About Lowe's Foundation
Lowe’s Foundation is anchored by a $50 million, five-year Gable Grants commitment running from 2023 to 2028 to train 50,000 skilled tradespeople. That pledge frames its grantmaking: the foundation backs organizations that recruit, train, and prepare job-ready workers for carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and masonry roles. Recent awards show that this is not a narrow scholarship strategy but a workforce-building one, with grants going to colleges, nonprofits, and intermediaries that can expand training capacity and move learners into the trades.
Among the larger recent awards, The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Foundation received $1,000,000 in 2025 for skilled trades, signaling support for institutional training infrastructure. She Built This City also received $1,000,000 in 2025 for skilled trades, reflecting an interest in organizations preparing new entrants for trades careers. Other grants point to program expansion, pre-apprenticeship pathways, and wraparound support rather than one-off training events. The foundation’s pattern suggests a focus on scalable delivery, job readiness, and partnerships that can reach multiple communities through established education and nonprofit networks.
What Lowe's Foundation Funds
Skilled trades education is the clearest throughline in Lowe’s Foundation grantmaking. In 2025, it gave $1,000,000 to Columbus Technical College Foundation Inc for skilled trades and $750,000 to Seattle Colleges Foundation for the same purpose, showing support for postsecondary training capacity.
The foundation also funds organizations that broaden access to the trades. It awarded $825,000 to West Virginia Women Work in 2025 for skilled trades, and $650,000 to Chicago Women In Trades for skilled trades, indicating an emphasis on pathways for women entering these fields.
Workforce readiness and placement are part of the mix as well. Positive Workforce received $500,000 in 2025 for skilled trades, while The Masters Apprentice received $930,000 for the same broad category. Across these grants, the foundation supports training delivery, pre-apprenticeship readiness, and job-ready preparation.
How Lowe's Foundation Gives
Typical grant size sits in the mid-six-figure range, with a p25 of $262,500, a median of $300,000, and a p75 of $350,000. Recent awards also include multiple seven-figure grants, showing that the foundation uses larger commitments for some partners while maintaining a consistent base level of support.
The pattern is programmatic rather than transactional. The foundation is a public charity and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Its active Gable Grants programs include both invitation-only and unsolicited pathways, depending on the stream: community-based nonprofits and national nonprofits are invitation-only, while community and technical colleges accept unsolicited applications. The recent grants list includes repeat support to organizations in different years, which suggests an ongoing, relationship-based approach rather than isolated awards.
