Walton Foundation donates $750K toward economic development in Delta
by February 6, 2017 11:41 am 175 views
The Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville will donate $750,000 to Southern Bancorp Community Partners to support capital investments for small businesses in the Delta region, specifically in Phillips County, Ark., and Coahoma County, Miss., the foundation announced on Monday (Feb. 6).
“Access to capital often challenges small businesses in the Delta region,” said Karen Minkel, Home Region Program director for the foundation, said in a press release. “This infusion of funds will help fill a critical gap in sustaining and growing these economic engines.”
The number of loans for small businesses has decreased since 2000, according to Small Business Administration data cited by the foundation that showed a drop of 38% in Arkansas and 63% in Mississippi between 2000 and 2013.
Loans for $100,000 or less have been especially hard to come by, according to the foundation.
SBCP is a nonprofit that partners with Southern Bancorp, a bank holding company headquartered in Arkadelphia.
“For many businesses in the Delta, financial access has significantly decreased or disappeared,” Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp, said in the press release. “Our mission is to ensure this access exists in places that need it most, and this investment from the Walton Family Foundation will greatly enhance that ability.”
The Walton Foundation’s investment will help fund $1.5 million in loans from the SBCP in the two counties.
Southern Bancorp, SBCP and Southern Bancorp Bank were founded in 1986 by then-Gov. Bill Clinton, then-Wal-Mart Stores Chair Rob Walton and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
The SBCP-Walton Foundation partnership is part of the foundation’s effort to impact targeted job creation in the Delta area, according to the press release.