Community Giving

5% Community Support Day for Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center (ODALC) Tuesday, April 6th!

The Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center (ODALC) is a nonprofit organization founded with the purpose of training, mentoring, and inspiring Oakland's underemployed youth to achieve higher career goals. In this increasingly digital economy, business-computing skills are essential to finding work, yet many young people in Oakland don't have the resources to develop these skills. ODALC addresses this problem by offering free access to computer training courses, keynote speakers from Silicon Valley, professional network referrals, business consultations, and one-on-one career counseling. To Learn more about this fantastic community organization please visit their website at www.odalc.org and community blog, www.inspireoakland.com.

Whole Foods Market Oakland is proud to serve our neighborhood by sponsoring community events, donating to local non-profits and providing education to everyone who surrounds our store in exchange for the opportunity to do business here. Whole Foods Market is a company with a conscience. We believe passionately in supporting the communities we serve. We believe companies, like individuals, must assume their share of responsibility as tenants of Planet Earth.

Donation Options

We offer four main types of assistance to local non-profit organizations.

In-Kind Donation: This application is for all general donations, including product donation or items for auction.

Nickels for Non-Profits Donation: We offer all customers 10 cents for every bag they reuse. They can choose do donate their bag refund to a designated non-profit organization through the Nickels for Nonprofits program.

 5% Community Support Day: Four times per year, Whole Foods Market Oakland donates 5% of a chosen day's net sales to a local non-profit organization. The Community Support Day is a large-scale partnership, and applications may not be considered immediately but will be kept on file.

Script Gift Card Program: Whole Foods Market Oakland partners with local schools and non-profits to provide a 4% discount on group purchases of gift cards to be sold as a fundraiser for the organization. Thank you, shoppers! Finally, we must thank our customers for shopping at Whole Foods Market Oakland and in turn directly supporting our Community Giving programs.

We cannot donate to political or religious organizations. To request a donation, please fill out a Donation Request Form. Donation Request Forms can be picked up at our Customer Service desk. A copy of your IRS Ruling letter verifying your non-profit 501(c)3 status must accompany each donation request. (Organizations that do not hold a 501(c)3 status cannot be considered.) Our Marketing Team Leader reviews each request, and since product is ordered specially for the event, we require at minimum 30-60 days notice for your donation request. Last minute requests will not be accommodated. 5% Day applications are also available at our Customer Service desk. While we would love to be able to help everyone, we have a dedicated donation budget each month and need to work within the designated budget framework. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate all donation requests. From the many donation requests we receive each month, approximately 4-6 non-profit groups are selected to receive support from our donations program.

For detailed information on our donations programs or for a donation application contact: Perri Kramer, Marketing Team Leader, at perri.kramer@wholefoods.com or 510.834.9800 x260. All donation requests require at least six to eight weeks notice.

 Thank you, shoppers! Finally, we must thank our customers for shopping at Whole Foods Market Oakland and in turn directly supporting our Community Giving programs. Recent recipients include:

Imagine That! Kids

Berkeley Broadway Singers

Street Level Health Project

Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Clausen House

Childhood Matters

East Bay Bicycle Coalition

One Voice Circle Singers

West Coast Children's Clinic

Stagebridge

Oakland School for the Arts

Alameda Co. Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team

Creative Growth

Store Tours

We offer tours for groups age 4+ that provide a healthy, fun learning experience. Previous tours have focused on organics, healthy eating, recycling, international foods, reading labels, and parent/child themes. We would be happy to plan a tour for your group. For more information about tours, please email Perri Kramer at Perri.Kramer@wholefoods.com or call 510.834.9800x260. We provide tours for groups of all ages Monday through Friday. Please call for futher information, thanks!