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The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation Inc

Annual Giving
$58.8M
Grant Range
$12K - $75.1M

The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $58.8 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation-only)
  • Decision Time: Not disclosed
  • Grant Range: $12,000 - $75.1 million
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily Arkansas (technically AR, KS, MO, OK, TX)
  • Total Assets: $1.1 billion (2024)

Contact Details

Address: PO Box 2030, Bentonville, AR 72712-2030
Phone: (479) 464-1570
Website: www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org
EIN: 58-1766770

Overview

The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation Inc (WFCSF) was established in 1987 in Delaware by Jim Walton as a supporting organization of the Arkansas Community Foundation and University of Arkansas Foundation. As of 2024, the foundation holds total assets of $1.1 billion and distributes approximately $58.8 million annually in grants. Unlike the separate Walton Family Foundation (which focuses on K-12 education, conservation, and community development), WFCSF operates specifically as a support foundation focused exclusively on higher education institutions and select community foundations. The foundation is notoriously private, with limited public information about its operations, and functions primarily to support predetermined beneficiary institutions rather than accepting public applications.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

WFCSF does not operate traditional grant programs with open application processes. Instead, it provides ongoing, multi-year support to pre-selected institutions:

  • Major University Grants: $10 million - $75.1 million (large transformational gifts)
  • Standard Institutional Support: $100,000 - $1.5 million (typical range)
  • Smaller Institutional Grants: $12,000 - $100,000 (occasional smaller awards)

The foundation made 16 grants in 2024 and 18 grants in 2023, with a median grant size of approximately $879,000.

Priority Areas

Higher Education: The foundation exclusively funds colleges and universities, with particular focus on:

  • University of Arkansas system institutions (primary beneficiary)
  • Private colleges and universities in Arkansas
  • Community colleges in Arkansas
  • Community foundations in Arkansas (particularly Arkansas Community Foundation)

Geographic Focus: While technically established to support institutions in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, recent Form 990 filings show that grants in recent years have been made exclusively in Arkansas.

Known Recent Recipients (2023):

  • University of Arkansas Foundation
  • John Brown University
  • Harding University
  • University of the Ozarks
  • Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation
  • Arkansas Community Foundation

What They Don't Fund

  • K-12 education
  • Organizations outside higher education sector
  • Institutions outside the five-state region
  • New organizations without pre-existing relationships
  • Projects outside Arkansas (in practice, based on recent giving patterns)

Governance and Leadership

President: Heather Larkin
Vice President: Richard Dunsworth
Director: Charles Pollard

The foundation maintains an extremely private governance structure with no publicly recorded board members in databases like GuideStar. Total executive compensation in 2024 was minimal ($8,000 in direct compensation), with related compensation through affiliated organizations totaling approximately $1 million.

The foundation receives zero contributions and generates income entirely through investment returns (81% of revenue) and asset sales (18.6% of revenue), allowing it to function independently as a perpetual endowment supporting higher education.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process. WFCSF is a supporting organization that only funds institutions it was created to support. It is not accessible to grantseekers outside its predetermined list of beneficiary institutions.

The foundation operates through proactive grantmaking, identifying and supporting selected colleges, universities, and community foundations based on pre-existing relationships established when the foundation was created in 1987. Organizations cannot apply for funding, and unsolicited requests are not accepted.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable. The foundation makes grants at the discretion of its leadership to its predetermined beneficiaries on an ongoing basis.

Success Rates

Not applicable for external applicants. The foundation only supports its pre-selected beneficiary organizations.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable. There is no application process for organizations outside the foundation's predetermined beneficiary list.

Notable Grants and Impact

Historic Major Gifts

$50 Million to University of Arkansas College of Business (1998)
In October 1998, WFCSF made what was then the largest single gift ever given to an American business school: $50 million to establish the Sam M. Walton College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. The gift allocated $48.2 million to endowment (supporting faculty chairs, professorships, centers, programs, scholarships, and faculty development) and $1.8 million for facility improvements.

$300 Million to University of Arkansas (2002)
WFCSF contributed to a major gift for the University of Arkansas honors college and graduate school.

$194.7 Million Research Grant (2020)
WFCSF provided funding to transform the research engine at the University of Arkansas and create new research institutes.

Recent Initiatives

Walton International Scholarship Program
The foundation has provided multi-year support for the Walton International Scholarship Program, specifically supporting freshman classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Northwest Arkansas Community College
In April 2024, support was announced for the Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation as part of the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program.

Key Characteristics of This Funder

Operating Model

  • Type: Supporting organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(3)
  • Accessibility: Closed to public applications; invitation-only
  • Grant Duration: Primarily multi-year commitments to the same institutions
  • Funding Philosophy: Long-term institutional capacity building in higher education

Strategic Approach

The foundation takes a highly concentrated approach, providing substantial, recurring support to a small number of beneficiary institutions rather than spreading resources across many organizations. This allows for transformational gifts that can reshape entire institutions, as demonstrated by the $50 million business school gift and $194.7 million research infrastructure grant.

Relationship to Walton Family Foundation

WFCSF is separate from the Walton Family Foundation (EIN: 13-3441466), which has a different focus on K-12 education reform, environmental conservation, and quality of life in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. The Walton family conducts philanthropy through multiple vehicles, including these two foundations plus several other giving entities.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • This is not an accessible funder for most organizations. WFCSF operates as a supporting organization with predetermined beneficiaries, making it effectively closed to external applicants.

  • Focus is exclusively on higher education. If your organization is not a college, university, or select community foundation in the five-state region, this funder is not appropriate.

  • Arkansas institutions are the clear priority. While the foundation's charter includes five states, recent giving has been concentrated exclusively in Arkansas.

  • Pre-existing relationships are essential. The foundation only supports organizations it was created to support in 1987, making new relationships nearly impossible to establish.

  • If you're an eligible institution, expect substantial, long-term support. For the small number of beneficiary organizations, WFCSF provides transformational, multi-year grants that can reshape institutional capacity.

  • Look to the Walton Family Foundation instead for most grant opportunities. The separate Walton Family Foundation (www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org) has public grant programs in K-12 education, environment, and community development that accept applications.

  • This funder values privacy and operates quietly. Limited public information is available compared to other major foundations, reflecting a deliberate approach to low-profile institutional philanthropy.

References

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