This is our fifth year to create a calendar, and each year gets better. More value for you through coupons and more funds raised to help our microcredit clients. Last year, shoppers purchased more than $70,000 in calendars, which funded 312 microloans that empowered nearly 2,000 poor women and their family members to create or expand a home-based business and create prosperity. Each year these loans are repaid and re-loaned again and again, and with your help this year, Whole Planet Foundation can empower 2,000 more women with an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship.

Whole Planet Foundation funds microcredit in 46 countries where Whole Foods Market sources products, and this year’s calendar features beautiful photographs of inspiring microcredit clients from Paraguay, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, Rwanda, India, Cambodia, Turkey, Indonesia, Ecuador and the United States.  Check out our featured microcredit client page to learn about microcredit clients like Lourdes, who used her microloan to expand her neighborhood grocery store in the Villarrica region of Paraguay, where Whole Foods Market sources sugar.

As a microcredit client of Fundación Paraguaya, she now has a support system and access to credit to invest in her own business, which after three years keeps growing and giving her hope for a better future. “When I first started, my store had a plain scale with different metal weights, a couple of shelves, very little merchandise and an old fridge,” Lourdes said.  “Now I have a digital scale, a 400 liter freezer, two big fridges and a bigger quantity of merchandise.”

Pick up your copy of the Whole Planet Foundation 2012 Calendar in your local US and Canada Whole Foods Market store through January. Thank you for your help providing a hand up to more than a million people!

Known for introducing açaí into the US market, Sambazon has been working with Brazil’s local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build the supply of organic açaí. Over 10,000 people in the Amazon now help Sambazon harvest açaí through their fair trade program. This incentivizes farmers to  manage their land and protect it for generations to come. “A HUGE thank you to Sambazon and Whole Foods for awarding me with this incredible experience and adventure!” Katie said. “I can’t wait to be immersed in the sounds, tastes, smells and culture of Brazil!”

In addition to offering this experience of a lifetime, Sambazon is donating $1 per contest entry received to Whole Planet Foundation to help fight poverty worldwide. From June 20th through July 20th, we received 10,717 entries, which means a $10,717 donation to the Foundation! With Sambazon’s support and through valued microfinance institution partners worldwide, in five years Whole Planet Foundation has empowered over 146,000 clients with microcredit loans, supporting almost 900,000 people in 40 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. (Read the stories of some of these amazing entrepreneurs on Whole Planet Foundation’s site.) As Whole Foods Market covers all the operating costs of the Foundation, 100% of the $10,717 will directly fund microlending projects worldwide where Whole Foods Market sources product.

With your continued support to Whole Planet Foundation, we can reach more impoverished families who can change their own lives through hard work and entrepreneurship. Go online to donate anytime and together we can continue to change the world through microcredit.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy açaí?  Tell us in the comments below by August 18 and we’ll randomly select four lucky responders to receive free goodies from Sambazon!

This post comes from Steve Wanta, Executive Program Director for the Whole Planet Foundation. Steve oversees the existing portfolio of microfinance programs and analyzes new projects for funding.

In this edition of Dispatches from the Field, I travel to Indonesia and meet with clients from our partner, Grameen Trust, to profile three very different clients, each of whom has their own story.

Microfinance means different things to different people. At the most basic level, it is the provision of financial services that are tailored to people without access to formal banks. Whole Planet Foundation chooses partners who design programs focused on alleviating poverty for the world’s poorest entrepreneurs, specifically in communities where Whole Foods Market sources products.

Whole Planet Foundation developed our strategy of supporting microcredit through our partnership with Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Trust, which started in 2005. This experience has allowed the small Whole Planet Foundation Program Team to effectively identify and provide funding to partners in 39 countries on 6 continents.

There have been many lessons learned over the past six years since Whole Planet Foundation began, and two have been very clear to me. First, all microcredit is not created equal. We take great care to fully understand the mission and methodology of each of our partners before we authorize funding. Our goal is to support the expansion of programs to reach microentrepreneurs at the bottom of the economic pyramid who currently do not have access to financial services. Our team lives in and travels throughout the developing world to conduct site visits and meet with the leadership, staff and, most importantly, the clients of each potential partner.

Second, we also recognize that it is about more than just an absence of capital for the poor. Rather, microcredit is a system that allows the $214 (average loan size) to flow into and out of the hands of the very poor. It is this system that converts capital into a tool for development rather than a roadblock. It is a simple concept that takes the intelligence, compassion and commitment of the microfinance institutions to implement and the courage of the microcredit clients to improve their lives.

