In the Corner of Working Students

$100K Community Grants

Working students are some of the most driven people in our communities, balancing school, work, and family as they push toward their goals. Total Spark brings the support working students need directly into local Total Wireless stores by opening pathways to new careers, offering upskilling resources, and strengthening digital connectivity.

Through this application process for $100,000 grants in target cities, we’re seeking local nonprofit partners already supporting working students and ready to deepen impact. We’re excited to collaborate with nonprofits like yours to spark new opportunities for working students.

Total Spark 2026 Cities:

Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Newark, Philadelphia

Sign up for a Community Webinar to Learn More:

January 30th
February 5th

What Total Spark Offers Nonprofit Partners

1. $100,000 in Funding

We provide $100,000 in grant funding to put on local events and support your overall programming for working students.

2. Store Space as a Community Hub

Use Total Wireless stores as welcoming, safe, technology-enabled spaces to connect with and support local working students in at least 3 community events. You will be responsible for planning and recruiting for these events, with some logistics support as part of the grant.

3. Opportunity to Promote Your Work

Have you been dreaming up new ways to engage with your community, showcase what you do, and recruit new participants for programs? This is your chance to try your ideas in a nontraditional space. 

“Being selected for the Total Spark 2025 Pilot gave us a stamp of approval to attract additional attention and investment in our workforce programs. It was a great experience! Truly, opportunities like this to test and learn and be creative with new events to engage the community are rare.”
— 2025 Total Spark Grantee

The Application Process

  • Community Interest Webinars: 

    • Friday January 30 1pm CT/2pm ET

    • Thursday February 5 3pm CT/4pm ET

  • Interest Form Available: January 30, 2026

  • Interest Form Due: February 13, 2026

  • Selected Organizations Receive RFP: March 2, 2026

  • Selected Organizations Return RFP: March 13, 2026

  • Finalist Interviews: Weeks of March 23 and March 30  2026

  • Announcement of Winners: Week of April 13, 2026 

 Sign up for a Community Webinar to Learn More:

January 30th
February 5th

Who We Partner With

We are looking for non-profit partners who:

  • Are public 501c3 charities

  • Support working students in one of the following geographies:

    • Chicago, IL

    • Dallas, TX

    • Los Angeles, CA

    • Newark, NJ

    • Philadelphia, PA

  • Are able to host at least 3 events at a Total Wireless store between May and November 2026. This includes managing planning, recruitment, and event execution (see below for event guidelines)

  • Are able to commit to working closely together with Empower Work and Total Wireless for a full calendar year in 2026

Eligibility Quiz

Take this quiz to see if you're eligible for the grant! An Interest Form will be available to formally apply for the grant in late January.

Take the quiz

Events to Support Working Students

Types of events in Total Wireless stores can be flexible based on the partners’ connection with the community, but should support working students as they:

  • Learn about new career paths (e.g., info sessions, “a day in the life”, capstone projects from graduating cohorts)

  • Prepare for new career paths (e.g., resume review, traditional or technical interview prep)

  • Connect with new careers (e.g., job fair, employer meet and greet)

Each selected grantee will be responsible for putting on at least one event in each category listed above between May and November 2026.

The Impact We’re Creating Together

Together, we can help working students thrive. Join us as we:

  • Strengthen community connection between students, nonprofits, and corporate communities

  • Support working students in learning, preparing, and connecting to new career paths

  • Improve digital connectivity to ensure that working students have the resources they need to succeed

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Wonderful, we’re glad you’re excited about this too! Confirm that you’re a good fit for the grant by starting with our Eligibility Quiz. Then sign up for our community webinars to learn more! In January, we’ll make a light-touch Interest Form available on this page. After you fill that out, we’ll assess whether you’re a good fit for the RFP and if you are, we’ll send you the RFP. You’ll have a few weeks to complete the RFP, then we’ll interview the finalists and announce the winners in April 2026.

  • We’d love to hear about the ways that you do support people. Fill out the Interest Form when available, and we’ll get back to you if your organization is a good fit for the grant.

  • Grant recipients are required to coordinate with Total Wireless and Empower Work to plan at least 3 Total Wireless store events for working students between May and November 2026. Other than that, we want you to use the grant in a flexible way that furthers your mission, and will ask you to report on the number of people you were able to serve with your other programs using the grant funding. You will also have access to other resources like Empower Work’s text line and training programs through the grant.

  • Grant recipients will also meet their local Total Wireless contact and all other partners involved in-person in April 2026.

  • We want to measure the outcomes and impacts of different activities, including the in-store events, engagement with Empower Work programs, and local programmatic impact that this grant enables. We will have more specifics about reporting requirements in the RFP.

  • That’s okay, we’ll have recordings available afterwards and you can always ask any specific questions by messaging partnerships@empowerwork.org.

  • Our team has carefully selected store locations that have adequate space and are willing to host events. Nonprofits who advance to the RFP stage will learn about the store locations when they receive the RFP application.

  • Thanks for your interest! Please send us your question at partnerships@empowerwork.org or attend our community webinar and ask your question for the benefit of the group.

About Us

Total Spark is the first social impact program from Total Wireless, a leading provider of premium, affordable and flexible wireless plans covered by the Verizon 5G network, with Empower Work, a national nonprofit on a mission to build healthier, more equitable workplaces, to expand opportunities for working students along with local nonprofit organizations.

  • Empower Work is a non-profit that operates a free confidential text line for historically marginalized workers, trains volunteers and community partners, and fights for systemic workplace change through data and stories. Empower Work will work directly with  selected nonprofits to make the best use of available resources, like Empower Work’s text line and selected Total Wireless store locations, to support working students.  

  • Total Wireless is a fast-growing, no-contract wireless provider covered by the Verizon 5G network with over 2,000 retail stores across the country. Total Wireless’ goal is to open and embed Total stores within the community, allowing them to serve as community hubs of engagement.