Frequently Asked Questions
Walmart Spark Good brings together all our community giving programs under one brand and empowers local organizations to engage with customers and associates to support causes they care about. Local organizations that want to take advantage of Spark Good resources must create a Spark Good account on Walmart.com and be verified through Deed, a third-party verification provider.
From your Spark Good account, organizations can manage their charitable activities with Walmart, such as applying for local grants, setting up customer-facing registries for needed items, requesting storefront outside of the front entrance of our facilities to fundraise, signing up for Round Up and more.
The Spark Good Account is a one-stop shop for eligible organizations to manage their charitable activities with Walmart, such as applying for Spark Good grants, setting up customer-facing registries for needed items, requesting space outside of our facilities to fundraise, signing up for Round Up, and more. To get started, click “Access Spark Good” on Walmart.com/nonprofits to set up your Spark Good account.
Walmart is now partnering with Deed to simplify verification. Deed validates and verifies that a local organization is in good standing with the IRS, and that individuals associated with the organization’s Spark Good account is deemed an "authorized user" from that organization. Once an organization is verified and active with Deed, the organization may access Spark Good programs, depending on program eligibility, and take advantage of benefits by other companies in the Deed ecosystem. To review Spark Good program guidelines and eligibility, click here.
*Please note that even if your organization was previously verified by FrontDoor, you will need to set up an account with Deed.
To review Spark Good program guidelines and eligibility, click here.
Create a Spark Good account on Walmart.com for your organization. You will be prompted to create or log into your Walmart.com account to get started. We recommend using an organization email, rather than a personal email. You will be directed to the verification process by clicking “Add Organizations.”
For the verification process, an organization will need to provide a minimum of the following: Organization’s primary email, IRS determination letter, Current 990 or equivalent documentation, Organization’s Bank Account Information, and or any additional information as required.
If you or your organization is unable or unwilling to provide any of the requirements listed, Walmart and Deed may not be able to serve you.
Yes, if you are listed as an authorized user in Deed for more than one organization and the email address used for Deed for each of these organizations matches your Walmart.com account, you can access multiple organizations in your Spark Good account. Note, only the Primary User (administrator in Deed) will have access to the following tools in the Spark Good account: sign up for Spark Good Round Up, set up Registry Donation Receipt, and manage Organization Profile settings and preferences.
Deed verifies the primary account owner for each organization. All secondary users associated are authorized by the organization’s primary account owner. Authorized users may include employees, contractors, staff, and agents of organizations. Authorized users must be at least 18 years old.
To access Spark Good, all authorized users will need to have a Walmart.com account using an organizational email address that is also used to log into their Deed account.
Any primary user (administrator in Deed) can log into Deed to remove or make changes to the list of users.
As Deed is a third-party partner that Walmart works with, please reach out directly to Deed’s Nonprofit Success Team at nonprofits@joindeed.com.
You can download a Spark Good logo (.PNG) here.
Local organizations are encouraged to use this logo on their website, on social media or in communications to your supporters when communicating to them about your participation in Walmart Spark Good. Any other uses of this logo must be authorized by Walmart Media Relations.
Requirements vary by program, so it’s important to review eligibility requirements and program guidelines before starting your application.
To find out which grants your organization or event may qualify for and start your application, click here.
Walmart Giving supports work directly related to our philanthropic strategies and geographic focus. Applications are by invitation only for 501(c)(3) organizations (or equivalent organizations outside the U.S.) whose work directly relates to our focus areas. Unsolicited proposals will not be accepted. Read more about Spark Good local grant eligibility here.
No. Only financial grants are available through our programs. Requests for in-kind donations (products and gift cards) should be made at your local Walmart or Sam’s Club facility.
Yes. Organizations are eligible for consideration through multiple giving programs at the same time, as long as the organization meets the criteria for each individual program.
These are available in Cybergrants on your organization’s profile page, under Grantee Resources. Any announcement, logo usage or press release language requires prior approval. Please reach out to your program officer or the store manager to discuss plans for grant recognition and publicity.
No. We do not make grants directly to individuals.
