Taco Bell Foundation gives $32 million to 700 youth nonprofits nominated by the chain's franchisees
The foundation announced its largest round of Community Grants on Sept. 14, $4 million more than last year, with more than 200 additional grantees. Taco Bell franchisees nominate them, and the foundation does not review unsolicited requests.
Irvine. The Taco Bell Foundation, a public charity based in Irvine, Calif., said on Sept. 14 that it is giving $32 million in Community Grants this year to 700 nonprofits across the country that help young people through education, career readiness, mentorship and youth empowerment. It called this the program's largest year.
Last year the foundation gave $28 million to nearly 500 organizations, according to its release of Aug. 4, 2025; it puts this year's growth in grantees at 40%. It says the program now gives more than twice what it did three years ago.
Where the money comes from
The grants are paid for through Round Up, in which Taco Bell customers round up their order totals in a restaurant, in the chain's app or on its website. The foundation says the average round up is 43 cents, and that customers gave more than $51 million that way in 2025, which helped pay for this year's grants. Since 1992 it has awarded more than $278 million in grants and scholarships, it says.
The release names a few of this year's grants: $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County for education, teen programs and career readiness at eight club sites; $177,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities; and $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of San Juan County, in Farmington, N.M. Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley, near Chicago, received $20,000 and runs an internship program the foundation pays for. In New Mexico, nine organizations received $442,000 in all, the Albuquerque Journal reported on Sept. 15.
National partners such as Junior Achievement, City Year and College Advising Corps are also among the grantees.
How grantees are chosen
Nonprofits cannot apply on their own. Taco Bell franchisees nominate organizations in the communities where they operate, the foundation says, and its website says the grants go through an invitation-only application process and that it does not have the resources to review unsolicited materials.
Grantees must be 501(c)(3) organizations that help young people, mainly ages 16 to 26, find and pursue their paths into education and careers. The foundation lists financial literacy workshops, mentorship and job skill experiences, creative and social innovation experiences and college readiness programs among what it funds. In choosing, it says, it weighs its key partners, funding history, available funds, known community needs and the chance of a long-term partnership. This year's grantees are listed by state on its website.
“What I love most about Community Grants is how local they are. Taco Bell franchisees know these organizations, they believe in their work, and together we're helping more young people see just how much is possible for their futures.”
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