We match the donations to chosen charities up to $5,000 each quarter.

Our founder, Dick Schulze, thinks the Power of 100 – Women Who Care organization structure
is a unique way to partner with local philanthropists. These partnerships can provide one more way to give back to the many communities that made Best Buy the world’s #1 electronics retailer.

Impact

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation (RMSFF) has distributed over $9 million to more than 2,000 charities chosen by Power of 100 Giving Circles.

Nationwide

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation (RMSFF) partners with over 200 giving circles across the
United States.

Awarded to date to …

Charities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giving Circles

Is your giving circle eligible?

Has your giving circle been invited to participate?
Is your giving circle located in the United States?
Is your giving circle recognized by the 100 Who Care Alliance?
Is your giving circle located within 20 miles of a Best Buy store?

Please note: Giving circle participation is subject to review at any time by the Foundation.

Questions about eligibility? Contact Sheila Otto Phillips or Brian Kraft

Application Steps

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation (RMSFF) will consider providing a 50% match (up to $5,000) to invited Power of 100–Women Who Care giving circles whose chosen charities also meet the criteria described below.

prepare

Check the eligibility requirements for chosen charities. Characteristics listed below.

apply

Submit your application within 30 days of your giving circle’s meeting.

COMMUNICATE

Your chosen charity must respond to our verification request within two weeks of its receipt.

Prepare

The Foundation will consider a 50% match (up to $5,000) to eligible and invited Power of 100 – Women Who Care giving circles if their chosen charity qualifies.

  • Is it located in the United States?
  • Has it been recognized for at least 12 months as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code?
  • Does it work within the geographic area of the giving circle making the request? National charities will only be considered if 100% of the donation will be used locally.
  • Does the organization and its considered program align with RMSFF’s mission and funding guidelines?

The foundation reserves the right to withhold matching funds to organizations that, in the foundation’s sole discretion, do not align with its grant-making priorities.

If your chosen charity does not meet the above criteria, please contact Sheila Otto Phillips or Brian Kraft to discuss alternative options.

  • If the foundation selects a giving circle’s chosen charity to receive a matching grant, we will provide a 50% match directly to that charity.
  • The maximum matching grant by the Foundation per giving circle meeting is $5,000.
  • Invited giving circles seeking a matching grant must submit requests to the Foundation using its online application portal linked below under Apply.
  1. Within four weeks of the meeting date when the charity was chosen, giving circles should provide an application via the Foundation’s online application portal (see link below).
  2. The application must include the name of the chosen charity and the amount donated to the chosen charity by the giving circle. 
  3. The Foundation will review the submitted application to determine the chosen charity’s eligibility.
  4. If eligible, a request for verification is sent to the chosen charity to confirm the amount received from the giving circle.
  5. A return response to that communication is required within two weeks of the Foundation’s contact.
  6. Once the Foundation receives verification from the chosen charity, a matching grant check will be sent directly to the charity.

Apply

Please only complete the application process if your giving circle has been invited to participate in the matching grant program.

  • You must apply within four weeks of your giving circle’s meeting.
  • Applications are accepted for 30 days after a quarter ends.
    • Quarter 1 (meetings held Jan 1 – Mar 31) – applications accepted until Apr 30th
    • Quarter 2 (meetings held Apr 1 – Jun 30) – applications accepted until Jul 31st
    • Quarter 3 (meetings held Jul 1 – Sep 30) – applications accepted until Oct 31st
    • Quarter 4 (meetings held Oct 1 – Dec 31) – applications accepted until Jan 31st
  • Chosen charity name
  • Description of what the charity does
  • Charity’s URL (website)
  • Contact name, phone number, and email address for the contact person at the charity
  • Dollar amount donated to the charity by your giving circle
  • Giving circle meeting date

Our matching grants each quarter are processed in a batch because it is helpful to our accounting department if we do it that way. That means we wait until we process all the applications for the quarter and receive all the verifications from chosen charities.

  • Quarter 1 checks will be mailed in June.
  • Quarter 2 checks will be mailed in September.
  • Quarter 3 checks will be mailed in December.
  • Quarter 4 checks will be mailed in March.

When you are ready to apply, go here.

Each Quarter

Please return to this page within 30 days of your giving circle meeting to request your match!

More Information

Please call or email either Sheila Otto Phillips or Brian Kraft to request the use of our logo or the foundation’s name before publication through local news or social media. 

  • Our main relationship through this matching grant program is with the invited giving circle.
  • Please do not share the Foundation’s logo with chosen charities to use in their own promotional materials.
  • This program is one of many that RMSFF operates. The use of our logo by your chosen charities could be misleading in the context of our other programs.

All grants distributed under this program will be directed in such amounts and at such times by the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation in its sole discretion. Meeting certain criteria is no guarantee that any organization will receive a matching grant from RMSFF.