We do not make grants directly to individuals. Other areas that we do not fund include:
- Association/chamber memberships
- Athletic sponsorships (teams/events)
- Faith-based organizations when the proposed grant will only benefit the organization or its members
- Political causes, candidates, organizations or campaigns
No. Only organizations that are currently listed in the Internal Revenue Service's current 50-State Master File are eligible to receive funding. If you believe that a system error is preventing you from submitting an application, please contact the IRS at 1-877-829-5500 and request to be added to Publication 78, also known as the 50-State Master File.
No. Only organizations recognized as public charities (other than Type III supporting organizations) are eligible for funding.
You’ll receive an e-mail notification as soon as funding decisions have been made. Sign into the account where you submitted the application to check statuses.
Grant checks will be mailed directly to the recipient organization at the address listed in the organization’s application. The timeline for check delivery depends on the program. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. If the grant was approved more than 6 weeks ago and the organization has yet to receive the check, please reach out to the facility or grant manager to submit a void/reissue request.
Organizations should contact their grant manager or local facility from which funds were awarded to schedule a recognition event.
Yes. Sam and Helen Walton established the Walton Family Foundation in 1987, which operates independently of Walmart and the philanthropic efforts funded by the Walmart Foundation.
FCPA is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If the proposed grant includes any activities to be conducted outside the United States, the grantee must indicate that fact on the grant proposal.
When applying, organizations should carefully assess if any activities, including travel or subcontractor work, will be conducted outside the U.S. If so, please indicate “yes” on any questions relating to international activities or international distribution of funds when submitting the grant proposal.
Yes. Annually all grantees conducting activities outside the U.S. need to sign a certification that they are still in FCPA compliance with certain representations in the grant agreement.
If an international organization is not a US 501(c)(3) publicly supported charity, the team must demonstrate that the non-U.S. grantee is the “equivalent” of a U.S. public charity (“equivalency determination”) or exercise “expenditure responsibility” (ER).
ER requires a pre-grant inquiry to demonstrate that organization is capable of fulfilling the charitable purposes of the grant. For example, the team will investigate whether the organization received and managed funds from a US 501(c)(3) organization in the past.
Additional and more frequent reporting, along with additional financial management controls, may be required of ER grantees. The Walmart Foundation is required to report information on each of its ER grants to the IRS on the Foundation’s tax return, including the grant amount, date, amount expended, date of last grantee report, etc.
The ER process may be used when the Walmart Foundation reviews a proposed grant to any non-501(c)(3) organization. Typically, the Walmart Foundation uses ER for international organizations invited to submit proposals.
Organizations that operate in Benton County and/or Washington County of Northwest Arkansas are eligible to apply for a grant.
Requirements vary, so it’s important to review eligibility requirements and program guidelines before starting your application. Apply for a Northwest Arkansas Giving grant here.
Yes. However, your proposed programs must directly benefit Benton County and/or Washington County.
Investments in Northwest Arkansas are focused around growing long-term capacity and capabilities of the region. Learn more about the current focus areas.
Deadlines are posted on the website annually. View this year’s deadlines.
Yes. Organizations are eligible for consideration through multiple giving programs at the same time, as long as the organization meets the criteria for each individual program.
No. Only financial grants are available through the Northwest Arkansas Giving program. Requests for in-kind donations (product and gift cards) should be made at your local Walmart or Sam’s Club facility.
You will receive an e-mail notification to the email address associated with the application in Cybergrants once funding decisions have been made.
If approved, grant checks will be mailed directly to the recipient organization at the address listed in the grant application. Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery.
Please allow up to 30 days for your application to be reviewed. If it has been more than 30 days, please contact walmart.org@walmart.com.
Eligible organizations include public charities (501c3 organizations), recognized government entity, schools with a NCES number or 501c3 status, and a church or other faith-based organizations with a proposed project that benefits the community at large. Click to review Spark Good Local Grants guidelines.
Organizations must have a Walmart Spark Good account and be a Deed verified organization. You can apply for a Spark Good Local Grant through your Spark Good account.
Yes, organizations are eligible to participate in multiple Spark Good programs at the same time, as long as the organization meets the criteria for each individual program.
Yes. You can submit applications to multiple facilities. However, your proposed programs must directly benefit the service area of each facility to which you are applying, and organizations are limited to 25 applications (pending/approved) per year.
No. Once you have received funding from a facility for this program, you are not eligible to reapply at that facility until the next fiscal year.
No. The Spark Good Local Grant program provides cash grants only. Requests for in-kind donations, including products and gift cards, are not accepted through this program and should be made at your local Walmart or Sam’s Club facility.
