Best Buy Children's Foundation Awards $780,000 In Grants.

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2001

Third Quarter Donations Reach Nonprofit Groups in 18 States

Largest Grants go to YWCA, Reading is Fundamental

The Board of Directors for the Best Buy Children's Foundation (BBCF) has approved a total of $779,675 in grants for the third quarter of its current fiscal year. The grants will be awarded to a total of 63 nonprofit groups located in 18 states.

The largest grants went to two national nonprofit groups, YWCA of the USA and Reading is Fundamental (RIF). The YWCA challenge grant of $167,000 will help support a national expansion of TechGYRLS, an after-school mentoring program that brings successful businesswomen together with girls interested in learning about high-tech career opportunities. The RIF grant of $116,000 will help expand Club RIF, a program that has high school students using CD ROM technology to mentor younger children in reading skills development, in Dallas and Minneapolis - St. Paul.

"The Best Buy Children's Foundation believes that the best way to help a community prepare for the future is through the support of nonprofit programs that work with young people," said Susan Hoff, president of the BBCF. "All of the programs that we fund are doing their part to help children make lasting connections with their communities through discovery and learning."

Overall, organizations in the following states shared the most recent BBCF funding:

-- Arizona

-- California

-- Colorado

-- Florida

-- Illinois

-- Massachusetts

-- Maryland

-- Michigan

-- Minnesota

-- North Carolina

-- New Jersey

-- New York

-- Oklahoma

-- Pennsylvania

-- Tennessee

-- Texas

-- Virginia

-- Washington (state)

-- Wisconsin

About Best Buy Children's Foundation

The Best Buy Children's Foundation was established by Best Buy in 1994 to support community-based youth programs nationwide. The Foundation awards grants to nonprofit groups across the country that take an innovative approach to building "life skills" in young people through education, mentoring and leadership development.

The Foundation is funded primarily by the Best Buy Charity Classic, an annual pro-am golf tournament featuring LPGA Tour players. This year's Charity Classic raised $2 million, making the event one of the largest of its kind in the country. The BBCF does not have an endowment so all money raised directly supports youth programs.

About Best Buy

Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) is North America's number one specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. The Company operates retail stores and commercial web sites under the names: Best Buy (BestBuy.com), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca); Magnolia Hi-Fi (MagnoliaHiFi.com), Media Play (MediaPlay.com), On Cue (OnCue.com), Sam Goody (SamGoody.com), and Suncoast (Suncoast.com). The Company reaches consumers through more than 1,800 retail stores in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.