Community Giving Near Our Offices and Stores

We are proud to invest in the local communities near our Stores, Offices, and Distribution Centers where our Associates and Customers live and work.

Regional Giving Program

Through our Regional Giving Program, we provide grant funding to nonprofits, schools, and government programs near our Distribution Centers and Corporate and Buying Offices. We proudly support a diverse portfolio of organizations across these geographies that are aligned with our philanthropic mission of advancing academic learning and helping to build important life skills among socioeconomically challenged young people.

Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply for grants of $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000. With these grants, we support organizations and initiatives focused on the educational journey of young people, including efforts in youth entrepreneurship, leadership, mentoring, STEM, literacy, after-school programs, college and career readiness, and more.

Our grant selection committee, made up of representatives from different departments and geographic locations of the Company, helps us with the challenging task of deciding which deserving organizations to fund each year. In fiscal year 2023, we held three Regional Giving Program grant cycles and awarded $1.1 million to more than 40 charitable organizations. We aim to expand the impact of this program each year and continue to advance our mission in the communities where our Customers and Associates live and work.

Please go to our Regional Giving Guidelines for more information.

Young Eisner Scholars (YES Scholars)

YES Scholars is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that identifies promising students from underserved communities and equips them with the resources, support, and academic skills required for success through high school, college, and career. They have an astounding 100 percent high school graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate. In June of 2023, Ross awarded a $30,000 grant to help them ensure that YES Scholars’ talented and motivated students can make choices about their educational and professional lives that aren’t limited by their socio-economic circumstances. The funding is giving more students in the greater LA area access to academic achievement and developed life skills, allowing them to break the cycle of poverty in their households and surrounding communities. With Ross’ support, YES Scholars is aiming to push their current 94 percent college graduation rate closer to their ultimate goal of 100 percent!

In addition to the Regional Giving Program, Ross engages in several other efforts to support local charities and initiatives in locations where we have a significant presence.

Buying Offices

Ross is proud to support numerous fashion and community support organizations near our Buying Offices, located in New York and Los Angeles. We show our support for local students as they pursue fashion-related studies and careers by providing internships and scholarships through the Fashion Scholarship Fund.

We also partner with Good+Foundation and Educational Alliance to further our mission to support youth. Throughout the year, together with our Associates, we donate money, time, and goods to these organizations.

For example, Associates volunteer their time to assemble supply kits for families with young children and help students with their homework. In 2023, we also hosted various supply drives for these partners, including a Book Drive, a Back-to-School Drive, a Food Drive, and a Holiday Gift Drive.

In addition, our Buying Office teams also regularly donate shoes, clothing, and home goods samples to local nonprofit partners. Ross is proud to partner with FABSCRAP, a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn that takes materials that traditionally would have gone to landfill and ensures that they are properly recycled and made available for reuse. In 2023, we worked together to keep 680 pounds of fabric waste out of landfills, saving 5 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Corporate Offices

Our Corporate Office is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Ross was founded more than 40 years ago. We support several initiatives in the area that share our philanthropic mission to create brighter futures for youth, including a partnership with the Golden State Warriors to boost literacy and help Bay Area students develop a love for reading.

For over 20 years, Ross has sponsored the Golden State Warriors’ Read to Achieve program, which is an early literacy program for local schools. The program aims to improve reading proficiency by offering exciting literacy activities and experiences in partnership with the schools. In 2023, Ross supported several Read to Achieve Reading Rallies and Reading Challenges for local elementary schools, and Ross Associates were proud to join the Warriors in refurbishing the school library for students at Mission Dolores Academy in San Francisco.

Through programs like Read to Achieve, we are grateful to be able to encourage reading at home and in the classroom, increasing literacy in the Bay Area.

Distribution Centers

Our Distribution Centers are located in California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas, where our newest location opened in 2022. We proudly support youth-serving organizations near our Distribution Centers with grant funding through our Regional Giving Program. Our Distribution Centers also look for opportunities throughout the year to donate products to local organizations. Some highlights from 2023 include:

One of our South Carolina Distribution Centers donated 500 basketballs to the nearby Rock Hill School District, which distributed them to children in need through their December Toys for Happiness program.
After receiving two pallets of donated items from Ross, The Blessing Corner—a Good360 corporate partner—held an Easter-themed giveaway for more than 700 community members in Bakersfield, California. These residents received new toys, clothing, household goods, toiletries, and more.

Store-Based Giving Program

Through our Store-Based Giving Program, we support local organizations in the many communities near our Stores across the country. Nonprofit organizations within 25 miles of a Ross Dress for Less or dd’s DISCOUNTS Store can apply for a gift card donation to support youth with academic achievement and life skills. Many organizations, like schools and after-school programs, use gift cards to help students dress for success and reward positive academic behavior. In 2023, we were honored to donate more than $425,000 to over 1,650 organizations aligned with our philanthropic mission.

Go to our Store-Based Giving Guidelines to learn more about our program and eligibility requirements.