Single Parent Scholarship Fund reaches 55% of goal

Bentonville-based Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas recently reached 55% of its challenge grant goal after receiving a $200,000 gift from First National Bank of NWA (F1RSTNB).

In June 2025, the nonprofit launched a campaign to build a new headquarters in Springdale that will expand services and increase capacity for support of single-parent families in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties.

The nonprofit has raised $835,659 of the $1.8 million toward the Mabee Foundation challenge grant. The deadline to raise this amount is May 20. If the amount is reached, the Mabee Foundation will provide a $1 million grant toward the nonprofit’s Building for Success campaign. In total, the nonprofit has raised $5.67 million in the $7.4 million campaign.

“F1RSTNB has been a proud supporter of the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of NWA for many years,” said Rob Husong, president of F1RSTNB. “This $200,000 donation shows the commitment to our community and, more importantly, our support for a great organization that actively works to improve the quality of life of single parents and their families.”

The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation provided the lead gift of $1.5 million for the campaign, and the new building will be named in honor of the foundation. The Pat Walker Center for Success will be located at 806 Founders Park Drive, north of U.S. Highway 412, in the Har-Ber Meadows community of Springdale.

The new 13,000-square-foot building will be triple the size of the organization’s existing office in Bentonville. It bought the 1.42-acre site for the new office for $485,000 in August 2022. Batesville-based First Community Bank provided a two-year loan of $388,000.