You will receive an e-mail notification once funding decisions have been made. It will be sent to the email address associated with the application in your Spark Good account.
If an organization is recommended for funding, organization will be notified about how to set up electronic payment to complete the final approval step in the grant application process.
Upon receiving a grant, organizations may contact the local facility that issued the funds to discuss the public announcement and, if desired, a formal recognition event.
Walmart’s Spark Good Storefront Reservation Tool allows local organizations to request an event outside of the front entrance Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities for the purpose of fundraising or community awareness campaigns.
Local organizations must have a Spark Good account on Walmart.com and be verified prior to accessing the storefront reservation tool. Once a request is submitted, a Walmart or Club facility manager will review and action on the request. Click to review Spark Good Storefront Reservation Program guidelines.
No, local organizations can only submit an event for the outside entrance a Walmart and Sam’s Club facility.
An organization must submit a request no less than 21 days in advance of an event date. This is to ensure that facility managers have sufficient time to review the event request.
Facility management review event requests and make recommendations on all submitted requests. Each facility manager may set the frequency and process in which determinations are made. The organization will be notified of the status of a request no less than 7 days before their event date.
Local organizations may request storefront outside the front entrance a Walmart and Sam’s Club facility up to 14 days per facility, per calendar year, but no more than 3 consecutive days (and no more than 8 consecutive hours each day).
Organizations may request storefront outside of the front entrance of a facility for fundraising or community awareness events.
Storefront requests are not to be submitted for the following:
- For-profit commercial sale of products or services to the public.
- Political campaigning, lobbying and/or policy-change surveying outright are strictly prohibited
Managers reserve the right to decline an organization’s request based on review of the organization’s reputation and activities and its agreement to comply with applicable terms and conditions.
Submission of a request does not guarantee approval. Exclusions include organizations that deny service, membership or other involvement on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, veteran, or disability status.
Yes, no more than 15 members of a group may participate in an event in front of a store at any one time.
Yes, the organization will receive email notifications when there are any changes made to a Storefront Reservation request.
On the day of an event, the organization will receive 2 email notifications prompting a check-in before the start of the event and after the event. Upon arrival, visit the Customer or Member Service desk to meet with the facility Manager. They will direct them to the event location outside of the front entrance of the facility. The organization representative will need to provide the storefront request check-in confirmation received via email and the approved event must be in the facility manager’s dashboard.
Clean up and return the storefront event to the condition in which it was found. Return to the Customer or Member Service desk to let the Facility Manager know the event has ended and check out in the Spark Good Storefront Reservation Tool, signaling that the event is over.
If an issue arises during the event at a store, please seek assistance at the Customer or Member Service desk. To share a concern after the event has concluded, email sparkgoodsupport@walmart.com.
Organizations must have a Walmart Spark Good account and be a Deed verified organization. Eligible organizations include public charities (501c3 organizations), recognized government entity, schools with a NCES number or 501c3 status, and other faith-based organizations that benefits the community at large. Click to review Spark Good Associate Programs guidelines.
You will need to have to Walmart Spark Good account on Walmart.com and be a Deed verified organization. You can then click on Associate Giving icon in your Spark Good Account to post volunteer opportunities. Any volunteering and giving is strictly voluntary and at the discretion of Walmart associates.
Yes, you can log into your Spark Good Account and post volunteer opportunities for Walmart associates when you click on the Associate Giving icon.
Associate donations made through the Spark Good Associate platform are not automatically matched. Matching campaigns will be offered as least twice per fiscal year and associates are notified when these matching opportunities are available.
Spark Good Round Up allows Walmart.com and Walmart app customers to round up their purchase total to the nearest dollar at checkout and donate the "change" to a charitable nonprofit or NCES school of their choice.
Spark Good Registry allows eligible charitable nonprofits and NCES schools to set up customer facing registries for needed items.
Organizations must have a Walmart Spark Good account, be verified by Deed and signed up for the program. Eligible organizations include current 501(c)(3) public charities listed in the IRS Business Master File that conduct charitable activities in the United States and educational institutions with a NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) number. Click to review Spark Good Round Up guidelines and Spark Good Registry guidelines.
