State Giving Program Guidelines
Northwest Arkansas organizations: please read the Northwest Arkansas Giving Program Guidelines. Only organizations with a current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are eligible to request funding. NOTE: Organizations must be listed in the most current IRS 50 State Master File at the time the grant request is submitted. Areas of Focus for Potential GranteesThe Foundation has adopted four areas of focus: Education, Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Sustainability. The Walmart Foundation encourages funding requests that align with its four areas of focus – programs that do not align with the four areas of focus will not be given consideration. Education – Addresses the educational needs of underserved young people ages 12-25. Examples include programs that re-engage students who have dropped out of high school, improve retention rates of first-generation college students, support teachers and promote adolescent literacy.
Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity – Provides job readiness and skills training as well as support services for workers with low to moderate skills. Examples include job placement and retention efforts, adult education, occupational training, training for English language learners (ELL), and wraparound services including career counseling, life skills, etc. A secondary interest is asset development programs that help close the gap between earnings and basic expenses. Examples include increasing access to earned income tax credit benefits, child care subsidies, and other state/federal benefits. Health and Wellness – Improves access to health care, reduces health care disparities and promotes nutrition. Examples include cooking and meal planning classes for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recipients, healthy snacks for kids in summer programs, and support for doctors planning community health programs for underserved children. Environmental Sustainability – Seeks to promote production systems that sustain people and the environment by reducing waste, promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources. Examples include waste reduction programs, retrofitting of social service infrastructure, and sustainable agriculture initiatives. Additional Focuses:
Hunger Relief: Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are in the second year of a $2 billion cash and in-kind hunger relief campaign that extends through 2015. The Foundation’s contributions are strategically aimed at ending hunger for the 1 in 6 Americans that do not know where their next meal is coming from. As such, the Foundation seeks to fund initiatives that integrate hunger relief into our four focus areas.
Women’s Economic Empowerment: Walmart announced the Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative on September 14, 2011. With more than $100 million dollars in grants supported through Walmart’s international and U.S. business units and the Walmart Foundation, this initiative aims to drive progress in five key areas: women-owned businesses, farms and factories, job training and education, and gender diversity. The Walmart Foundation’s domestic (U.S.) and international contributions will focus broadly on increasing women’s access to career advancement opportunities through improved job training and education.
Veterans: The Walmart Foundation also has a particular interest in supporting the following populations: veterans and military families, traditionally underserved groups, individuals with disabilities and people impacted by natural disasters Organizations and Projects that are excluded from receiving State Program Giving funding:- Individuals
- Organizations without a 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status that are not included in the Internal Revenue Service's current 50 State Master File
- In-kind donation requests—includes requests for gift cards
- Athletic teams/events
- Requests to support travel for groups or individuals when that is the primary reason for the proposal
- Capital Campaigns (Defined as any plans to raise funds for a significant purchase or expense, such as new construction, major renovations or to help fund normal budgetary items.)
- Capital Improvements (Defined as property improvements that will enhance the property value or increase the useful life of the property.)
- Immediate disaster relief efforts
- Political advocacy groups
- Fundraising events, sponsorships
- Scholastic scholarships for post-secondary educational institutions—includes vocational schools, as well as two-year and four-year institutions
- Association/Chamber memberships
- Organizations whose services are limited to its members
- Projects that send products or people for relief efforts to a foreign country
- Advertising, film or video projects
- Program advertising or marketing venues
- Children’s Miracle Network.
- General operating expenses
- Faith-based organizations when the proposed grant will only benefit the organization or its members.
- Organizations that have already received a State Giving Program grant, but have not yet completed an impact report. Note: Impact Reports are sent electronically to grantees 12 months after receiving funding. Impact Reports will not be sent to grantees prior to the 12-month mark.
- Multi-year commitments
- Organizations are to be funded on a year-by-year basis
- Organizations that receive funding must submit a new application in order to be considered for additional funding after the initial grant year
- Organizations that serve the Benton and Washington Counties of Arkansas (Click here to learn about the Walmart Foundation’s Northwest Arkansas Giving Program.)
- The Foundation will not consider requests for funding that will not be fully allocated within the state where funding has been requested.
- Grants awarded in the District of Columbia can be directed to organizations that serve the Greater District of Columbia metro area—this includes regions within the metro area that are physically located in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Things to keep in mind when applying- Once the program budget for a specific state has been fully allocated for the year, funding requests for that particular state will no longer be accepted.
- All State Giving Program applications must be submitted through the online application process in order to be eligible for consideration. The application will be open during 2 funding cycles. The first cycle opens February 1, 2011 and closes April 22, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. ET. The second cycle opens June 1, 2011 and closes September 9, 2011.
- The Foundation continually reviews applications. Please submit your application as soon as possible before the application deadline. This allows the Foundation to review your application and, if possible, return it to you if they have any questions or concerns. You can then resubmit the application with the corrections. Applications will not be accepted after the application deadline.
- The Foundation reserves the right to modify the State Giving Program’s guidelines, submission deadlines and notification dates without prior notice.
- Organizations that receive grants will be required to submit an impact report detailing how the funding was used and what outcomes were achieved. Grantee organizations will receive the template for this report electronically 12 months after receiving funding. Organizations that fail to complete this report will not be eligible to receive another grant through the State Giving Program until the report has been completed and submitted to the Foundation for review. These reports will not be sent to grantees prior to the 12-month mark.
Please review our Frequently Asked Questions. Ready to get started? Begin the application process.
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