Wal-Mart's Foundation In the U.S.

National Giving Program

The Wal-Mart Foundation's National Giving Program awards grants at or above $250,000 to recipients operating in multiple states or to organizations with innovative programs seeking funding initiatives that are ready for implementation nationally.

For example, the Foundation recently awarded a $2,542,500 grant to an organization called Gateway to College. The grant will support the replication of the Gateway to College program at four community colleges across the country. The Gateway to College program serves at-risk youth who are 16 to 20 years old and who have dropped out of high school. The program gives students the opportunity to simultaneously accumulate high school and college credits, earning their high school diploma while progressing towards an associate degree or certificate. Gateway to College participants are young people who do not fit well in a traditional high school setting and are facing many challenges, including being teen parents, foster youth or students who have struggled with substance abuse. Gateway to College was originally developed in 2000 at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon and currently operates in 24 colleges and 14 states.

State Giving Program

Through the State Giving Program, the Wal-Mart Foundation awards grants to organizations that serve a particular state or region of the U.S. Applications for the program are submitted online and reviewed by State Advisory Councils comprised of local Wal-Mart associates. Selected recipients are awarded grants of $25,000 or more.

In Virginia, the Foundation's State Giving Program's Advisory Council awarded a grant of $40,000 to the Virginia Association of Free Clinics (VAFC). VAFC operates 49 clinics throughout Virginia and offers free dental care to qualifying individuals without health care coverage. The grant will help provide dental care to uninsured patients by helping to purchase mobile dental vans, supplies for the initial evaluation visits for patients, and supplies for the ongoing care of these newly identified dental patients.

Walmart Store and Sam's Club giving Programs

Through the Foundation's Walmart Store and Sam's Club Giving Programs, Walmart and Sam's Club associates can recommend grants of up to $5,000 to nonprofits serving their communities.

For example, store 2617 in Winnemucca, Nevada, awarded $3,000 to the Humboldt County School District to support a literacy program for the district's 3,500 students.

The Associates in Critical Need Trust

The Associates in Critical Need Trust was created by associates, for associates. We believe it is a true reflection of our culture as a company; where associates feel as if they are part of a family. The trust was officially established in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and exists to provide financial assistance to associates who are experiencing financial hardship.

Associates can make contributions to the trust, either through a payroll deduction or voluntary, direct contributions. In 2008, the trust made more than 160 grants to Walmart associates every week. Since its inception, more than 50,000 associates have sought help through the trust for themselves and their families this way.

2008 Walmart Giving

• In the U.S., Walmart gave more than $378 million in cash and in-kind gifts, up from $296 million in 2007.
• These donations included $63 million in donations on behalf of Sam's Club in 2008.
• In international markets, Wal-Mart gave $45.5 million in cash and in-kind gifts, up from $41 million in 2007.
• In the U.S. and abroad, Wal-Mart's customers and associates gave more than $106 million through in-store giving programs that benefit local charities.
• In total, Wal-Mart, its Foundations, its customers and its associates supported global organizations with nearly $530 million in charitable contributions during FYE 2009.

Fighting Hunger

In November 2008, Wal-Mart announced plans to expand a food donation program first piloted in Sam's Club locations in October 2006 in partnership with Feeding America, the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. Once completely rolled out to all 2,724 Walmart supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., the program will provide an estimated 90 million pounds of food annually — the equivalent of 70 million meals — to families in need by the end of 2009, becoming one of Feeding America's largest donors of food.

In addition, the Wal-Mart Foundation announced a $2.5 million grant, which will be used to help Feeding America food banks improve warehouse capacity and purchase 20 new refrigerated trucks to safely transport food to food pantries, soup kitchens and other Feeding America agencies. Since first partnering with the organization in 2005, the Wal-Mart Foundation has provided more than $14.5 million in grants to Feeding America.

Around the world, our stores hold this same commitment to fighting hunger in communities. Working with Caritas Argentina and other institutions, Wal-Mart Argentina provides food and funding to feed 11,800 people each month at 30 centers, located near its stores. They also collaborate with food banks in Brazil to help guarantee that products still safe for consumption, but not within sales standards, are donated to the tables of millions of Brazilians in need. In Brazil, our stores made food bank donations exceeding 495 tons in 2008 alone.

In 2008, the Wal-Mart de Mexico Foundation celebrated five years of promoting food projects in remote communities, through production initiatives that improve their income and quality of life. This year, the Wal-Mart de Mexico Foundation has made a total of 365 million pesos ($32.7 million USD) in both in-kind and cash donations to 185 charitable organizations and food banks in Mexico. Every month our stores deliver more than 900 tons of food. We also donate food baskets to communities affected by natural disasters. Because of these efforts, Wal-Mart is one of Mexico's main food donors and has been named the second most important foundation in Mexico by Mundo Ejecutivo Magazine.

