Volunteer grants

Volunteer Grants Program Rules:

• Eligible US Charitable Organizations: Charitable organizations in the United States must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and not be classified as private foundations, family foundations, political organizations, or fraternal organizations.
• Eligible Non-US based Charitable Organizations
  • Charitable Organizations located in England or Wales must be registered with the Charity Commission.
  • Charitable organizations outside of the United States, England or Wales must be qualified as eligible for donations from CAFAmerica. Employees should search on the my Giving and Volunteering site to determine if the organization is included in that listing. The site also provides instructions for nominating organizations that are not currently on the eligible listing. (Further information regarding CAFAmerica can be found at the CAFAmerica website. Employees and retirees should NOT contact CAFAmerica regarding the qualification of organizations.)
• Please review the eligibility criteria to understand further restrictions on certain types of organizations and programs as not all charitable organizations can be funded.
• Employee Deadline - Employees and retirees will be notified of eligibility based on hours recorded on the my Giving and Volunteering site and must then complete an online form. Employee and retiree volunteer hours must be recorded by January 31 after the year in which the hours were volunteered.
• Organizations and/or categories of service must adhere to the guidelines regardless of an employee or retiree registering hours volunteered.

Employees: To become eligible for a volunteer grant, start recording your hours here.

Nonprofits: Access the nonprofit portal to view information about volunteer grants paid to your organization.

Eligibility criteria

Participants are:

• Full-time and part-time benefit eligible employees
• Retired employees from certain predecessor organizations
• Active members of the Board of Directors of Bank of America Corporation

Volunteer time must be performed with not-for-profit organizations.

The following organizations or categories of service are not eligible through this program:

Some activities may not count toward volunteer grant eligibility due to classification as not external community-focused. If the organization receiving volunteer time falls within one of these bulleted items, the volunteer grant needs to be directed to another eligible organization.

• We do not provide general funding to any organization whose purpose is to promote or to discourage the observance or proselytization of religious beliefs. However, we will support such organization’s funding of homeless shelters, soup kitchens or other social service needs. The organization may be asked to provide proof of the community project receiving funding.
• We do not provide funding that directly benefits employees/retirees or their families, such as trips, tours, internships, tuition, event tickets, parking privileges, club dues, products and services, or discounts on products or services.
• We do not provide funding to any organization that discriminates based on race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, veteran, or disability status.
• We do not provide funding that results in advertisements or other promotions of an individual employee's or retiree’s business activities.
• We do not provide funding that matches volunteer hours recorded for friends or family members.
• We do not provide funding to any athletic organization or program except for those with a youth development component that have an impact on grades K-12 or the in-country equivalent.

Employee giving program review policy:

Bank of America regularly evaluates our programs to ensure the process adheres to stated guidelines and our commitment to corporate social responsibility, including random reviews of organizations receiving funds from our programs. Organizations selected for review will be required to provide documentation verifying receipt of individual donations for each participant.

Bank of America may suspend, change or terminate this program at any time. The interpretation, application and administration of the program shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation Board, whose decision is final.

Make sure that you are familiar with these Volunteer Grant program rules. Failure to abide by these rules or providing any false or misleading information in connection with a volunteer grant request could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination, as well as possible civil or criminal liability. Bank of America reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to discontinue funding and to demand the return of the volunteer grant amount, or any portion thereof, and any income earned thereon, if you provide Bank of America with any false or misleading information or make any misrepresentations in connection with this request for a volunteer grant.

Employees: To become eligible for a volunteer grant, start recording your hours here.

Nonprofits: Access the nonprofit portal to view information about volunteer grants paid to your organization.