State Giving Program

Mikiela Rodriguez, stepdaughter of store manager Tina Rodriquez, presents an $80,000 grant to the New Hampshire Food Bank on behalf of the Walmart Foundation.

SGP Resource

Frequently Asked Questions

State Giving Program Guidelines

State by State Giving Totals

Through the State Giving Program, the Walmart Foundation seeks to support organizations with programs that align with our mission to create opportunities so people can live better. The State Giving Program strives to award grants that have a long-lasting, positive impact within a state or region.

State Advisory Councils

To help facilitate the grant-making process, the Foundation created State Advisory Councils to represent each state, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The Advisory Councils determine the needs within each state, review all eligible grant applications and make funding recommendations to the Foundation.

Advisory Council Composition

The Advisory Councils are made up of associates, who represent a variety of different internal business units. These associates are not members of the Foundation staff, but work closely with the Foundation staff to ensure that all funding recommendations meet the program’s guidelines. The Foundation has final approval on all funding recommendations made by the Advisory Councils.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation has four areas of focus:

Education – Addresses the educational needs of underserved young people ages 12-25. Examples include programs focused on high school success, adolescent literacy, access and retention of first-generation college students and teacher retention.

Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity – Provides job skill training, counseling and support services for unemployed, underemployed and displaced workers. Examples include career counseling services, financial literacy workshops and job readiness programs.

Health & Wellness – Improves access to healthcare, reduces healthcare disparities and promotes healthy lifestyles. Examples include food distribution programs, immunization clinics, health education organizations and personal health record technology.

Environmental Sustainability – Assists in the development or expansion of environmentally sustainable communities. Examples include energy auditing education programs, green job training, retrofitting/green building initiatives.

While the Foundation encourages funding requests that align with its four areas of focus, eligible programs that do not align with the four focus areas will also be given consideration.

Due to the volume of funding requests that the Foundation receives, not every request that meets the guidelines will receive funding. The Foundation will not respond to inquiries as to why an organization’s State Giving Program application is considered ineligible or why the applicant was not selected to receive funding.

Step 1

Please review the frequently asked questions.

The application process for the Walmart Foundation's State Giving Program is currently closed. The application process will reopen on February 1, 2010. We are currently accepting applications for the Northwest Arkansas Giving Program, however. Organizations who are interested in applying for support within the Northwest Arkansas region may still submit applications at this time.

Begin Northwest Arkansas Giving Application