Helping Women Entrepreneurs

In September 2008, Wal-Mart, on behalf of Sam's Club, made a $580,000 donation to Count Me In, the leading national nonprofit provider of business resources and community support for women entrepreneurs building and growing their businesses. With this commitment, Count Me In will be able to expand its program to include smaller women-owned businesses with revenues or sales below $50,000 and up to $250,000. To launch the partnership, Count Me In will provide direct resources to 625 women through its business growth programs.

Empowering Students

The Americas

United States

Empowering first-generation college students to become the first in their families to graduate is a top priority for the Wal-Mart Foundation. To this end, the Wal-Mart Foundation awarded a $4.2 million grant to the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which will support programs to help first-generation students achieve success at minority-serving collegiate institutions in the U.S. Through this grant, 30 colleges will each receive $100,000 to improve student retention and academic performance. The Foundation also made a nearly $1.5 million grant to Excelencia in Education to support its "Growing What Works" program. This new national initiative is designed to replicate programs that effectively increase Latino student success at the associate and bachelor levels.

Argentina

Our stores around the world share this commitment to education as well. In March of 2008, Wal-Mart Argentina joined the "Let's Do Some Family Reading" campaign. Aligned with the beginning of the school year there, this campaign encourages children to read within school and family environments. Approximately 800,000 brochures, featuring advice on how to promote reading activities, were developed by specialists from Fundación Compromiso and distributed to our custom- ers. In addition, nearly 100 teachers received training through workshops in schools located close to Wal-Mart stores, and more than 2,500 students benefitted from the program.

Central America

In Central America, "Dulce Ayuda" or "Sweet Help" is our main fundraising program. Since its inception in 2003, the campaign has raised more than $2.2 million (USD) to support children's education and health initiatives. For the last three years, the program has raised more than $1.2 million (USD) to support Fundación Omar Dengo's educational project, which seeks to promote technological literacy in children. Since 2003, the campaign has also raised funds for the construction of the Neuropsychiatry School, a one-of-a-kind school for special needs kids in Central America.

In May 2008, Wal-Mart Centroamerica in El Salvador donated $9,000 USD to the "EDUBECAS Program," which is designed to help students with limited financial resources to continue their studies. The Company also donated school certificates to help 200 teenagers from Antiguo Cuscatlán pay for their uniforms and school supplies. In February 2008, Wal-Mart Centroamerica in El Salvador donated more than $5,000 USD in equipment for a computer center that will be used to prepare disabled individuals for the workplace. In March 2008, Wal-Mart Centroamerica in El Salvador recognized the effort and spirit of self improvement of 66 associates and 121 associates' children with scholarships for their excellent grades.

Brazil

In 2006, Wal-Mart partnered with Instituto Aliança com a Juventude (Alliance Institute with the Youth) in Brazil to pilot the Com.Domínio project, a program designed to offer education and training for young Brazilians in underserved, suburban areas. In these communities, unemployment is often very high. Our goal was to provide intensive training — including more than 500 hours of training in the areas of personal development, business administration and computing — to help at least 80 percent of the program participants secure permanent jobs. We also wanted to help those with exceptional leadership skills create similar programs in their own communities, benefitting even more people. Wal-Mart has even hired some of the program's graduates. What started as a pilot in the Bahia region is now a program that is thriving in 10 different locations — throughout the country.

Asia

In India, Bharti Retail and Wal-Mart India associates have "adopted" four schools in Amritsar, Punjab. Each school has the capacity for enrollment of more than 200 children every year. These are children from the surrounding villages of the District Amritsar. We expect to work with associates to make contributions of their time as well as in-kind donations.

Volunteering in Communities

United States

We believe that volunteerism always pays. In fact, VAP (Volunteerism Always Pays) is one of our main volunteer initiatives. Through the Wal-Mart Foundation's Volunteerism Always Pays program (VAP), Wal-Mart associates can request contributions on behalf of eligible organizations where they volunteer. In 2008 alone, our associates in the U.S. volunteered more than 1 million hours with more than 10,000 local and national charitable organizations. In turn, the Wal-Mart Foundation contributed more than $8 million in matching donations to these charities.

Mexico

In a similar vein, Wal-Mart de Mexico has the largest group of volunteers in the country, with 52,563 volunteers — representing one out of every four associates. These associates volunteered 381,246 hours to their communities in 2008, doing things like performing maintenance work at schools, orphanages and hospitals. They participated in park and beach cleaning activities, and reforestation, and also provided assistance for food programs.

Brazil

Also in 2008, Wal-Mart Brazil held its second-annual "Community Day," during which associates in stores, offices and distribution centers around the country were encouraged to volunteer in their communities. On that day alone, a total of 8,500 Brazilian associates donated nearly 51,000 hours of volunteer work.

