Walton Family Featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy

In case you missed it, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a D.C.-based pub that covers the nonprofit world, ran an article at the end of February on the Walton family’s philanthropic efforts.

The piece was penned by Alex Daniels, who formerly reported for the Washington bureau of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He actually got his start writing for the Little Rock-based paper in 2002 covering Walmart and the retail sector.

In the piece, the lead article of which is titled “3rd Generation of Walton Family Makes Sharp Turn in Giving,” Daniels explains that the family has increased the amount they give through their primary philanthropy, the Walton Family Foundation, writing that in the areas of K-12 education, the environment and economic development in Arkansas, the foundation will spend $2.2 billion over the next five years, or an average of $440 million a year, representing an increase in the organization’s annual grant making, which last year approached $375 million.

The article also explores a new willingness on the part of the Waltons to be more open about their charitable giving goals.

In addition, the story touches on the criticism the family gets in some circles for “giving relatively little in relation to their wealth,” pointing out that last year, for example, they “held more than 1.4 billion shares of Walmart stock in Walton Enterprises, a company formed to manage the family fortune. Annual dividend payments on those shares would total more than $2.77 billion in 2015, an amount greater than the [Walton Family] foundation’s assets of $2.63 billion.” In addition, the article says, “each of the Walton children owns millions of shares of Walmart stock individually.” 

However, as the article points out, as was announced last year, the family plans to distribute about 6 percent of its Walmart shares — worth about $15.6 billion at the time of the announcement — to a newly formed entity, the Walton Family Holdings Trust, which will help fund charitable gifts. Given that our region is so greatly affected by the philanthropic efforts of the Walton family, the story is worth the read.