How Box Tops Can Help Homeschoolers

You’ve probably heard of Box Tops for Education, the popular program sponsored by General Mills. America’s schools have earned over $950 million by participating in this fun, easy way to earn money.

Did you know Box Tops can benefit homeschoolers, too?

Just download the Box Tops app on your phone, shop as you would normally, then scan your receipts to find participating products (see a complete list).

Homeschoolers will benefit as MPE gets credited with your Box Top earnings!

Participating Box Tops products include:

• School and office supplies
• Apparel
• Baking products and bakeware
• Produce
• Cereal
• Paper products
• Waste bags

While individual homeschools can’t use the program, homeschool associations who offer K-8th grade classes with 15 or more students (like MPE) do qualify. They need to be registered with the IRS under the 501(c)3 tax exempt status.

All contributions to MPE go to fund scholarships for our members who are undergoing financial hardship.

And thanks to our dedicated Box Tops community, we’ve earned more than $1,300 from this program so far. Think of the approximately 13,000 Box Tops collected!

BoxTop FAQs

• Does it mske a difference whether I shop online or in store?

Only in the way you’ll record your purchases!

If you shop online, you can submit digital receipts. This works whether you’ve ordered groceries for delivery or pickup, shopped through your store’s app, or requested an email receipt at checkout.

If you shop in store, scan your paper receipt with the Box Tops app to credit your school’s earnings online.

• We don’t eat a whole lot of packaged, processed foods. Aren’t the Box Tops mostly on those kinds of items?

The Box Tops program extends to a lot of categories, including non-food items such as clothing, office supplies, paper products, diapers and other household goods.

Most of our contributors don’t go out of their way to buy items just to benefit MPE; these are items they would already purchase. They just happen to have a Box Tops coupon associated with them!

This post was originally published in September 2014. It has been updated for timeliness and detail. 

Find more free or low-cost ways to get involved at MPE.