Best Buy employees are important to us!

In the early 2000’s, Best Buy’s Founder Richard “Dick” Schulze began a company-wide program to help employees during times of great hardship. Today, Mr. Schulze’s family foundation continues to fully fund this program for employees impacted by federally qualified disasters.

Mr. Schulze believes Best Buy employees are the backbone of the company’s success. His ongoing financial support of Best Buy employees during times of great hardship conveys his appreciation for all that those employees have meant to him personally, to his family, and to the company.

Please read.

If you are experiencing financial hardship because of something OTHER than a federally qualified disaster, DO NOT CONTINUE ON THIS PAGE. You may be eligible to apply to the Hope Fund INSTEAD. Please visit the Hope Fund page by clicking the Learn More link below to learn about your options for support.

Learn More

If you have been impacted by a federally qualified disaster, you’re in the right place. Please stay on this page and proceed below.

If you have been employed by Best Buy for at least a year and are impacted by a federally declared natural disaster, you may be eligible to receive financial support directly from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. Please proceed to open the tabs below to review your eligibility and the support available to you.

  • Were you employed by Best Buy or one of its subsidiaries for at least one year of collective service at the time of the disaster?
  • Is your residence in close proximity to the disaster?
  • Have you personally experienced damage caused by a federally qualified disaster:
    • a presidentially-declared disaster, or
    • a disaster resulting from terrorist or military actions, or
    • a disaster resulting from an accident involving a common carrier, or
    • a disaster that the Secretary of Treasury determines is catastrophic.
    • Find all federally declared disasters here.
  • Can you demonstrate a financial need for assistance?
  • You have not applied for this same disaster before now?
  • Are you applying within five (5) months of the date the disaster is declared? (Note: Some applications will require additional verification from the store’s General Manager.)

If you can answer yes to the above questions, you are eligible to apply.

The Disaster Relief Fund may provide direct assistance to eligible individuals for any federally qualified disaster; assistance is defined within Section 139 of the IRS code and includes:

  • reasonable and necessary personal, family, living (food, clothing, medical assistance, psychological counseling) or funeral expenses incurred as a result of a qualified disaster;
  • reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the repair or rehabilitation of a personal residence due to a qualified disaster (a personal residence can be a rented residence or one you own); and
  • reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the repair or replacement of the contents of a personal residence due to a qualified declared disaster.

Immediate Emergency Assistance

You may be eligible for immediate emergency assistance if you have urgent needs arising in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Store managers and other supervisory personnel work with RMSFF to identify those employees who may be eligible for immediate emergency assistance. Check with your store manager or supervisor to see if you qualify for immediate emergency assistance based on how a disaster has impacted you.

Examples of circumstances that could qualify for immediate emergency assistance:

  • Expenses associated with needing to evacuate your home;
  • Medical emergencies associated with the disaster; and/or
  • Food, shelter, medicine, and other basic needs that a disaster has impacted.

Long-Term Assistance

This assistance is intended to alleviate some of the financial hardship that results from a qualifying natural disaster. The Fund can only assist with disaster-related expenses that are not covered by insurance or other public assistance.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • home repairs,
  • food loss from power outages, and/or
  • other disaster-related damages.

Eligible employees should complete an online application through the Schulze Family Foundation to apply for this kind of assistance.

  • A selection committee reviews and makes an award determination on all eligible requests for relief fund assistance.
  • Applicants are notified of their application status. The selection committee considers all requests.
  • The current maximum award to applicants is $5,000 for full-time employees and $2,500 for part-time.
  • The fund has limited resources available to award.
  • The relief program may be changed or canceled at any time.
  • income replacement payments, such as
    • payments of lost wages,
    • lost business income, or
    • unemployment compensation,
  • secondary residences;
  • vehicles; or
  • fences.

The Disaster Relief Fund is under no obligation to award the total amount requested. The list of damages provided in this application should only include those damages not covered by insurance, FEMA, or other assistance.

Apply for Disaster Relief