Walton Family Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 13-3441466 · since 1988waltonfamilyfoundation.org·Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, International, Mississippi, New York, United States, Vir…·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$522M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$15,000 to $1M

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$200k

Typical grant (median)

1,020 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for proposals, so a cold application is unlikely to be considered; the route in is an invitation, which is worth working towards through people who already know its work.
Its stated priorities are K–12 education, water and nature, and opportunity in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta, and its grants also reach places beyond those, such as New York and California, though that is a pattern in its grants rather than a rule about who may apply.
Half of its grants to organisations were $200,000 or less, and about 8 in 10 fall between $15,000 and $1,000,000, so a modest request near the lower-middle of that range fits its typical grant, though larger grants also occur.
Repeat funding is a strong pattern: 83% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had funded before, and its emphasis on collaborative, systems-level change suggests relationships matter more than a open competition.

Overview

Walton Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Bentonville, AR.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The Walton Family Foundation works to create access to opportunity through three core aims: improving K–12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and their communities, and advancing quality of life in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. Its education work seeks high-quality education and opportunity for every student, especially children most in need. Its environment programme focuses on water, nature-based solutions and lasting capacity across the systems that shape land and water management. In its home region, it works with local organisations and communities to unlock opportunity, strengthen education and financial security, and support transitions into good jobs, affordable housing and infrastructure. Its approach is collaborative and community-led, with a focus on durable, systems-level change.

Themes

K–12 education
Water and nature
Home-region opportunity

Geographic Focus

Priority: Northwest Arkansas; Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. From its grants, not stated by the foundation: Arkansas; New York; District of Columbia; California; Virginia; United States; countries outside the United States.

How to apply

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for proposals.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 83% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 3,280 grants to organisations were $200,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It funds organisations and projects that directly support its programme goals.
It works for systems-level change across its programmes.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

Arkansas22%

New York15%

District of Columbia12%

California12%

Virginia6%

Colorado6%

6 other states: 13%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 14%

The largest single recipient received 4% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 83% of grant dollars went to organisations Walton Family Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
2% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Mexico, United Kingdom, Peru, Japan).
28% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

1,020 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $200k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 1,020 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$1k–$2.5k1%

$2.5k–$5k1%

$5k–$10k4%

$10k–$25k5%

$25k–$50k5%

$50k–$100k11%

$100k–$250k29%

$250k–$500k20%

$500k–$1M12%

$1M and over11%

Median $200k (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

Town Branch Foundation · To support the improvement and advancement of K-12 education.
$35,550,0042024 tax year
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · To provide support for the Learning Engineer Virtual Institute, a new model for Education R&D designed to create technology-enabled solutions that can double the rate of low-income, middle school students' math learning.
$15,000,0002024 tax year
50CAN · To Launch the State Implementation Fund, a project that will help governors and state education chiefs in 5 to 8 states implement education policy solutions required to address learning loss and improve student outcomes at scale within 2 to 3 years.
$13,300,0002024 tax year
Charter Fund · to support the creation and expansion of high-quality charter schools and charter management organizations nationally
$13,000,0002024 tax year
Federation of American Scientists · To Expand and evaluate the Community Funding Accelerator.
$13,000,0002024 tax year
New Venture Fund · To support a financing and technical assistance program that will allow high-quality nonprofit curriculum developers in literacy and science to enhance and scale their existing product lines.
$12,504,4692024 tax year
Opera in the Ozarks · To support the construction of a new opera theater building and faculty housing units and supporting infrastructure on the campus of Opera in the Ozarks.
$11,257,4182024 tax year
NewSchools Venture Fund · To serve as an intermediary for K-12 education leadership development organizations.
$10,000,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Christie Yang — Secretary, General Counsel
Stephanie Cornell — Executive Director
Thomas L Walton — Director
Lukas T Walton — Director
Alice Anne Proietti — Director
Brad Sikorski — Treasurer
Carrie W Penner — Director

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$692,126,736	$541,894,929	$6,899,628,770	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$801,215,799	$587,359,461	$7,111,014,342	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$716,580,611	$521,744,638	$8,646,248,583	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.