Scholarship Fund Aims To Secure Long-Term Support

The Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas has raised $2.6 million toward a $3 million endowment, intended to provide continued support for the nonprofit’s efforts to bring area families out of poverty.

Executive director Jody Dilday said the funding campaign will wrap up by year’s end.

Once in place, the income generated from the endowment is planned to pay for about one-third of the fund’s annual scholarship budget — filling a gap left this year by a loss of funding from the Walmart Foundation, which narrowed its philanthropic efforts to a few, key focus areas.

The Walmart Foundation supported the fund for about 10 years, donating an average of $130,000 annually since 2012, according to tax records.

The move reflects a nationwide trend in corporate giving programs and private foundations, whose leaders have cited an effort to gain more visible, measurable results through concentrated investment.

SPSF will continue to raise the remaining two-thirds of its scholarship budget through its annual fundraising efforts, Dilday said.