Whole Planet Foundation

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B

Bankable

Bankable people are those deemed eligible to obtain financial services that can lead to income generation, repayment of loans, savings, and the building of assets.

Borrower

See Microentrepreneur

Business Development Services

Support services that contribute to the growth of enterprises (e.g. business planning, client training, networking, marketing, technical support).
Source: Calmeadow

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C

Collaborating Partner

Collaborating Partners are organizations that maximize Whole Planet Foundation's reach, intellectual capacity and effectiveness through technical support, fundraising support or communicating our mission with Whole Foods Market team members, customers and the general public.

Collateral

Asset pledged by a borrower to secure a loan, which can be repossessed in the case of default. In a microfinance context, collateral can vary from fixed assets (a car, a sewing machine) to cross-guarantees from peers.
Source: ACCION

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D

Developing Country

Low- and middle-income countries in which most people have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than do most people in high-income countries. There are currently about 125 developing countries with populations over 1 million; in 1998, their total population was more than 5.0 billion.

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G

Grameen Bank

A microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans (known as microcredit) to the impoverished without requiring collateral. The system is based on the idea that the poor have skills that are under-utilized. The bank also accepts deposits, provides other services, and runs several development-oriented businesses including fabric, telephone and energy companies. The organization and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Group lending

Also known as solidarity lending, Group Lending is a mechanism that allows a number of individuals to provide collateral or guarantee a loan through a group repayment pledge. The incentive to repay is based on peer pressure; if one person in the group defaults, the other group members make up the payment amount.

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I

Implementing Partner

Implementing Partners are usually Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) that receive grants from Whole Planet Foundation to establish and run micro lending programs. In some cases, Whole Planet Foundation funds or contributes to the loan pool of an existing MFI.

Individual lending

Individual lending focuses on one client and does not require other people to provide collateral or guarantee a loan.

Informal Sector/ Economy

A subset of the economy consisting of self-owned enterprises and the enterprises of informal employers, in both urban and rural areas. The businesses of the informal sector are not registered with any taxation or regulatory bodies. The main features of the informal sector are ease of entry, self-employment, small-scale production, labor-intensive work, lack of access to organized markets, and lack of access to traditional forms of credit.

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M

MFI

An MFI is a microfinance institution. See Microfinance Institution.

Microcredit

Microcredit is small loans - usually less than $300 in the developing world - requiring no contract or collateral, offered to the poorest of the poor to create or expand a home-based business.

Microentrepreneur

Person who owns a small-scale business known as a microenterprise.

Microenterprise

A small-scale business in the informal sector. Microenterprises often employ less than 5 people and can be based out of the home. Microenterprise is often the sole source of family income but can also act as a supplement to other forms of income. Examples of microenterprises include small retail kiosks, sewing workshops, carpentry shops and market stalls.

Microfinance

Refers to loans, savings, insurance, transfer services and other financial products targeted at low-income clients.

Microfinance Institution (MFI)

A financial institution - can be a nonprofit organization, regulated financial institution or commercial bank - that provides microfinance products and services to low-income clients.

Microinsurance

A system by which people, businesses and other organizations make payments to share risk. Access to insurance enables entrepreneurs to concentrate more on growing their businesses while mitigating other risks affecting property, health or the ability to work.

Microloan

Microloans are small loans - usually $200 or less - requiring no collateral or contract. They are offered to the poorest of the poor, with a focus on women, to finance self-employment projects that will generate income and allow them to escape poverty so that they can provide food and shelter for themselves and their families.

Microsavings

Deposit services that allow people to store small amounts of money for future use, often without minimum balance requirements. Savings accounts allow households to save small amounts of money to meet unexpected expenses and plan for future investments such as education and old age.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Management of an organization's internal processes. It is more general than MIS because it deals with issues beyond the technical system of monitoring.
Source: Calmeadow

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P

Prosperity Campaign

A global Whole Foods Market campaign that allows customers to donate at the check-out and participate in events to support the Foundation's mission. Since 2007, shoppers have donated over $15 million for microlending programs.

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S

Solidarity Group

See Group Lending

Supplier Alliance for Microcredit (SAM)

The Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partners are suppliers to Whole Foods Market and share a desire to change the world, one entrepreneur at a time. They are committed to supporting the mission of the Foundation. Whole Planet Foundation and our vendor partners are striving to increase education and awareness of global poverty through in-store promotions and other campaigns. It is our desire to align programmatic goals of vendor partners and Whole Planet Foundation for significant impact around the world.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the ability of a microcredit program to maintain its operations and continue to provide service to its customers or clients. A Program is sustainable when a combination of external grants, loans, and internally generated revenues are sufficient to cover all program expenses over the long term.
Source: Virtual Library on Microcredit

Sustainable development

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". (As defined by the Brundtland Commission, 1987)

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T

Team Member TM

An employee of Whole Foods Market

Team Member Giving Program

Team Members give to the Foundation through a paycheck deduction program.

Team Member Volunteer Program (TMVP)

The Team Member Volunteer Program enables select Team Members to participate in a 2-week or 4-week immersion program in developing world communities like Guatemala, India, Kenya and Peru where Whole Planet Foundation is currently working. Eventually, this program will be offered in all the countries where the Foundation works. The program immerses team members in local language, culture and community activities. Volunteers donate time to projects ranging from education to environmental conservation. While abroad, they will visit Whole Planet Foundation microentrepreneurs to learn about the businesses and experience the impact that small loans can have on the lives of people.

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U

Unbanked

Describes people who have no access to financial services (services that include savings, credit, money transfer, insurance, or pensions) through any type of financial sector organization such as banks, non-bank financial institutions, financial cooperatives and credit unions, finance companies, and NGOs. Implicit in this definition is that financial services are usually available only to those individuals termed "economically active" or "bankable".

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W

Whole Planet Foundation (WPF)

Whole Planet Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization established by Whole Foods Market, funds poverty alleviation through microlending partners worldwide in communities where Whole Foods Market sources products.

WPF Endowment Fund

Is a fund set aside to help the Foundation gain financial security over time. Typically, the only funds spent from an endowment fund would be interest earned on principal.

Whole Foods Market (WFM)

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company's motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s more than 73,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 16 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2012, the company had sales of more than $10 billion and currently has more than 345 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

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Source: International Year of Microcredit unless otherwise indicated