2018 Annual Report

Staying Rooted in Our Communities

Ray McCormick has worked over four decades on his farm in southwestern Indiana to promote a more sustainable model of agriculture; one that places a premium on healthy soil and clean water.

“If you really want to have an impact, you have to get involved with partnerships,” he says. “You start with farmers.”

Ray’s commitment to solving the water quality threats in the Mississippi River basin reflects the same values the Walton Family Foundation embraces in our approach to confronting some of the biggest social and environmental challenges of our time.

To find lasting solutions, we must start on the ground, by listening to the people closest to the problems the foundation works to address.

Building Alliances to Sustain Rivers and Oceans

As we’ve seen along the Mississippi, the best way to build a more sustainable future for rivers and oceans is to be rooted in the places we work.

That means championing producers like Ray, who are determined to advance farmer-friendly solutions that improve water quality throughout the watershed.

It means forging alliances with communities along the Colorado River protecting water supply in a dry land, partnering with residents of the Gulf Coast whose homes are most endangered by disappearing wetlands and backing fisheries reforms that have sparked a recovery of stocks and catches in the Pacific Northwest.

Preparing Students for a Lifetime of Opportunity

The foundation supports the teachers, parents, education leaders and entrepreneurs who know our students best. Instead of one-size-fits-all schools, they are creating schools that give every child the learning environment that best meets their unique needs.

This fresh way of thinking was true more than two decades ago when we supported educators launching schools like Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Boston. And it is true today in new schools like CAST Tech in the San Antonio Independent School District, which embodies a spirit of district innovation and educational diversity.

Preparing students for a lifetime of opportunity means lifting up teachers who unlock a passion for learning. The foundation celebrates the dedication of classroom leaders like Barry Blackmon, at Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta Public Schools, who believes the quality of education improves when teachers have the flexibility “to shape their classroom style to that of their students.” And we admire the determination of parents, in cities like Washington, D.C. and Memphis, who are using their voice to shape the quality of their children’s education.

Improving Quality of Life in our Home Region

Our history runs deepest in the region that Sam and Helen Walton called home. For more than 30 years, the foundation has given back by investing in big ideas and in people whose creative spirit and entrepreneurial drive are improving quality of life.

They are the trail enthusiasts who embraced the goal of transforming Northwest Arkansas into a mountain biking mecca accessible to residents and visitors alike, starting with a few miles of singletrack that now stretches across hundreds of miles of rolling Ozark terrain. They are the actors, musicians and artists who are telling new stories – in new ways – that showcase the region’s diverse culture and talent.

They are educators like Matt Dolan, whose Global Teaching Project is connecting high-achieving students in the Mississippi Delta to scholars at Yale and making Advanced Placement science and math courses available to them for the first time.

From the field to the classroom to the stage – and beyond – our pledge is to continue supporting transformative ideas and the people and places where opportunity takes root.