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Company: The Home Depot Foundation, Atlanta, GA
Company Description: The Home Depot Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters. Since 2011, the Foundation has invested more than $400 million in veteran causes and improved more than 50,000 veteran homes and facilities. The Foundation has pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in veteran
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Community Relations
 Nomination Title: The Home Depot Foundation's Operation Surprise 2021
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
- Against the backdrop of a continued global pandemic, The Home Depot Foundation executed its largest annual community giving campaign, Operation Surprise, in Q4 of 2021. It officially kicked off on Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11, 2021), and wrapped up Dec. 31, 2021. The Foundation rolled out its 2021 campaign theme across Home Depot stores to activate Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, and inform consumers. The campaign theme – “Ready to Roll” – featured the call to action of “painting a brighter future for all.” The campaign ended in December with a special surprise announcing a new $100,000 grant for 10 veterans across the U.S., with help from community partners to provide home renovations or repairs.
- Optional: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 25 words used.
From The Home Depot Foundation’s Operation Surprise kickoff video and recap video, to hi-res images and special media moments, please find our supporting materials attached.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 246 words used.
- The purpose of The Home Depot Foundation is to serve communities and individuals in need. While the Foundation works closely with Home Depot stores to execute community projects, The Home Depot’s business objectives are not taken into consideration when coordinating community service projects and grants, as the focus is on advancing the Foundation’s strategic philanthropic mission. The Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters.
- The Home Depot Foundation’s Operation Surprise campaign focuses primarily on projects that support U.S. veterans. Giving back to veterans is personal for The Home Depot and the Foundation, since more than 35,000 of the company’s associates are veterans or active-duty military – and it’s also crucial, as over 37,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, while 3 million veterans live in inadequate owned housing.
- The Home Depot Foundation has worked to change those statistics by giving back to our nation’s veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country, donating more than $400 million to veteran causes and improving over 50,000 veteran homes to date. Operation Surprise 2021 was a natural extension of those efforts to support veterans, serving and engaging the communities The Home Depot serves; uniting employees, nonprofit partners and volunteers; and tailoring efforts to the areas of greatest need and impact, as well as offering aid to individuals across a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
- Led by Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, Operation Surprise is a celebration of The Home Depot’s commitment to giving back. During the campaign, associates were empowered to give back to individuals and communities most in need and organizations already making a difference in the lives of local veterans. The Foundation also worked closely with participating Home Depot stores to share the projects with local and national media outlets.
- Program Objectives:
- Aid veteran causes, focusing on critical home repairs, seeking to end veteran homelessness and building accessible smart homes for catastrophically combat-wounded veterans.
- Empower 3,969 Home Depot associates across 2,312 stores to actively support individuals and organizations in need in their communities.
- Secure national and local media coverage for Operation Surprise projects to increase awareness of the Foundation’s veteran giving commitment and achieve 400 million impressions across earned, shared and paid media.
- To kick off the campaign, the Foundation announced its giving milestone of $400 million to veteran causes over the past decade and coordinated 16 service projects during the week of Veterans Day to create a groundswell of awareness and conversation during a key moment, drive widespread attention to the campaign, and engage media contacts. Projects included:
- Collaborating with Operation Homefront, Semper Fi & America’s Fund, Rebuilding Together, Habitat for Humanity and Project Giveback to make critical home repairs for 11 veterans.
- Securing a partnership with The Drew Barrymore Show to surprise a disabled U.S. veteran and his family with a smart home.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2020. Even if your initiative started before 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
- Operation Surprise 2021 demonstrated the Foundation’s ability to authentically respond and activate around the greatest needs of the communities The Home Depot serves. Campaign efforts exceeded all measurable campaign objectives and made a lasting impact on target audiences, specifically active or retired veterans. Throughout the two-month campaign, the Foundation partnered with 140+ nonprofits and donated more than $1.3 million in community investments.
- Highlights included:
- Inspiring accessible, coordinated, widespread associate volunteerism during a global pandemic, Operation Surprise served more than 150 cities in two months, with 75 percent of projects directly supporting veterans or active-duty military.
- The 2021 campaign achieved approximately an 89 percent increase in philanthropic giving as measured by the increase in total monetary investment awarded. In 2020, the Foundation provided a total of $702,163 toward 162 projects, and in 2021, the number was $1,326,101 for 286 projects.
- During the campaign, the Foundation also partnered with ESPN to run a high-visibility broadcast spot that aired during an ESPN College GameDay football game alongside an on-field surprise for 10 veterans and their families.
- Operation Surprise generated 676 million+ media impressions in two months. This effort helped drive consumer awareness of and engagement with The Home Depot Foundation’s commitment to giving back and doing the right thing, as well as its current and historical support of veteran causes. The 2021 campaign surpassed the results of the 2020 campaign by over 200 million impressions. The campaign drove 7.9 million social media impressions and 4.3K hashtag uses.
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