Wal-Mart Family’s Charity Boosts Giving to Schools

The Walton Family Foundation provided $157-million in education-improvement grants last year, a 17-percent increase over its 2009 schools giving, according to The Times-Picayune and the Huffington Post.

About 40 percent of the foundation’s 2010 spending supported new schools. Another quarter supported improvements to existing facilities and one-third went toward shaping public policy on issues such as parental choice.

The biggest recipient was Teach for America, which received $16.7-million from the Arkansas philanthropy, which was started by the Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and his wife, Helen. The Charter School Growth Fund and charter operator KIPP got $12.5-million and $8.6-million, respectively.

The Walton foundation’s spending on improving schools is the second largest in the nation, behind only the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read more from The Chronicle about the Walton schools efforts.