Posted on March 8, 2008

print  e-mail

Wal-Mart Overhauls Charity Spending

Wal-Mart, one of the biggest corporate donors in the United States, is overhauling how it donates money to ensure that its philanthropic efforts are more closely linked to its brand positioning, the Financial Times reports.

According to Wal-Mart Foundation president Margaret McKenna, the company will make larger, more focused national grants and will consider enhancing its international giving as part of an effort to achieve its corporate social responsibility goals. Wal-Mart awarded more than $290 million in the United States last year — a level of corporate giving approached only by Bank of America.

Although the company has awarded grants of up to $5 million to national organizations such as the United Way , it has traditionally given much of its money in the form of grants of a few hundred dollars to schools and local groups. To accomplish its new goals, the Wal-Mart Foundation has set up state-level funding pools to make gifts of $25,000 or more and has hired program officers to assess opportunities as well as the effectiveness of its grants.

Internationally, Wal-Mart will launch a partnership with UNICEF to honor its pledge to support the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In the U.S., the company will focus its giving on issues related to health care, environmental sustainability, and education and training for 12 to 30-year-olds. Two of these priorities are aligned with strategic political issues embraced by the company in response to criticism of the wages and healthcare benefits of its 1.4 million U.S. employees.

The changes reflect a trend in corporate giving in which "arms length" foundation giving is increasingly aimed at supporting a company's brand and its goals. "While continuing to support local needs," said McKenna, "we are looking for ways we can leverage our funds to have more impact long-term."

Birchall, Jonathon. “Wal-Mart Overhauls its Charity Spending.” Financial Times 3/03/08.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): National

FC011649