Grant Program Guidelines and Instructions
Toyota seeks to expand access to opportunities that improve people’s lives and create a culture of inclusion—strengthening the communities where we live, work and play. To have meaningful, sustainable impact, we take a holistic approach to how we invest in our communities. Our efforts go beyond monetary support, amplifying our impact by engaging our team members as volunteers and sharing our Toyota know-how.
Our corporate giving and community engagement is focused on organizations that support the following strategic pillars: workforce readiness, inclusive mobility, financial inclusion and community resilience including environmental sustainability and driver/passenger safety. Our portfolio of partners also reflects our commitment to serving diverse and underserved populations.
This page describes the guidelines for our national corporate giving program.
The Toyota USA Foundation is a separate charitable organization that supports STEM education. The Toyota USA Foundation regrets that they’re unable to respond to every inquiry and support every request.
Geographic and Funding Guidelines
Please carefully review our scope and funding guidelines before beginning our application process. Toyota prefers to support programs that have long-term, sustainable impact.
Nationally, Toyota focuses on four areas: workforce readiness, inclusive mobility, financial inclusion and community resilience. National programs in these areas must have a broad reach by impacting several major U.S. cities, communities or groups.
Regionally, Toyota makes contributions to help support the specific needs of local communities.
Guidelines
Organizations must apply for each new grant requested, and subsequent funding is contingent upon evaluation of previous activities.
Limitation
Toyota will not make grants to the following types of organizations:
- Those that discriminate in its programs, activities or hiring policies.
- Those affiliated with any national organization or chapter that discriminates on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, medical condition, sex or gender (including pregnancy), gender identity and/or expression (including a transgender identity), sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.
- Organizations that will use the grant to support political parties, candidates or lobbying activities, publications, fraternal or labor organizations, advertising, capital campaigns or endowments.
- Those not recognized as charitable by the Internal Revenue Service.
Religious organizations must agree that the funds will be designated only to ongoing secular community service programs that do not propagate a belief in a specific faith and are open to all persons. These programs must have a formal mission and separate budget, and benefits of the grants must not be limited exclusively to the organization’s members.
The organization must also meet the requirements placed upon charitable organizations under applicable law, including the Internal Revenue Code.
How To Apply
We're glad you are interested in applying for a grant from Toyota. Here is everything you need to know:
STEP 1:
Carefully review our eligibility criteria and selection guidelines. This is an essential step in determining whether you should take the time to prepare a grant proposal. Please click on the facility below that you’d like to apply to for additional funding criteria.
STEP 2:
Prepare and submit your proposal using our online application.
If this is the first time you have applied for a Toyota grant application, the portal will require that you register your email address. Once you are registered, you can start your application. You can always save it and resume later.
Toyota only accepts proposals through our grant application portal. We recommend that you review the application questions and prepare your best description of your proposal within that framework.
STEP 3:
Our automated system will confirm your submitted proposal has been received at Toyota. If you do not receive email confirmation of your submission, you may contact us at T4GCommunity@toyota.com.
STEP 4:
It can take up to 6 months to review and evaluate a proposal. Please do not contact us by phone or by email to ask about the status of your application. Due to the volume of inquiries, we cannot respond individually to requests for status.
STEP 5:
We will advise you by email if your proposal has been approved or declined. If your application is approved, we will follow up with your organization via notification. Due to the volume of inquiries, we cannot respond individually to organizations not selected for further consideration.
Apply by Facility
Please note that Toyota Motor North America, Toyota Financial Services and Toyota USA Foundation have moved to an invite-only grant application. If your organization supports programs in any of our North American Manufacturing Center communities, listed below, please consider applying if you meet their funding guidelines, which can be found on each of their pages.
Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc. (TMMAL)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri, Inc. (TMMMO)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc. (TMMI)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK)
Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center (PEMC)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc. (TMMMS)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Tennessee (TMMTN)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc. (TMMWV)
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
Toyota's national corporate giving program supports charitable non-profit organizations that are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. We also support State or Municipal Organizations and Public Schools.
The Toyota USA Foundation is a separate giving program with more restrictive guidelines.
Toyota and the Toyota USA Foundation do not make grants to the following types of organizations:
- Those not recognized as charitable organizations by the Internal Revenue Service
- Those that practice discrimination by race, creed, color, sex, age or national origin, and those that do not comply with Toyota’s Non-Discrimination Policy
- Those that serve only their own memberships, such as fraternal organizations, labor organizations or religious groups
- Athletic/sports teams and political parties or candidates
- Publications, lobbying activities, advertising, capital campaigns or endowments
For additional guidelines for supported programs and events, please see above in the “Apply by Facility or Program” for links to individual guideline pages for our North American Manufacturing Plants. If looking to apply for the Toyota USA Foundation, which focuses on STEM education, please reach out to Toyota.usa.foundation@toyota.com.