 

Doing Sustainable Good

We believe giving back to our communities is one way we can demonstrate that we are a good neighbor and a responsible corporate citizen. This is especially true when we can give back in ways that will sustain our environment, and that will be evident to future generations long after we are gone.

United States

In the U.S., the Acres for America program is a partnership between Walmart and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The program was established in 2005 to provide funding for projects that conserve important fish, wildlife and plant habitats through acquisition of interest in real property. Our commitment of $35 million over 10 years will help offset the footprint of our domestic facilities on at least an acre-by-acre basis through these acquisitions. As of September 2008, our $13.8 million in contributions has helped permanently protect more than 412,000 acres of land in 13 states. In fact, the Acres for America project in Maine became the second-largest forestland conservation easement in U.S. history.

Brazil

In Brazil, in partnership with Conservation International, we recently began an effort to help preserve 412,000 hectares of rainforest in the National Forest of Amapá. The R$5 million ($2.7 million USD) investment over five years will be used to promote forest conservation and sustainable development for the local population, making the project a model for protecting rainforests in the Brazilian Amazon. The investment will help implement a Federal Conservation unit and create a sustainable means of income for the local communities, an educational campaign for the neighboring towns and will serve to eliminate any activity that uses non-renewable forest resources.

Also in Brazil, in 2008 the Wal-Mart Institute created its first Local Development Program in Bomba do Hemetério, a community with a 12,500 population, located in Recife, Pernambuco in Northeastern Brazil. The "Bombando Cidadania" Program, which translates to English as "pumping citizenship," is a concentrated investment program, focused on education, health and culture and aims to contribute to the economic strength and social organization of the local population. In partnership with NGOs, government and other key players, the Wal-Mart Institute will support the activities in Bomba do Hemetério until 2013. The goal is that by that time, the local population will be able to continue the initiative and its programs that are only now getting under way.

Japan

In Japan, each of our Seiyu stores is raising money for natural energy through the Ohisama Global Warming Prevention Fund. As of June 2008, Seiyu collected JPY 3,386,354 ($32,700 USD) for the Ohisama Energy Fund, which was used for setting up solar panels. Also in Japan, they've created The Eco-Nico Workshop program as an environmental and social education tool for children to attend at neighborhood stores. Store managers and other staff members offer these children "behind the scenes" tours of the stores while explaining the inner workings of supermarkets, environmental problems, social welfare, food safety and other concerns. Starting in the 2007 fiscal year, Seiyu introduced environmental initiatives such as the Hummingbird Campaign and the Hummingbird Picture Story Show to explain global warming and Seiyu's environmentally friendly products to children in simple terms. They also offer games, such as a treasure hunt for environmentally friendly products, and all stores nationwide offer programs appropriate to participants' ages and school curricula. In the 2008 fiscal year, there were 10,546 participants.

China

In April 2008, Wal-Mart China made a RMB 100,000 ($14,000 USD) donation to Gaocang Township in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province to support the construction of water storage reservoirs for the local community, helping to address problems associated with drought and lack of clean water.

Also in China, on the eve of the grand opening of a Walmart supercenter in August 2006, Wal-Mart donated RMB 200,000 ($28,000 USD) to finance the installation of solar panels for 322 households in the Panjiabang Village. The installation was completed in early 2007. The initiative helped 1,700 villagers switch to solar energy, allowing them to save approximately 240,000 kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to a savings of RMB 120,000 ($17,000 USD) in electricity bills per year.

Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, we have formed an alliance with the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust in order to create a unique educational program designed to educate the population there about how to protect the habitat of the Puerto Rican Parrot, a local endangered species.

Europe

In 2008, ASDA supported the "Go Green for Schools" program, a community environment initiative designed to encourage customers to use reusable carrier bags. When customers used the bags, they were rewarded with a "Go-Green" voucher that could be collected and redeemed by local schools for environmentally linked prizes such as bird-view remote cameras, solar panels, weather stations and grow beds. In 2008, more than 5,100 schools took part in raising awareness of carrier bag recycling nationwide, resulting in a savings of more than £1.2 million ($2.1 million USD) on carrier bags alone.

Canada

And in 2005, Wal-Mart Canada made a $2.5 million ($2.3 million USD), five-year commitment to the "Green Grants" land preservation program in partnership with Evergreen, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to bringing nature to Canadian cities. The "Green Grants" program is a community greening initiative that provides funds of up to $10,000 ($9,300 USD) to local Canadian groups working on urban naturalization projects that use native plants to restore and steward woodlands, meadows, wetlands and ravines. This grant program also supports community gardening projects that involve native plants and food gardening.