2020 brought on a challenging year for Ace Hardware, with record-breaking sales due to shifts in consumer spending habits. The home improvement and hardware industry experienced an increase throughout the pandemic. Ace Hardware experienced this increase in business which put a strain on their supply chain and store operations. They had the most challenging, but most rewarding year in their almost 100-year history.

Throughout the highs and lows, Ace Hardware continued to keep fundraising top of mind throughout 2020. With rescheduled campaigns, virtual convention fundraising, round up at the register, vendor engagement and more, Ace had a record-breaking year for fundraising.

A total of $17,953,563 was raised by Ace Hardware in 2020, a 15% increase over their 2019 total of $15.6M.

Below is a letter from Kane Calamari, SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer, Ace Hardware Corporation and President, Ace Hardware Foundation, reflecting on this past year.  This announcement was shared on Friday, January 29 on AceNet for all Ace staff and retailers.

Kane Calamari recaps a record year of fundraising for the Ace Foundation:

There is no question that 2020 will go down in the books as an extremely challenging and memorable year. There are many things that the Ace team should be proud of as we look back – record sales, tireless work in serving our local communities and rising to the tremendous challenges we faced due to a very deadly pandemic. In the face of these daunting challenges, the Ace team rose to the occasion and had a record-breaking year of fundraising for Ace’s charitable partners.

Thanks to your help and generosity, the Ace Foundation raised an astounding $18.7 million overall in 2020 (that’s $2 million more than 2019!). This includes funds for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals, the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and our own Ace Helpful Fund. It’s amazing to see Ace retailers and customers, Ace vendors and the Corporate and RSC team members come together to make a big difference in a really tough year!

Of that $18.7 million raised, over $17.9 million was raised for CMN Hospitals, much of it pennies at a time. The Ace Foundation celebrates its 30^th Anniversary in 2021, and I am proud to say that our partnership with CMN Hospitals is stronger than ever. It continues to be something we should all be extremely proud of, as it continues to grow and thrive. We have now raised more than $140 million since 1991, helping local kids and families when they need it most. 

I want to highlight that nearly $11 million of the over $17.9 million total raised, was raised by you and your teams – in your stores, for your local CMN Hospitals. Retailer fundraising has skyrocketed from $800,000 just a short eight years ago to nearly $11 million in 2020 – truly amazing.

 Here are some fun fundraising facts:

• In 2020, Ace stores sold over 2.3 million World’s Finest Chocolate bars – equaling over $1.1 million donated to CMN Hospitals, $.48 at a time – a new record!
• In 2020, customers rounded up over 14 million times at the register – raising over $7.1 million dollars, pennies at a time.
• Over the past eight years, the Ace “Miracle Bucket” promotion has raised over $5 million dollars.
• Nearly 4,000 stores donated to their local CMN Hospital in 2020!

All of this happened during a pandemic and the busiest days our stores have ever seen!

While much of the work of the Ace Foundation benefit CMN Hospitals, we also support several other charitable partners and programs, including the Ace Helpful Fund, our employee emergency assistance fund. In 2020, we were able to help over 100 members of the Ace family during a time of need and raised over $400,000 for this important fund – much of it through the sale of face masks, socks and tumblers!

Thirty years ago, Ace’s CEO, Roger Peterson and Ace’s Chairman of the Board, Rich Laskowski Sr., put a stake in the ground and started the Ace Foundation to help kids and families across the country. Fast forward thirty years and your company has helped thousands and thousands of sick kids at local CMN hospitals across the country. On behalf of all our charitable partners who will benefit from these funds in a year when so many non-profits are struggling, thank you for truly being the Helpful Place.

The Ace Foundation team will be working hard to “Give No Ground” in 2021!

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We are grateful for the remarkable support from Ace Hardware and look forward to celebrating 30 years of partnership in 2021!

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