The Whole Planet Foundation, an affiliate of US-based grocer Whole Foods Market, announced it has secured donations of USD 2.2 million (as of March 17) towards its goal of raising USD 3.2 million by the end of March 2017 to grant for microlending through new microfinance institution partnerships in two US cities and existing ones in Canada, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, India, Israel, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Zambia and Scotland. The US-based efforts involve expanding the foundation’s work with Grameen America to include Miami, Florida, and the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Grameen America is a US-based NGO that was founded in 2008 by Muhammad Yunus, who also founded the Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank in 1983. Grameen America serves 12 cities in the US. Borrowers must meet with staff weekly, and they pay interest rates of at least 15 percent per year. As of 2015, the NGO held total assets of USD 62 million.
The Whole Planet Foundation’s goal is to increase the incomes of poor women in regions from which Whole Foods sources its products. The supermarket pays the administrative expenses of the foundation via periodic donations. The Whole Planet Foundation held assets of USD 12 million as of 2015.
Sources and Additional Resources
Information provided to MicroCapital by Curator Public Relations for the Whole Planet Foundation
Whole Foods Market
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
Whole Planet Foundation
– Homepage:
https://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/
– 2017 Prosperity Campaign:
https://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/2017-prosperity-campaign-aims-to-raise-3-2-million/
– 2015 Financial Report to the US Internal Revenue Service:
https://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/FINAL-WPF-2015-990PF-1.pdf
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Whole Planet Foundation Offering Interest-free Wholesale Funding for Microfinance in Latin America, Caribbean
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International, UPS Foundation Announce “Unstoppable Women Initiative” to Expand Financial Services in Colombia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $3.2m to Faten for Microfinance in Palestine
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mi-Bospo of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borrowing $2.2m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance Lending
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans $760k to Microfinance Institution Oxus Tajikistan