I hope you enjoyed this video from my travels in Indonesia. Got questions? Let me know.

Read on to learn how to enter for a chance to win a trip to Brazil.

Founded in 2000, Sambazon is the pioneer of organic Amazon superfoods, providing functional juices, smoothies, sorbets and frozen products made from blends of handpicked Brazilian açaí along with fruits and botanicals. Known for introducing açaí into the U.S. market, Sambazon has been working with Brazil’s local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build the supply of organic açaí. Over 10,000 people in the Amazon now help Sambazon harvest açaí through their organic and Fair Trade program, providing a livelihood for generations to come.

Sambazon wants to connect you to the amazing story behind açaí. From June 20th through July 20th, go to the Whole Foods Market Facebook page and enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Brazil.

One lucky fan and a guest will win a week-long vacation for two to Brazil, where they will visit the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro and explore the Amazon Rainforest. The grand prize trip features a unique opportunity to visit Sambazon’s production facilities and meet the family farmers who grow the organic and Fair Trade açaí used in the company’s products. This trip will provide a comprehensive look into the lively Brazilian culture and plentiful rainforest.

Here’s a taste:

And that’s not all. For each entry received, Sambazon will donate $1 to Whole Planet Foundation (up to $20,000) to help alleviate poverty worldwide. The contest also coincides with a two week in-store promotion in which Sambazon will give 5 cents to Whole Planet Foundation for every Sambazon juice sold. Combined, Sambazon has pledged to donate up to $25,000 to Whole Planet Foundation by the end of July.

Through valued microfinance institution partners worldwide, Whole Planet Foundation has empowered 146,000 clients with microcredit loans in five years, supporting more than 800,000 people in 36 countries in Asia, Africa and Central and South America.

Click here to go to the contest entry page on Facebook – and don’t forget that you must enter by July 20th. Full rules are available on the contest entry page. Good luck! Boa sorte!

If you watched this video, you got to see Haitian mangoes being harvested from family trees and learned how Whole Trade ensures the farmers are getting the most for their crop. And if you read this previous blog post, you got all the details on how in addition to the superior taste and texture, you can also feel good about the mangoes you are buying. Whole Foods Market is the sole buyer of organic and Fair Trade Certified mangoes from small Haitian growers, sometimes buying from a family with just one tree. The Whole Trade Guarantee ensures growers receive equitable pay — a key point since this mango crop is a major source of income for many of these farmers.

Whole Planet Foundation partners with Fonkoze, a microfinance institution located in  Haiti where Whole Foods Market sources these mangoes.  Access to credit through microloans will enable impoverished people in Haiti to create or expand home based businesses to use their own creativity and hard work to make a better life for themselves and their families.

So you’ve visited our stores, maybe had a mouthwatering sample cut fresh for you in Produce and you put some in your basket to take home – now what? The possibilities are endless. You can enjoy them fresh, as a complement to salsa, a tropical addition to salads or as a flavor for desserts, but we also wanted to share with you a recipe inspired by Whole Planet Foundation microcredit clients in Haiti – Mango Tea Bread.

This recipe was created by Carrie Kotwas from our Rocky Mountain Region Bakehouse team. “For many of our team members, mangoes, pineapple and coconut bring back a taste of their childhood,” explained Carrie.  “There is definitely growing excitement about microcredit, and baking this moist, sunny tea bread was a fun way for us to show big love for Whole Planet Foundation.”

The combination of fresh mango and rehydrated dried mango gives a sweet moist texture to this tropical-flavored quick bread. Click here to get the full recipe for Mango Tea Bread. Don’t forget to let us know what you think by rating, commenting and adding it to your recipe box.

Got a favorite way to use mangoes in a recipe? We’d love to hear them!

We are so very thankful to everyone who contributed to our 2011 Annual Prosperity Campaign. Together, we raised $4 million  — well over our $2.5 million goal — to help end poverty. Because of you, Whole Planet Foundation will be able to reach 100,000 more impoverished women and their families who live in communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with product, helping them to lift themselves out of poverty.

100% of this $4 million goes to poverty alleviation through microfinance partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Your donation is repaid and reloaned in rural communities again and again, helping about 100,000 people change their own lives. With a microcredit loan, usually $200 or less, an impoverished entrepreneur can create or expand a home-based business, such as small-scale agriculture, weaving, jewelry, prepared foods, raising livestock and others.

