Northwest Arkansas Business Journal - NWABusinessJournal.com

Foundation Director Speaks on Using Strengths for Philanthropy

In a Feb. 6 lecture, Julie Gehrki, senior director of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s nonprofit charitable arm, the Wal-Mart Foundation, spoke on the importance of companies focusing their philanthropic energies on what they do well. Gehrki is an alumna of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, where she gave the lecture. “Wal-Mart is the biggest seller of everything,” Gehrki said, explaining that it took until 2010, and some expensive mistakes, for the world’s largest retailer to find an improved impact and emphasis for its philanthropic work in the U.S. Market research revealed most Americans think of the chain’s stores as grocery sellers, so Wal-Mart launched a $2 billion campaign against American hunger and found it a natural fit, Gehrki said. The foundation... [ MORE ]