Donation Guidelines
Balls Food Stores has a strong tradition of community caring, service and support. As an active member of our communities, we receive a high volume of donation requests. To review these requests, we have developed criteria and guidelines to best serve those in need of our assistance. Please keep in mind we give top priority to requests from organizations and activities serving children and families in need within the greater Kansas City area. Balls Food Stores donates small amounts of money to a large number of qualifying local organizations and larger monetary amounts to only a small, select group of local organizations. We do not make contributions to or support fundraising for individuals or families because of the large number of these requests we receive. Please take a moment to review the outlined criteria for a donation:
Monetary Assistance – We accept written requests throughout the year for monetary assistance, which is funded through The Ball Family Charitable Foundation, and our main focus is on organizations whose primary purpose is aiding children in crisis. In addition, The Ball Charity Classic Foundation donates annually to KVC Health Systems whose mission is to enrich and enhance the lives of children and families by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services and education. To date, we have donated over $15,000,000 to KVC in order to serve those in the greater Kansas City area.
In December of each year, we have a meeting to determine which organizations we will be able to contribute to for that year. Because we get several hundredrequests for monetary assistance, we will only notify those groups who have been chosen to receive assistance. Requests for monetary assistance should be sent, in writing, to Shana Lodder, Ball Family Charitable Foundation, 5300 Speaker Road, Kansas City, KS 66106. A copy of the organization’s 501(c)3 must be included, along with a brief outline of how the requested funding will be used.
Sponsorships – We receive hundreds of requests for sponsorships each year from the communities that surround our stores. Because it is not fair to do for one group what we cannot do for all that ask, we do not offer sponsorships of any kind.
Product (food) – We donate about $15,000+ per week in food and product to Harvesters & local area food pantries in the hopes of easing hunger problems in the communities we serve. What we offer to all other non-profit groups is a 10% discount on any purchase being made in one of our stores for fundraising purposes or special events. We would be happy to set this up in the store of your choice or you can visit the store in person.
Items for auction or raffle – For children’s organizations, i.e., schools, sports teams, scouts, as well as organizations whose primary focus is on aiding children and families, we can donate a $25 Hen House gift card twice per year for fundraising auctions & raffles. NOTE: If it’s an organization in the Northland, we can do Price Chopper because there is not a Hen House in the Northland.
We hope this is not only informational, but that you’ll see something here that will help with your organization’s mission! If your donation request matches our criteria, please call 913-573-1277 and leave a message including the nature of your request, the name of the organization and the best number to reach you at. Please allow 3-5 business days for a response.