We’ll be reaching out to people like Claudine, a farmer in Jurwe, Rwanda, who is a microcredit client of Whole Planet Foundation partner One Acre Fund. She was one of the first farmers to plant last season. Her first season’s maize harvest “was the best harvest I’ve ever seen,” she said. She harvested 440 pounds of maize on 1/10 acre of land; her best harvest before that was 110 pounds of maize. She attributed her increase in harvest to the One Acre Fund planting method. This season, she is increasing the amount of land she cultivates with One Acre Fund to 1/4 acre, and she will plant beans as well as maize. Last season, Claudine kept part of her maize harvest at home for her family, and she sold part of it to buy a goat. With her next harvest, she is dreaming of purchasing a cow. “With a cow, I can sell milk and use the money to send my children to university,” she said. Claudine has two daughters, Zita, who is eighteen, and Betty, who is fourteen. Zita wants to become a nurse, and Betty wants to become a teacher. “My dream is that they will become great people,” Claudine said. Learn about more entrepreneurs.

Currently, Whole Planet Foundation is funding microlending programs in 32 countries, with 130,980 clients, 91% women, with a 97% repayment rate, supporting 654,900 people with over $16.7 million in funds committed to microfinance partners around the globe. Together, we are providing a hand up to half a million people. With your continued support, we can reach more impoverished families who can change their own lives through hard work and entrepreneurship. Go online to donate anytime and together we can continue to change the world through microcredit.

Oh, and if you entered our contest to win a trip to Peru to learn about microcredit finance firsthand, check your email this week. The winner will be contacted soon and it just might be you!

It’s very simple to do. When you initially buy the gift card, you pay $1 more than the face value of the card and that goes directly to the Whole Planet Foundation. Then you (or your gift recipient) can use the card to pay at our registers just like any other retail gift card. When giving them away, your recipient gets two gifts: one for themselves (who doesn’t love a gift card to Whole Foods Market?!) and another by helping others in their honor (by making a lasting impact through microcredit).

These wooden cards not only do good by helping end poverty, they also do good in a green way. Most conventional cards are made from petroleum-based PVC that ends up in our landfills. The wood for these special Whole Planet Foundation cards comes from sustainably managed forests, and using this wood has been shown to be more sustainable than other alternative materials such as recycled PVC or bio-plastic. And the company who makes these cards also donates a part of their sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment.

Need more inspiration? Here’s a little bit about how Whole Planet Foundation is supporting poverty alleviation through microfinance partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Your $1 will get repaid and reloaned in rural communities again and again, helping families there lift themselves out of poverty.

The first microloan funded by Whole Planet Foundation was in the Limon Province of Costa Rica, where Whole Foods Market sources Whole Trade™ bananas and pineapple through EARTH University.  The Foundation has approved $2.2 million over 4 years for Grameen Trust to create and manage a new microfinance institution, extending microcredit to 10,000 of the poorest women in Costa Rica. Grameen Trust, a sister organization to Grameen Bank which is a registered non-profit NGO in Bangladesh, was established in 1989 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.

According to World Bank reports, women make up 54% of the extreme poor in Costa Rica. Of the poorest households, 48% are headed by women. Access to credit enables these women to fund businesses to use their own creativity and hard work to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Purchasing a gift card is one of the many ways you can support Whole Planet Foundation’s global mission of empowering a community of microentrepreneurs.  It’s easy to donate online. You can also spread the word to your social network or start your own campaign!

Our stores and facilities have truly gone above and beyond this year to raise awareness and funds for Whole Planet Foundation. Impactful in-store displays and merchandising, combined with largely attended out-of-store events have helped surpass this year’s Campaign initial fundraising goal. But there’s not need to stop there! Let’s keep going to $3.6 million dollars so we can empower 100,000 people with a better life.

Here’s just a quick look at some of the creative fundraising from our stores. Whole Foods Market’s Park Royal Village Created “Meal Solution” tables based on Whole Planet Foundation borrower-inspired recipes, including Ethiopian-style Chickpea Stew.

On March 4^th, our Portland stores hosted “A Hand Up to Half a Million People,” a cultural exhibit of photos, videos and handmade crafts from countries where Whole Foods Market sources products and Whole Planet Foundation funds microlending programs.  The exhibit is a partnership with Mercy Corps and the Art Institute of Portland that will have an expected 5,000 attendees throughout the month of March.

On March 25th, our Denver stores will host a Whole Planet Foundation benefit party.  9 bands and 3 DJs will rock Bar Standard, with 100% of ticket proceeds funding microloans.  Musical acts include Bop Skizzum, Bobby C Sound T.V., Tage Plantell & The Dusty Road, The Love Royale and others.  The goal is to sell 1000 tickets, to raise $8000 and to create 45 microloans in one night!

