The mission of the BNSF Railway Foundation is to improve the quality of life in communities across the 28 states where BNSF operates, with a focus on the Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest regions of the U.S. As a leading freight railroad company, BNSF aims to make a difference in the communities where their employees live, work, and volunteer, using the BNSF Railway Foundation as the primary channel for their charitable activities.
The grant program of the BNSF Railway Foundation aims to support communities by funding arts and social service organizations, college scholarship programs, and other worthy causes. A key facet of their approach includes leveraging the volunteer spirit and active community involvement of BNSF employees, which has contributed over $150 million to various programs since 2000. The foundation prioritizes grants for youth programs, community projects with significant local involvement, and causes that have direct BNSF employee participation or are located near BNSF's operations. Specific criteria for consideration include significant BNSF employee participation in the organization or project, proximity to a BNSF main line, relevance to the railroad industry, and requests focused on direct programming or project support.