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Rooted in a legacy of giving
A region filled with potential
Sam and Helen Walton, our founders, saw potential for the Delta region of Arkansas and Mississippi over years of visits and work in the area.

Their commitment to helping the Delta create a better future continues today through the foundation’s support of organizations working to promote economic development, improve education and enhance quality of life.
A Region Brimming with Creativity and Potential
In the Delta region of Mississippi and Arkansas, we’re proud to work with talented educators, entrepreneurs and young people who are determined to improve quality of life. Their optimism and resilience is helping the region confront its challenges and create new opportunities for all residents.

Our Initiatives

Invest in Targeted Job Creation
The foundation aims to help the Delta region become an area with thriving economies, growing populations and diverse industries with living-wage jobs. We invest in:

  • Initiatives that increase job creation through a focus on tourism
  • Capstone support for community-backed business expansions or relocations

Engage and Develop Youth
After-school programming encourages positive behavior and offers kids a safe place to channel their energy. To provide all school-age children access to outside-the-classroom programming, we invest in initiatives that:

  • Support evidence-based youth programming and projects to increase access to safe places
  • Address youth idleness
  • Encourage positive behaviors

Support Pre-K-12 Educational Improvement
The foundation supports educational improvement efforts that engage students and enable them to reach their full potential. We invest in programs that focus on underserved students by:

  • Supporting new high-quality educational options
  • Improving existing charter and district options

Improve Public Safety
We believe lowering overall rates of crime and helping all community residents feel safe will have a direct impact on the basic quality of life in target counties. We will support programs that:

  • Improve public safety through identification, study and application of effective crime reduction programs
  • Improve public perception of community safety through citizen engagement and enhance citizen and law enforcement relationships
Key Grantees
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