Team Members from the Kitislano store suited up in Whole Trade™ Banana suits and hit the streets in the Kitislano neighborhood of Vancouver to raise awareness for the Whole Planet Foundation. Kamelli and Marek took samples of the Caribbean Dream, a new smoothie made with Whole Trade pineapple, Whole Trade mango, banana, coconut water and kale.   All stores in the Pacific Northwest Region are donating $2 from the sales of this one smoothie to the Prosperity Campaign.

In the United Kingdom, the Soho store sold pancakes in “Aid of Whole Planet Foundation,” including Mexican Quesadilla Pancakes, Parichichi Pancakes and Blueberry & Sour Cream Pancakes.  The suggested donation of £ 1 raised £ 131 for 120 cooked pancakes in 2 ½ hours!

Facilities are doing their part too. The Midwest Distribution Center has raised $4,095 toward its goal of $5000.  Kristen Khazzoun shares “All I have to say is WOW – we are well on our way to surpass that. The donations we have received so far are absolutely amazing to say the least. It is such a great feeling to know that we are part of a company that has team members and suppliers alike who care about what happens outside of the walls here and are helping to change lives and lift so many out of poverty.”

To thank you for your generous contributions at the registers and events, we partnered with Intrepid Travel to give away a 10-day trip for two to Peru. Step back in time in the Sacred Valley, witness the glory of Machu Picchu and more on this 9-night/10-day adventure for 2 including airfare, accommodations, local transportation and select meals. You’ll meet Whole Planet Foundation-supported microcredit clients and partners in the field to see firsthand how your donation helps alleviate poverty worldwide. From mountains to jungle, seasides to great plains, you’ll experience Peru’s incredible natural and historical highlights on this awesome adventure. Find out more about this tour at Intrepid Travel and click here to go to the contest entry page — must enter by March 31^st (full rules on the contest page).

As Whole Planet Foundation’s Executive Partnership and Internal Programs Director, I get to work with incredible people who donate their time and money to serve the very poor. Our Annual Prosperity Campaign is being celebrated in Whole Foods Market now, so you may already know about Whole Planet Foundation’s poverty alleviation programs where Whole Foods Market sources products in the developing world.

Through worldwide microfinance partners, Whole Planet Foundation has reached over 130,000 microcredit clients with an opportunity to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, supporting over 650,000 people to live a better life. This empowerment is possible thanks to the generosity of Whole Foods Market, Whole Foods Market shoppers, team members and suppliers. In fact, hundreds of suppliers to Whole Foods Market donate to Whole Planet Foundation and their commitment is critical, especially members of our Supplier Alliance for Microcredit. This alliance of like-minded companies planting seeds of prosperity around the globe includes Allegro Coffee Company, Back to Nature, Cascal, Earth’s Best, Naked Juice, Seventh Generation, Stacy’s, Teas’ Tea and Whole Foods Market. Their 2011 contributions of $450,000 will enable Whole Planet Foundation to empower over 2,000 more entrepreneurs with a microcredit loan and the chance to create or expand a home-based business to support their families.

Why do Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partners donate so much money and promote Whole Planet Foundation? It’s a win-win partnership to make the world a better place. Some of these suppliers support Whole Planet Foundation because they source ingredients from the countries where Whole Planet Foundation is creating prosperity, like Allegro coffee from East Timor, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and Uganda. That coffee is why Whole Planet Foundation is giving back to the people who live there. When you purchase Allegro coffee, you too are creating prosperity.

Claire Sidman explains why Earth’s Best joined the Alliance: “Earth’s Best and the Whole Planet Foundation share the goal of enriching the lives of families everywhere. Just as Earth’s Best enables parents to nurture their children in the purest way possible, Whole Planet Foundation paves the path to a better way of life for people around the globe and we are proud to support their mission and hope to help them realize their vision.”

You can see this commitment when suppliers meet microcredit clients in person. In 2010, I had the pleasure of travelling to Peru with Jill Griffith from Naked Juice, Sreten Gaijic from Cascal and Joe Browne from Seventh Generation to meet clients of Whole Planet Foundation’s partner Pro Mujer. The year before that Seventh Generation’s Sheila Hollender joined me in Costa Rica, along with Jennifer LaFontaine and Steven Polonowski from Naked Juice and Stacy’s, and we got to meet clients of our partner Grameen Trust in Costa Rica, where Whole Foods Market sources bananas and pineapples. Seventh Generation’s Susan Johnson joined Whole Planet Foundation’s Genie Bolduc and me in Kenya in April to meet clients of our partner Jamii Bora Trust.  After their trip, these suppliers are powerful ambassadors, telling everyone they know how we can all empower the 3.8 billion people living on less than $2 a day to live a better life. It’s that kind of commitment that makes this Alliance successful in helping families worldwide.

