Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
Barbara Harman
info@cfp-dc.org
202-955-6538 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wal-Mart foundation makes big splash, invests more than $200,000 in Local Nonprofits
WASHINGTON, DC; October 13, 2008 — The Wal-Mart Foundation, working with the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington, has invested more than $200,000 dollars in Washington, DC nonprofits over the past three months under their new state-level giving program, designed to allow the foundation to undertake a more strategic approach to its corporate giving. Under this program, state-level committees, including a committee in the District of Columbia, invest in community-based nonprofit organizations where their support will have a major impact. The program focuses on four areas: Education, Job Skills Training, Environmental Sustainability, and Health.
The Wal-Mart Foundation’s significant grants will help a half-dozen Catalogue nonprofits meet their missions: $50,000 went to the Center for Inspired Teaching; $30,000 to Columbia Road Health Services; $25,000 to Mentors, Inc.; $25,000 to KidPower DC; $20,000 to Hope and a Home; $10,000 to First-Time Computers; and $10,000 to Washington Tennis and Education Foundation.
According to E.R. Anderson, Wal-Mart’s regional media director, “We chose to partner with the Catalogue because they provide a carefully vetted list of nonprofits. We were delighted that we were able to tap into the philanthropic community’s expertise and move right to decision-making. It seemed like a very efficient and effective way to get our program going.”
Barbara Harman, President of the Catalogue, notes, “Our partnership with Wal-Mart is an excellent example of how a company can use the Catalogue’s knowledge — we have 60 experienced reviewers from the foundation and nonprofit community, along with a CPA who studies the financials of all finalists in our review process — to leverage its own resources. Companies and their employees can be engaged in selecting their grantees knowing that a trusted partner has performed the due diligence that is so labor-intensive and time-consuming. We are delighted that Wal-Mart is not only using the Catalogue to choose its grantees, but also investing in the Catalogue project itself. Our partnership is a model for how effective corporate philanthropy can work.”
According to Aleta Margolis, Executive Director of the Center for Inspired Teaching, the beneficiary of a $50,000 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, "The Inspired School program provides on-site professional development and mentoring for all the educators in a building. When you consider the fact that most Washington, DC middle schools can have upwards of 500 students, and that the grant will help us reach 200 of their teachers, it is clear that it will have an exponential impact."
To learn more about the Wal-Mart Foundation or to apply online, go to www.walmartfoundation.org.
About the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington
The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington is an independent nonprofit organization recognized by its annual publication, which shines a light on some of the most effective nonprofit organizations in the region. Community-based nonprofits submit applications to be featured in the Catalogue. Reviewers evaluate the applications for distinction, merit, impact, and financial transparency, resulting in a carefully vetted list of trustworthy nonprofit organizations. In less than five years, the Catalogue has helped featured charities raise more than $6.3 million from new donors. Charities receive 100 percent of each donation thanks to support from local sponsors including the Harman Family Foundation, Meyer Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Philip L. Graham Fund, J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Booz Allen Hamilton, CGI, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and others. For more information, visit.cfp-dc.org.
About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America or log on to its online store at www.walmart.com. The company and its foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local communities in the United States.