the country.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Builds relationships, Openminded
Array
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Again, if you're in the Twin Cities, and especially if you have a Best Buy employee on your board or serving as an active volunteer, it's very possible to have an in-person meeting with them.
Good
They place a lot of emphasis on their Teen Tech Centers, which seem to be thriving.
They say they are open to pilot programs.
We are very grateful that, in a time when general operating support is shrinking or disappearing, Best Buy listened to our case for gen op and responded with a grant. We used to have to contort ourselves into a rather ill-fitting program box.
10
Thank you for your feedback. The Best Buy Foundation values the opportunity to meet with prospective grantees to explore partnership opportunities. Sometimes the meetings are via conference call, if staff is not located in the nonprofit market. For example, community grants is a nationwide program and is eligible to organizations close to our Best Buy stores and distribution centers. While these organizations will not be able to have an in-person meeting with the staff at our Best Buy headquarters based in the Twin Cities, organizations applying for a community grant often times have a relationship with our stores and store employees. These store/field employees are recommending the grants to be approved by this program to our social impact team and are therefore a meaningful part of the due diligence process. For the Twin Cities Fund, our corporate headquarters program staff are often able to have more in-person meetings and site visits with these organizations due to their close proximity to our offices. Regardless of the Best Buy Foundation funding pool a nonprofit is applying, we are open to meeting with organizations (in-person of via conference call) should there be a seemly strong fit with our guidelines. Again, we appreciate your feedback.
Reviewer 214 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
A lot of work to put the application together, and they ask for a lot of financial details
Culturally sensitive
Maryland
Grant currently pending
2018
Average
Average
You ask for an awful lot of financial information -- out of proportion to the size of the grant
Portal is well-arranged and not difficult to navigate
18
Thank you for your feedback. Our intent is not to make the application process burdensome. The Community Grants program has a competitive pool of applicants and we request information that can help us make the best possible grant decisions. We do annually review our application questions and will keep this feedback in mind as we make further refinements of our process
Grant Applicant - applied in 2017
The Best Buy Foundation takes a heavy handed approach with philanthropy. Typically they come with what they think are solutions instead of asking the community for solutions. Too often its their way or the highway.
Doesn't "get" nonprofits and issues, Difficult to work with
(Unknown)
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2017
Average
The Foundation has the resources to make what it wants to happen, happen.
Good
Broaden the scope of activities it will fund and look for solutions in the community.
20
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your perspective. The Best Buy Foundation has a limited budget and has carefully crafted its guidelines in collaboration with the community and workforce development trends. The Best Buy Foundation has worked with an independent consultant to help gather community and teen perspectives to better inform our philanthropy, which helps underserved teens become better prepared for tech-reliant careers.
To that end, we often engage in conversations with potential partners to ensure the partnership is a good fit both ways. It is not our intention to request or require the nonprofit partner to do work outside of their mission. We’ve found that open and honest conversations with potential partners helps to create long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships that deliver on a shared vision and outcomes. For our larger grant partners, we keep the communication lines open to ensure it’s a fit for both parties. When we invest, it’s Foundation funds, employee resources, and mutual thought partnership. Again, we sincerely appreciate the input and value the feedback.
Reviewer 918 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2017
This application is web-based with character count requirements; however, we felt that they gave ample space to be able to make our case, which was really helpful.
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for lesser amount
2017
Good
Good
We did not have a lot of direct contact with the funder. It was online, but it was a positive experience overall with no issues.
7
Thanks for your feedback. We do try to make ourselves available but admit sometimes we get busy and need a reminder. Please do not hesitate to follow up with an email. If you do not have a direct email our general email box, [email protected], is a good place for initial contact so that we can direct your question to the correct program lead.
Reviewer 352 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2017
Best Buy is very interested in funding youth and tech-friendly projects, however they need not be completely tech based. Its good to have a component of technology in the project.
Friendly, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2017
Good
Staff is generally easy to get a hold of, and they send email updates regarding the grants process for the year.
One note- their website is not the easiest to navigate to find information on the various funding areas. You have to know which funding area you are looking for or go back as links between the funds do not exist on their individual web pages.
Good
Best buy is tech focused, but also open to other areas that utilize tech. We are an arts and culture nonprofit, and are grateful for the forward thinking approach.
Make the website more easily navigable between funding priority pages.
Dont fret if your project is not totally tech-centric! Smaller tech components are still enough to gain funding from Best Buy, especially well-integrated tech components.
Communicates.
5
Thanks for the feedback. We know our website needs some work and this is a good reminder we need to make it more of a priority. Look for changes in the future!
Grant Applicant - applied in 2017
Though my organization has received community grant funding from Best Buy Foundation previously, their process has gone downhill in my opinion. The Foundation lacks transparency. They no longer share the names of grant awardees publically.
In reviewing their 2016 990s I see that they only gave out 17 community grants last year. Unless you are located near their corporate headquarters I suggest your odds are small and the application too intensive for a small grant of $5,000.
In addition, the Foundation updated their application but it no longer aligns with the description, "required elements of proposal" listed on their website which is confusing.
Alaska
Applied and not funded
Funded for lesser amount
2017
Average
Average
8
Thanks for your comments. In 2017, our grants management system was purchase by another vendor and we had to make a quick migration to the new vendor's system. Admittedly, the switchover did not go smoothly and we did have a few issues through out the transition year, some that we are still working on. Regarding our community grants program, in 2016 we did give out over 2.2M in grants to over 400+ organizations across the country. We do not list them on our website due to the number of grants given. We would appreciate any additional feedback you can give us regarding our application. We do not want this to be burdensome, so if you could send specifics on which questions were too intensive, we are always looking to better our process and application. You can send feedback to [email protected]