Please note that grant applications from Toyota’s North America’s Headquarters in Plano, TX are invite-only.
No, Toyota does not award grants to organizations outside the United States.
Toyota does not make grants to the following types of organizations:
- Those not recognized as charitable organizations by the Internal Revenue Service
- Those that practice discrimination by race, creed, color, sex, age or national origin, and those that do not comply with Toyota’s Non-Discrimination Policy
- Those that serve only their own memberships, such as fraternal organizations, labor organizations or religious groups
- Athletic/sports teams and political parties or candidates
- Publications, lobbying activities, advertising, capital campaigns or endowments
Please note: organizations are limited to one grant within a twelve-month period. Additionally, individuals are ineligible to apply.
Toyota makes grants to organizations directly rather than through individual fundraising activities; therefore, we are unable to fund your effort.
Toyota reserves charitable vehicle donations to our corporate partners and strategic partnerships. Vehicle donations are very limited, so requests for individual vehicle donations are not permitted.
Applying for a grant
Please refer to the steps above in the “Apply for a Grant” section.
Mandatory information on our application form is annotated with a red asterisk (*).
There is no deadline for completing your application in the system. Please note, that some affiliates have reviewing cycles that would have a specific date to be submitted. We recommend that all applications be submitted within 30 days of starting them.
We determine which affiliate will receive your application based on the information you provide on the application. If a Toyota employee has suggested that you apply for a grant, make sure to enter that person’s name, title, and office location.
Please note: Toyota’s North American Manufacturing plants will only accept applications submitted in their respective states, unless noted on their guideline page. Toyota North America Headquarters and Toyota USA Foundation grants are solicited by invitation-only and will have a special code that will route directly to the appropriate teams.
You can refer to deadlines for each of our facilities at the bottom of the How to Apply section. Please note that each facility has their own deadlines. A facility that does not mention a deadline works on a rolling review schedule. We do budget funding on an annual basis ending on March 31st of each year, so if your proposal is time-sensitive, we urge you to apply at least 3 months in advance to allow our staff adequate time to fully consider your application.
To create a user account, go to the “Apply for a Grant Page” and click the link to “Submit a Grant Application.” Our system will prompt you to enroll with an email address.
If applying to an affiliate that is open to non-solicitated applications, you can bookmark the page. If applying to an invite-only, you will need to be invited again, and given a special code.
Your application is saved whenever you navigate to a new section (tab) on the form by clicking ‘Save and Proceed’. If you log out prior to saving, the information you entered on the current grant page will be lost.
Navigate to the Toyota grant application portal from the apply for a grant page. Click the link to resume a grant application. The portal will prompt you to log into your account. Once you’ve logged in, you can resume a pending application from the in-progress list, or you can review prior submissions from the submitted list.
Navigate to the Toyota grant application portal from the apply for a grant page. Click the link to resume a grant application. The portal will prompt you to log into your account. Once you’ve logged in, you can change your account information by clicking on ‘Edit Profile’ in the top right of the page.
No, Toyota only accepts and reviews applications online.
Please do not mail any grant requests. Only online applications will be considered.
Your Federal Tax ID, also known as your Employer Identification Number (EIN), is a 9-digit number that contains only numbers. Your business office should know your Tax ID. If you have any questions regarding your Federal Tax ID, click on ‘Apply’, which will take you to our vendors page to create your account. If you need support, you can click on the ‘Need Support?’ button.
There are areas throughout the application where Toyota asks for additional attachments/materials. Please attach only the documents requested.
Yes, there are limits on certain open text fields. There is a character counter so you can see the amount of space you have left.
I've applied for a grant, now what?
Yes, you will receive an email confirmation when you submit the application.
The program guidelines page provides the information you need to determine if our funding priorities and requirements match your needs. Due to the volume of grant requests, we are unable to respond personally to telephone, fax, mail and email queries.
You can log into your account and check under ‘Submitted applications’ section. Select the appropriate application, open it and print.
After you submit your application, you will receive an email confirmation. After an initial review, you may be contacted to provide additional information. Communication will occur via email or letter. After Toyota reviews your application, you will receive notification indicating whether your grant request has been approved or declined. This can take up to 6 months.
If your email changes or payee information changes, navigate to the Toyota grant application portal from the apply for a grant page. Click the link to resume a grant application. The portal will prompt you to log into your account. Once logged in, you can click on the ‘Need Support?’ button to update your account information on submitted requests.
Due to the volume of requests for donations and sponsorships we receive, we are unable to respond personally to telephone, fax, mail and email inquiries regarding the status of requests.
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