That has always been – and always will be -- a core belief of Caleres. Whether it’s supporting our communities through donations and volunteerism, awarding grants to deserving organizations through our Caleres Cares charitable trust, or taking steps every day to contribute to the health of our planet, we take our commitment to social responsibility seriously.
In 1921, our founder, George Warren Brown, established a trust to provide funds to worthy charitable organizations. Ever since, giving back has been a part of our culture.
On a national level, we are a long standing major benefactor of the annual QVC Presents FFANY Shoes on Sale event, raising millions for breast cancer research. Our ongoing partnership with The Two Ten Footwear Foundation, which provides emergency financial assistance and scholarships for members of the U.S. footwear industry, is critical to our commitment not only to giving back, but to serving those who make our industry what it is. In 2018 our Associates donated more than $360,000 to the Two Ten effort.
Caleres supports the industry's Soles4Souls initiative through the donation of new and used pairs of shoes, providing over 70,000 pairs that have been distributed to various disaster relief zones and developing countries.
Caleres Cares, our charitable trust, matches every dollar donated by an Associate to an eligible non-profit up to $20,000 per Associate per year. To date, Caleres has donated over $850,000 to over 280 charitable organizations. In addition to financial contributions, we also give our time.
Our Associates have dedicated thousands of hours to local volunteerism to support not only United Way, March Of Dimes, and the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, but other organizations that are important to them. As a company, we encourage and applaud those who give of themselves for causes about which they are passionate, by contributing $10/ hour for every hour an Associate gives to an eligible community service organization.
Although our business is global, we always remember that our company was born and made in St. Louis, which still serves as our worldwide headquarters. Over the years, we have given more than $20 million to the St. Louis community through our support of the United Way of Greater St. Louis as well as multiple educational and cultural institutions that enrich the fabric of our hometown.
Our mission is to support charitable organizations, which
Organizations we support must be good corporate citizens and have a targeted focus on our corporate mission to live better feet first by
Caleres Cares does not support any organization that has a written policy of discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The Trust generally does not support special events such as galas, walks, golf outings, trivia nights, etc. Applicants will be asked to supply information about their organization, key leadership, details about their request, the impact they expect the grant to have on their organization or community, and how they will measure success.
We encourage 501 (C)(3) tax-exempt non profit organizations to apply for a Caleres Cares grant by clicking the link below. Note that grants are not made to individuals. The Caleres Cares Charitable Trust Distribution Committee meets quarterly to consider all qualified applications. March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 are the deadlines for submitting grant proposals to be considered at the following quarterly meeting.
Please note the online application requires the following attachments (Attachments can be in Microsoft Word, Excel or Adobe PDF format. Please do not include compressed ZIP files.)
