Last year, the Walton Family Foundation moved forward with even greater intensity, focus and commitment to expanding opportunity for more people. Over the past two decades, our annual grant making has increased more than sevenfold from $50 million to more than $375 million last year. In 2014, we collaborated with more than 1,900 partners on initiatives across the U.S. and the world. If you could travel with me to our grantee communities, you would see schools that are providing transformative educational opportunities and preparing students for success in college and careers. You would see a riverbed that once was barren, now showing visible increases in vegetation thanks to a historic “pulse flow.” And you would see a father teaching his son to ride a bike on a new greenway trail, linking families and nature.

It's these moments of truth that inspired our planning for the next five years. In each of our three core areas — K-12 Education, the Environment and the Home Region — we are challenging ourselves and our grantees to think big. We are scaling up our impact on not just one school, one neighborhood or one freshwater stream, but across cities and entire ecosystems. We are combining lessons learned at the frontlines with clear measurement.

Nobody thought bigger than Sam and Helen Walton. They had an unshakable belief in the power of individuals to transform their lives. As Sam said, “There’s no limit to what plain ordinary working people can accomplish if they’re given the opportunity, the encouragement and the incentive to do their best.” Today that “no limits” philosophy is carried forward by their descendants.

The Foundation is more committed than ever to grant making that drives not just incremental but transformative change. Throughout this report, you will read more about our grantees and their progress. I'm so grateful that I get to work with partners, staff and a Board of Directors who have such a passion for making a difference. Thank you to all the tireless champions working at the frontlines of change every day. There are truly no limits to what we can accomplish together.

View the full report.