Lowe’s Foundation awards first round of grants

The Lowe’s Foundation has made progress on its five-year, $50 million commitment to prepare 50,000 people for careers in the skilled trades, awarding nearly $8 million in grants to community and technical colleges as of July.

“We don’t have enough carpenters, and we’re committed to changing that. Our goal with the Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grants is to address the critical need for investment in the infrastructure to train the next generation of skilled tradespeople so they, in turn, can create the infrastructure our communities need for the future,” says director Betsy Conway.

“For example, we recently announced a $750,000 grant to Seattle Colleges’ Wood Technology Center, which is the area’s top source of trained carpenters. When we visited the campus, local officials shared that Seattle needs more builders to address the housing shortage. We’re so excited to see how much passion there is for these types of programs, and we’re grateful to support organizations like Seattle Colleges to close the gap.”

A total of 11 community and technical colleges nation-wide have benefitted from the first wave of the Gable Grants program, according to Lowe’s.

For a list of 2023 recipients and more about the foundation, visit lowes.com/foundation. 

This article was originally published in the November 2023 issue.