This month I had the pleasure to conduct a Q&A with Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation, which in its last fiscal year contributed more than $423 million to communities in the U.S. and abroad.  I asked about recession-time giving, nonprofit partnerships, and the foundation’s long-term vision. Here's what McKenna had to say:

Q: In an article you wrote last year  for BCLC's e-newsletter, you mentioned some important points — a) It's not easy to find funding opportunities that will lead to significant and lasting change, and b) The challenge for corporate foundations is to fund programs that "move the dial." Are there areas of community investment you believe are promising ways to ease the burden of the recession and plan for a stronger nation in the future?

McKenna: Our mission hasn't changed. We are funding programs that move the dial – giving special attention to service organizations that focus on addressing unmet, immediate needs like hunger, homelessness, education, job training and other basic needs.

For example, the food donation program that we rolled out in November 2008 – when food banks began to see an increase in the number of people looking to them to make ends meet – has  provided more than 33 million pounds of fresh produce, meat and other nutritious foods to U.S. food banks (as of January 31, 2009).

Read the full interview