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Walton Family Foundation
| Walton Family Foundation | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Bentonville, Arkansas |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Top official: | Stephanie Cornell, executive director |
| Founder(s): | Sam and Helen Walton |
| Year founded: | 1988 |
| Website: | Official website |
Walton Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic group that focuses on education, conservation and other issues.
Background
The Walton Family Foundation was founded by Sam and Helen Walton, the co-founders of Walmart, in 1988.[1] The foundation's mission statement as of July 2025 said their goal is to tackle "tough social and environmental problems with urgency and a long-term approach to create access to opportunity for people and communities."[2]
Leadership
As of July 22, 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Walton Family Foundation:[3]
- Stephanie Cornell, executive director
- Romy Drucker, education program director
- Moira Mcdonald, environmental program director
- 'Robert Burns, home region program director
Work and activities
The foundation's work focuses on three areas: "strengthening the connections between education and lifelong opportunity, protecting rivers, oceans and the communities they support and advancing our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.[2] In 2024, the organization awarded $548.8 million in grants.[4]
Legislative and policy work
Financial support of education initiatives
One of the foundation's core areas of focus is education.[2] Between 2000 and 2014, the Walton Family Foundation awarded over $1 billion to support charter schools, The New York Times reported, and in 2025 the foundation expanded a program investing in charter schools.[5][6] It has financially supported a range of education initiatives, including education research, programs that help students gain work experience and a fund "to embrace and advance Black leadership in the education sector."[7] [8][9] The New York Times called the Walton Family Foundation "one of the largest private contributors to education in the country."[5]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the Walton Family Foundation's revenues and expenses for the 2020 to 2023 fiscal years, according to documents submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.
| Annual revenue and expenses for the Walton Family Foundation, 2020-2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2023[10] | $872,237,914 | $801,215,799 |
| 2022[11] | $796,378,256 | $692,126,736 |
| 2021[12] | $1,484,598,263 | $789,890,392 |
| 2020[13] | $1,564,947,585 | $840,211,573 |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Walton + Family + Foundation"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "Our History," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Walton Family Foundation , "About Us," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "Staff," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "Reports & Financials," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The New York Times , "A Walmart Fortune Spreading Charter Schools," April 25, 2014
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "More Capital, More Classrooms: $100 Million Fund Expansion Boosts Charter School Access," May 27, 2025
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "Research and Evaluation," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Walton Family Foundation , "Walton Family Foundation to Support Career-Connected Learning for Thriving Young People," November 4, 2021
- ↑ Candid , "Walton Family Foundation awards $15 million to 1954 Project," April 29, 2021
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service , "Walton Family Foundation 990-PF," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service , "Walton Family Foundation 990-PF," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service , "Walton Family Foundation 990-PF," accessed July 25, 2025
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service , "Walton Family Foundation 990-PF," accessed July 25, 2025
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