Whole Foods Market Shoppers Raise $4.6 Million for Global Poverty Relief

From concerts to craft fairs, shoppers took part in thousands of Whole Foods Market events to raise more than $4.6 million for global poverty alleviation. The events were all part of Whole Planet Foundation’s 2015 Prosperity Campaign to boost awareness and support for microlending projects worldwide.

“Microcredit offers low-income individuals real, viable means for escaping the cycle of poverty, because it empowers them with the opportunity to take charge of their own life and financial future,” said Philip Sansone, president and executive director of Whole Planet Foundation. “With a loan of $200, a microcredit client can start or expand a home-based business, gain financial independence and carve a path for a better life for herself and her entire family.”

In addition to attending events, shoppers made donations from pocket change to full microcredit loan amounts at store checkouts and online. For the first time, online donors were able to view the overall impact of their generosity in specific geographic regions via Whole Planet Foundation’s Power of One tool. Donors could see how many people their contributions will impact over several decades as loans are repaid and re-loaned again and again in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Because Whole Foods Market covers 100 percent of the foundation’s operating costs, every penny of the $4.6 million raised will go directly to benefiting microentrepreneurs in countries where the company sources products.

To date, through $62 million in grants to microfinance partners worldwide, Whole Planet Foundation has funded 1 million microloans to individuals in 62 countries across four continents, serving a total of 5 million people.

For more information about the foundation or upcoming fundraising opportunities, visit wholeplanetfoundation.org.

Whole Foods MarketLiz Burkhart, [e-mail]