Finally, Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partners also support Whole Planet Foundation because 100% of their donation makes a difference because Whole Foods Market covers 100% of Whole Planet Foundation’s operating costs. Each and every dollar (and pound sterling!) donated to Whole Planet Foundation goes to microlending programs in the field, and it is repaid and reloaned in rural communities again and again. You can see special displays of these suppliers in Whole Foods Market stores during our Annual Prosperity Campaign that is running now until March 31. It’s our opportunity to say thanks for their generosity and we hope you will join us in supporting these companies that support families all over the world.

As part of our annual Whole Plant Foundation Prosperity Campaign, we want to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of the microcredit clients who have benefited from our work thus far. With support from shoppers, team members, vendors and microfinance institution partners, Whole Planet Foundation has empowered 130,000 clients with microcredit loans in five years, supporting over half a million people in 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America with a chance to escape poverty. Please join our 2011 campaign to help give a hand up to 70,000 more.

Norzina, Haiti

Norzina has a business on a back street behind the market, which is on a major transit route in Gonaives, Haiti where Whole Foods Market sources mangoes. Norzina is a microcredit client of Fonkoze, a Whole Planet Foundation partner. She sells charcoal in bulk to businesses, schools and individuals who then sell much smaller amounts at a time to others. Norzina supports her community by feeding the neighborhood children, setting an example of how to be successful and lift oneself out of poverty while helping others.

Euceria, Honduras

Euceria is a microcredit client of Adelante Foundation, a Whole Planet Foundation partner that offers small loans to poor working women so that they can invest in their own businesses. Euceria makes pan de coco (coconut bread) and pan dulce (sweet bread), both staples of the regional diet. She has invested her first loan in ingredients for cooking, including flour, lard and salt. Euceria prepares the dough in her kitchen and cooks the bread over a fire pit outside of her home, using recipes and techniques she learned from her mother who was also a bread-maker. She puts the warm rolls in a basket and walks through the streets of her community, selling her bread to neighbors.

Letegebrieal, Ethiopia

Letegebrieal has a roasted-chickpea business in northern Ethiopia where Whole Foods Market sources coffee, and is a microcredit client funded by A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, a Whole Planet Foundation® partner. For years, Letegebrieal’s family was dependent on food assistance programs. One night, this 53-year old single mother gave her crying children water with salt in it because there was no food. It was the last straw. The next day, she applied for a microloan to start a business and today, her roasted chickpeas are a sought-after delicacy throughout Northern Ethiopia. She has a new house and her children are all well-fed and in school.

Maria, Nicaragua

Maria runs a cooking business in which her main activity is a fritanga—a Nicaraguan custom of selling homemade, street-side meals to go. Every evening, Maria sets up a table full of food and hungry neighbors swarm, many taking food home to their families. Maria is a client of Pro Mujer, a Whole Planet Foundation partner in Peru where Whole Foods Market sources onions. Maria has invested her loans in her house, improving the working conditions of her home-based business as well as living conditions for her family. She has replaced her wooden roof with a tin roof, tiled her once-dirt floors, and added on two rooms.

Bindu, India

Bindu is a microcredit client of Microcredit Initiative of Grameen in Kerala, India where Whole Foods Market sources cashews, a local ingredient of Vegetable Biryani. Bindu started her stationary shop and kiosk with her first loan. She has invested subsequent loans in purchasing more goods to sell to grow her business, increasing volume and profit. Her dream is for her family to have a good house, and education and a better future for herself and her two children.

Rosario, Guatemala

Every weekend Rosario packs a bundle of her shirts, tablecloths, belts and bags and travels to the market. Rosario is now embarking on her third loan cycle as a member of Banrural Grameen Guatemala, a Whole Planet Foundation partner where Whole Foods Market sources coffee. She accredits these loans to the salvation of her business. In 2005, Rosario’s house was destroyed by Hurricane Stan. She lost everything; her stove, pots, pans, mattress, loom and thread were carried away by floods or damaged beyond repair. She took out a loan to buy yarn and diversify her products to grow her business and be able to repair the damage to her home.

Don’t forget to enter to win a trip to Peru to meet Whole Planet Foundation Microcredit Clients and Partners firsthand and to see how your donation helps alleviate poverty worldwide.