Target to Award $5 Million to Schools in Need

Viewers of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Help Retailer give $100,000 grants to 50 schools as part of Target’s commitment to education

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), with help from The Ellen DeGeneres Show and its viewers, will select 50 schools in need to each receive a $100,000 grant. The $5 million donation from Target to local K-12 schools across the country is part of the company’s commitment to education, which includes plans to give $1 billion for education by the end of 2015.

“This holiday season we’re partnering with Target to help award 50 schools with $100,000 grants to improve their schools; and we need help from so many people”

“This holiday season we’re partnering with Target to help award 50 schools with $100,000 grants to improve their schools; and we need help from so many people,” said talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. “If you know of an amazing, deserving school that could benefit from one of these grants let us know. It could change so many lives.”

To help choose the 50 schools that will each receive a $100,000 grant from Target, The Ellen DeGeneres Show has engaged its viewers in the selection process. Viewers have been asked to submit the name of a school that needs help, along with a compelling story that explains why the school should receive a grant, to The Ellen DeGeneres Show at http://ellen.warnerbros.com/schoolgiving/. Target will then select from these submissions the 50 schools to receive a grant that can be used to support an improved learning environment for kids including new books, upgraded technology and more. Schools selected to receive a $100,000 grant from Target will be chosen based on a number of factors, including consideration of Title I eligibility. Two of the selected schools will be featured on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“Education is at the heart of Target’s giving which is why we look for innovative ways to give to schools in need while engaging our guests at the same time,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We are proud to team up with The Ellen DeGeneres Show and its viewers to help us select 50 schools to each receive a $100,000 grant that can be used to purchase the resources that students and teachers need to excel in the classroom.”

This $5 million donation from Target to local schools is one way the retailer is making a difference in education. The company hopes to help more U.S. children get or stay on the path to high school graduation by ensuring that they meet critical academic milestones such as the ability to read proficiently by the end of third grade.

About Target

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,767 stores across the United States and at Target.com. The company will open its first stores in Canada in 2013. In addition, the company operates a credit card segment that offers branded proprietary credit card products. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week. For more information about Target’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/hereforgood.

About “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” returned for its ninth season on Monday, September 12th fresh off winning the Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Talk Show.” The show has now earned an impressive total of 35 Daytime Emmy Awards. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” premiered on September 8, 2003 and was the highest-rated freshman syndicated show of the 2003-2004 season. Originating from Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is produced by A Very Good Production and WAD Productions, Inc. in association with Telepictures, an industry leading and Emmy award-winning producer of syndicated programming, and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.