WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITIES

Stewart's gives 3 kinds of donations:

1. Monetary Grants
2. Products
3. Gift Certificates

Stewart's tries to give once per organization per calendar year in our market area.

Some guidelines: 

Monetary Grants:
We try to be as generous as possible to a large number of organizations but are committed to making the maximum impact in the categories we consider a priority.

Our selection of organizations is based on the following considerations:

• We support groups that are most effective and meet the changing needs of their recipients.
• The size of the donation is determined by geographic area needs, the number of customers in that area, and the number of people benefiting.
• We do not make contributions for individuals as we try to help as many people as possible with each donation
• We have a particular interest in the area of kids, their recreation and education. We do not support adult recreation groups.
• We value extensive volunteer support and minimum fund raising costs, avoiding groups which are already tax supported or have a large amount of overhead.
• We avoid cause-related and religious organizations as we feel they are a matter for the individual's preference.
• We donate to those providing a service versus supporting a cause.
• We support local charities which do not have the advantages of a broad base of funding or widespread emotional appeal like national health organizations
• We refrain from secondary giving (giving to someone so they can in turn give to someone else).

Be sure to include the following:

1. a general description of your group or program
2. who and how many you serve in a specific geographic area
3. why you are raising money (how the money will be used)
4. annual budget
5. total amount raised already and amount still needed to reach your goal
6. specific dollar amount you are requesting from Stewart's
7. your group's 9 digit Federal ID Number (same as EIN)
8. a copy of your 501c3 letter of approval

There are no deadlines for Stewart's general giving program; we donate throughout the year. Remember, the "best" request is brief and to the point and will save you postage!

Other types of Monetary Giving:

New Shop Openings
We want to be good corporate citizens and support a local charity at our new shop openings.

Stewart's Holiday Match (click here for FAQ's or application)

• 25% of our contribution budget is donated through our Holiday Matching Gift Program.
• From Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Day we collect and match individual customer donations made at our shops, and donate the funds to local groups in our communities which benefit children. We partner with local media to help spread the word!
• Local children's charities can pick up an application at Stewart's Shops during the holidays to apply for funding; the deadline for applications is January 31st of the new year.
• Since 1986, Stewart's and our customers have raised over $11Million for local children's charities.

Matching Gift
Periodically we will match individual customer donations made in our shops for a specific charity for a total of up to $5,000. This is usually a big-budget project that will benefit an entire community- like a park or playground. Click here to learn more.

Employee Match
We encourage employees to get involved in their communities and we are happy to support their activities. We will match employee contributions to non-profit organizations which we are not already substantially supporting.

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Stewart's Product Donations
We prefer to donate the products Stewart's makes milk, drinks, juices and ice cream, and sometimes give our homemade chili, soups and other crockpot favorites.

Stewart's private label products are also popular for donations- soda, donuts, bread, eggs, etc.

To request a product donation: please call our Donation Line at (518) 581-1201, ext. 2190. Please call at least two weeks prior to your event date for your request to be considered. Please do not email; we need to speak with you to arrange all the details.

(If your organization has already received your 1 donation per calendar year, we also offer a discounted price to non-profit groups to purchase our 50 serving (3 gallon) boxes of ice cream used for scooping cones at the shop. The charity rate is $19. For purchases, be sure to order ahead from your local shop.)

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Stewart's Gift Certificate Donations
We donate the following kinds of Stewart's gift certificates:

To request a gift certificate donation: please call our Donation Line at (518) 581-1201, ext. 2190. Please call at least two weeks prior to your event date for your request to be considered. Please do not email; we need to speak with you to arrange all the details.

(If your organization has already received your one donation per calendar year, our shops also sell gift certificates.)

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