OVERVIEW: Working in and near communities served by BNSF Railway, the BNSF Railway Foundation supports civic services, arts and culture, education and STEM, health and human services, youth organizations and federally recognized tribal governments. The foundation prioritizes organizations with strong connections to BNSF or the rail industry.
IP TAKE: BNSF Railway Foundation is an unusually accessible corporate funder in that it operates an open application system and accepts requests year-round. But geographic and relationship fit matter: Applicants must serve communities near BNSF operations, and the foundation says potential grantees should have significant BNSF employee participation, with priority given to organizations connected to BNSF through volunteering, donations, board service or other involvement.
Current priorities include environmental and conservation projects, STEM education, homelessness, hunger, public safety, women’s and children’s shelters and community sports fields. Most grants are modest although its latest tax filing reports awards as large as $500,000. For a prospective grantee, a local BNSF employee connection may be one of the strongest ways to improve an otherwise well-aligned application.
PROFILE: In 1996, the BNSF Railway company established its charitable arm, the BNSF Railway Foundation, when the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroads merged. Both the corporation and foundation are located in Fort Worth, Texas. Its mission is to support and improve the general welfare and quality of life in communities where BNSF operates. The railroad serves communities across 28 states, and the foundation generally limits its grantmaking to organizations located in or serving communities close to BNSF rail lines and operations.
Grants for Health and Human Services
BNSF’s health and human services grantmaking addresses basic human needs. Current priorities include homelessness, hunger and public safety, as well as women’s and children’s shelters, transitional shelters, food pantries and community sports fields. The foundation does not fund health programs or organizations at the national level, although large national organizations may receive support for geographically targeted work in BNSF communities. See BNSF’s current funding priorities.
- Recent and past grantees include the American Heart Association, United Way of Tarrant County, the Women’s Center of Tarrant County and Presbyterian Night Shelter.
- In 2023, the foundation also committed $1.5 million to establish the BNSF Railway Fund within the American Heart Association’s Social Impact Funds, supporting health-equity initiatives in Southeast Texas. That initiative was described as providing additional funding opportunities through 2025. See the American Heart Association announcement.
Grants for Education and STEM
BNSF supports educational institutions and their foundations, primarily at the college level. Exceptional grants may support vocational and other non-college schools. The foundation generally favors efforts that improve educational quality rather than expanding enrollment, and its current grant guidelines specifically name STEM education programs as a priority.
- Recent grantees include the National FFA Foundation, North Dakota State University Development Foundation and Whitman College. Past support has also gone to institutions including Northwestern University.
- BNSF generally does not use its ordinary education grants to fund scholarships, but operates separate scholarship programs described below.
Grants for Youth
Youth organizations are a distinct BNSF funding category. The foundation specifically names Boys & Girls Clubs, Camp Fire, Scouts, Junior Achievement and similar organizations as examples of potential grantees.
- Recent and past grants have supported scouting organizations, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs and other locally focused youth groups.
- BNSF’s policies exclude individual athletic teams, although the foundation currently names community sports fields as a funding interest.
Grants for Arts and Culture
BNSF supports performing, visual and fine arts, museums and related cultural organizations. It is particularly interested in programs that give underserved children opportunities for cultural learning or preserve cultural heritage. See the foundation’s cultural grant guidelines.
- Grantees include the National Juneteenth Museum, National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, Montana Historical Society, Omaha Children’s Museum and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
- BNSF awarded the National Juneteenth Museum $400,000 according to recent grant records.
Grants for Civic Services, Community Development and Environment
BNSF’s civic grantmaking includes environmental and conservation organizations, crime prevention, parks and recreation, diversity and community development. Its current application guidelines give preference to environmental, sustainability and conservation projects.
- Recent grantees include Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Other past recipients have included local parks, libraries and conservation organizations.
- BNSF has also supported Transform 1012, a Fort Worth project working to transform a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium into a community arts and healing center. While this grant has clear racial- and reparative-justice dimensions, BNSF does not currently name racial justice or reparative justice as formal funding priorities.
Grants for Tribal Governments and Indigenous Communities
BNSF formally accepts grant applications from federally recognized tribal governments listed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tribal governments use the foundation’s local government application rather than its public charity application. See BNSF’s eligibility policies.
The foundation has also supported Indigenous-serving nonprofits through its broader grantmaking and scholarship programs.
- Past grantees include the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and Maȟpíya Lúta , formerly Red Cloud Indian School, which is located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
- BNSF funds five four-year scholarships administered by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society for eligible American Indian high school seniors in BNSF-served states. Preference is given to several fields including science, medicine, engineering, business, education and health administration. See BNSF’s scholarship information.
Other Giving Programs
BNSF operates several giving mechanisms outside its regular nonprofit grant program.
- Employee scholarships: The BNSF Railway Foundation Scholarship Program supports eligible dependent children of BNSF Railway and BNSF Logistics employees and certain former employees. The current program offers up to 50 renewable $2,500 awards. The 2026-2027 cycle is closed. See the current Scholarship America program page.
- FFA scholarships: BNSF funds scholarships administered through the National FFA Organization for eligible FFA members in BNSF-served states pursuing selected agriculture-related fields. The National FFA Organization lists BNSF Railway Company Collegiate Scholarship awards among its 2025-2026 recipients.
- Employee Matching Gifts: The foundation matches eligible BNSF employee donations to qualified educational and nonprofit service organizations on a 1-to-1 basis. The employee, rather than the nonprofit, must initiate the matching gift. See the Employee Matching Gifts Program description.
Important Grant Details:
The latest available Form 990-PF, covering 2025, reports 993 grants with a median award of $2,500 and a range of $100 to $500,000. The foundation reported about $7.1 million in charitable disbursements in 2025.
BNSF operates an open application system, and eligible organizations may apply at any time. There is no general annual deadline. Applicants may submit one request per calendar year, whether the previous request was funded or declined. See the foundation’s Frequently Asked Questions.
- The BNSF foundation geographically limits its grantmaking to the 28 states in which the railways have main lines and communities located near BNSF rail lines.
- Potential grantees should have significant BNSF employee participation. The foundation gives priority to organizations and projects with tangible BNSF or rail-industry connections through employee volunteering, donations, board service or other involvement.
- Applications are submitted through BNSF’s Blackbaud Grantmaking portal. Public charities use one application, while first responders, divisions of local government and eligible tribal governments use a separate local government application. See How to Apply.
- This funder accepts applications for funding via its online application portal, which is linked to the application guidelines page. Note that grantseekers interested in applying for a grant of $10,000 or more should contact the foundation via email at BNSFFoundation@bnsf.com prior to submitting an application.
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