Whole Foods Fills Funding Niche

While there was a lot of chatter in the media about the recent sightings of Russell Crowe at the Naperville , the real news has nothing to do with the movie star.

Whole Foods celebrated its three-year anniversary last month. Over the years it has given thousands of dollars back in donations and products to local charities and organizations.

At a time when nonprofits are experiencing funding cuts, Whole Foods’ programs are filling a need, according to one nonprofit director.

The store has three ways it donates to the community, said Deb Kwiatt, Naperville Whole Foods' director of marketing and community relations. The first is through donations of items, such as gift baskets or food products, to groups and organizations.

The second is with the “One Dime at a Time” program, which allows customers to donate a dime when they use their own bag. The third is through the store’s “Five Percent Days."

With the “One Dime at Time” program, the store chooses four nonprofits a year to receive the dimes donated when customers use their own bags, Kwiatt said. The program is customer driven. The last beneficiary of the program, SCARCE, received about $1,200.

“It’s been getting more and more successful,” she said. “[Customers] are even asking for the organization when they come up to the register. That has been gaining more and more ground.”

KidsMatter is the current recipient of the Dime at a Time program, Kwiatt said.

“It coincides with back to school, because they are really integrated into the school system and they have a really nice array of things they offer kids,” she said. “We are hoping to raise a lot of money."

Being chosen as a participant in the program was an honor and really appreciated, said IdaLynn Wenhold, executive director of KidsMatter.

“Because of the current state of our economy, some businesses that previously funded proactive preventative organizations like KidsMatter are now focusing on immediate and emergency-based needs,” Wenhold said. 

“Therefore, the added revenue that Whole Foods is supplying KidsMatter – particularly through the proactive efforts of their customers to go green – is key to the sustainability of our programs.”

The funds KidsMatter receives will be used to support its education efforts to help youths learn how to manage the everyday stresses of life that, left unmanaged, can lead to depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol use, Wenhold said.  

Through Five Percent Days, the store picks four organizations that receive 5 percent of the store’s profits on a particular day. The amount donated from the day’s sales usually amounts to roughly $4,000 to $5,000, Kwiatt said.

The next Five Percent Day will be Aug. 24 and the Heritage , now part of the YMCA of Metro Chicago. Kwiatt said funds would stay with the local YMCA.

She encourages nonprofits to apply to the store programs because Whole Foods keeps the applications on file and they are never discarded. The store doesn’t like to repeatedly choose organizations, particularly when there are so many in the area, so any nonprofit is encouraged to fill out the materials.

“It is pretty much a foundational feeling from Whole Foods across the board and spans across the nation, giving back to the community is so important” she said.

Although the company doesn’t do a lot of advertising, it feels is more important to reach out to organizations in the community.

The Naperville store currently is participating in a Facebook challenge, she said. It is competing against other Whole Foods stores nationwide to see which store can get the most Facebook “likes.”

The store that wins will donate $1,000 to a local charity. If the Naperville store wins, it will give the money to , she said. Even if the store doesn’t win, it will be donating foods needed for those with special diets.

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