Frequently Asked Questions for Residents

To qualify, residents must meet ALL of the following:

• FC Residence & Lease Status: Must live at a Foundation Communities family property and be listed on the lease.
• Good Lease Standing: Must not be delinquent on rent (i.e. not in eviction status) and have no serious lease violations.
• No FC Staff in Household: Household cannot include a current full-time or part-time Foundation Communities employee.
• Income Limits: Household income must fall within the Home for the Holidays income guidelines (60% MFI). This includes all sources of income for all household members and is calculated based on the total household size.

Please submit your application by November 2, 2026.

Contact Learning Center staff and they will submit a Late Application Request Form. We will try our best to accommodate, but it is not guaranteed.

You will be able to pick up your gifts from the designated area at your property between December 6th–15th, depending on when they are dropped off by the sponsors. Property staff will call you to notify you when they are ready for pick up.

Yes! We encourage residents to write thank you notes to their sponsors upon picking up their gifts. There will be a "gratitude station" at the pickup location equipped with cards and stationery to write a thank you note. Staff will mail these to sponsors.

You will be supplied a link to complete the resident application and will submit the application with the help of on-site staff. Learning Center staff will hold events in the Learning Center for families to get help with the application.

You will receive a confirmation email when you have submitted your application. Additionally, you will receive an email when your application has been approved and/or sponsored.

Important note: Submitting an application does not guarantee approval, nor does approval guarantee sponsorship.

If your application was rejected, you will receive an email that will list the reason for rejection. For questions regarding rejection, please contact your property's Learning Center or Property Management staff.

We ask sponsors not to wrap gifts for children so parent(s) can see what is being gifted to them. They are allowed to wrap gifts for adults. However, even though we ask them not to wrap presents – some still do.

No. Application approval does not guarantee sponsorship.

Families who are not sponsored will hear from staff about available resources and support options.

No. To protect your confidentiality, sponsors will only see first names, household name/ID, ages, the property you live at, and the wishlist provided for each member. They will not be able to see income or contact information.

You can contact the staff that assisted you with your application or the Learning Center staff.

There is a budget of $50–$100 per person. Please do not add items that exceed this amount — sponsors shop directly from what you list, so staying within budget increases the likelihood that your family's wishlist will be fulfilled.

No — it is not guaranteed that you will receive the items on your wishlist. Gifts are up to the sponsor's discretion; the wishlist gives them an idea of your family members' preferences and what they would like to receive.