No, an eligible organization must be headquartered in the United States (the 50 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Only the primary user of your Spark Good account can register for Round Up on behalf of the organization. To sign up, log into the Spark Good account. As part of the sign up process, your organization must have a bank account and register for ACH payments with Network for Good to receive customer donations.
To create a Spark Good Registry, you must log into your Spark Good account on Walmart.com and find the active organization you would like to create a registry for. In the Spark Good account, under Spark Good Registry, click “+Create Registry”.
Once your organization has signed up for Spark Good Round Up or setup a Registry, your organization will immediately be discoverable on Walmart.com/sparkgood for a customer to select and support. You can share your organization’s profile page with your supporters.
No, there is no cost to the charitable organization to sign up and participate in any Spark Good programs. No fees will be deducted from the donation amount.
Customer Round Up donations are disbursed through Network for Good, a donor advised fund. You can update your ACH back account information with Network for Good at any time.
Yes, customer donations are disbursed electronically through Network for Good, a donor advised fund. As part of the enrollment process, your organization must have a bank account and register for ACH payments with Network for Good to receive customer donations. Please note that only the Spark Good account’s primary user can view and update the ACH payment information. While ACH details are required to participate in Spark Good Round Up, Network for Good will not share the ACH details with Walmart.
Network for Good (NFG), a 501(c)(3) is a nonprofit partner that operates a donor advised fund to distribute donations to nonprofits. Walmart works with Network for Good to disburse customer donations to the recommended charities that customers have selected.
When a customer completes their order, the round up donation is made to Network for Good, a donor advised fund. Customer donations are disbursed through Network for Good to participating organizations quarterly, about 15-20 working days after the quarter's end. Quarters are defined as January-March, April- June, July-September, and October-December. To accept donations, the organization must be set up to receive electronic payment from Network for Good.
Log into your Spark Good account on Walmart.com to view the amount of customer donations received. On your organization’s profile page, you can also view the number of unique customers who donated to your organization.
Share your organization’s profile page, under "Share this charity's profile", you can copy and share the link via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
You can sign up for Spark Good Round Up to donate your change or donate products to an organization through Spark Good Registry. For Spark Good Round up, you can choose a charitable nonprofit or NCES school that you care about, to round up your purchase total to the nearest dollar at checkout and donate your change to your chosen organization every time you shop online. For Spark Good Registry, you can purchase online and donate needed items listed by the charitable nonprofit or NCES school.
Visit Walmart.com/SparkGood to search and select an organization to round up or purchase items off their Spark Good registry. You can search by name, cause or use the zip code filter. Organizations that signed up for Round Up and/or have set up Spark Good Registry will have the Round Up and/or Registry tag under their names.
Round Up: Once you have selected an organization under Round Up, click “Select this Charity.” In future orders, you will see the “Round up” amount appear when you view the check-out cart. You have to check the box if you wish to round up and donate your change, but you can also leave the box checked if you do not want to donate the round up sum for specific purchase.
Registry: You can click on the organization’s registry and purchase items to donate to the organization. Items will be shipped directly to the organization’s address.
Yes, you can change your organization selection at any time. Under your account settings, you can change your organization selection for Round Up under Giving & Impact tab.
You can choose from any eligible charitable organization that has enrolled to participate in Round Up or set up a Registry. If you do not see your preferred choice, please share this program with the charitable organization and encourage them to participate in Spark Good programs by starting at Walmart.com/nonprofits.
Yes, 100% of your donations is tax deductible to the extent otherwise allowed by law.
No, you will not receive any notifications for Round Up. You can track the status of your Round Up donations in your account. You will see your total monetary contributions to Spark Good Round Up, as well as a line-by-line account of Round Up donations to individual charitable organizations. When your donations are marked "Completed", your donation has been fully processed and received by the charity.
For purchases made on Spark Good Registry, you will receive delivery notifications when your donation has been delivered to the organization.
There may be a rare occurrence where a selected charity does not satisfy Network for Good’s criteria for receiving donations based on its vetting policy or disbursement review policy (e.g. organization is not in good standing with federal or state regulators, or the charity returns the donation for any reason). In this case, Network for Good will direct those donations to United Way Worldwide. You can see all your Round Up donation in your account settings. Any redirected donation will be reflected in the donation history in your Account Settings page under Giving & Impact.
You can un-enroll at any time. Under your account settings, click on Giving & Impact and turn off the button for Round Up.
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