The Town Branch Foundation is a grantmaking foundation created and operated by Jim Walton, the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. ^{1 2} In 2023, the Town Branch Foundation supported numerous educational organizations and schools, and a number of political and environmental groups. ³

In 2023, the Town Branch Foundation reported revenue of $30,794,095, expenses of $45,804,542, and total net assets of $470,582,767. ⁴

Background

The Town Branch Foundation is a grantmaking foundation created and operated by Jim Walton, the youngest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. ^{1 2} Nonprofit media outlet Inside Philanthropy has speculated that the Town Branch Foundation is the primary philanthropy entity of Jim and his wife Lynne Walton despite its assets only representing 0.5 percent ($566 million) of their estimated total fortune, according to its 2023 tax return. ¹

The Town Branch Foundation is based in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart’s global headquarters is located. ^{5 6} The foundation does not have a website, a trait shared by two similar foundations in the Walton family: the Penner Family Foundation and the Alumbra Innovations Foundation. ¹

Financials

In 2023, the Town Branch Foundation reported revenue of $30,794,095, expenses of $45,804,542, and total net assets of $470,582,767. ⁴

According to Inside Philanthropy, the Town Branch Foundation received a single outside funding injection from 2020 to 2024, a $1.7 million donation from the Hogan Preparatory Academy in 2022. ¹

Grantmaking

From 2020 to 2023, the Town Branch Foundation increased its giving from $14.6 million to $43 million, according to Inside Philanthropy. ¹

In 2023, the Town Branch Foundation supported numerous educational organizations and schools, from wildlife initiatives at Texas A&M University to the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center. ³

It also supported a number of political and environmental groups, including the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) ($150,000), the Cato Institute ($10,000), Exodus.Life ($12,000), Heartland Forward ($5,910,255), the Heritage Foundation ($10,000), the Institute for Humane Studies ($40,000), The Nature Conservancy ($933,618), and the Watershed Conservation Resource Center ($206,073). ³

Inside Philanthropy notes that many of the recipients of the Town Branch Foundation grants are Walton-linked nonprofit organizations, including Heartland Forward, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Peel Compton Foundation, on whose board Lynne Walton sits. ¹

Leadership

According to its 2023 tax return, Jim Walton was the president of the foundation. ⁷ Jim, the youngest son of Sam Walton, is the chairman of the Walton family’s Arvest Bank Group, which as of March 2025 was managing $26 billion in assets. Jim Walton’s net worth was estimated to be $103 billion as of March 16, 2025, according to Forbes. ⁸

Jim was a member of Walmart’s board of directors for over ten years before he passed the position to his son Steuart in 2016. Jim and the other heirs of Sam Walton owned a collective total of 45 percent of Walmart stock as of March 2025. Jim’s daughter, Annie Proietti, is the chair of the Walton Family Foundation. ^{8 9}

The executive director of the foundation was Marc Holley as of December 2023. Other board members included Luke Mitchell (treasurer starting December 21, 2023), Buddy D. Philpot (secretary, who was compensated with $589,326 in 2023), Robert A. Smith (until December 21, 2023), and Lynne M. Walton (also the vice president). ⁷

1. Kavate, Michael. “The Quiet Donors of America’s Richest Family: Three Low-Profile Walton Foundations.” Inside Philanthropy, February 25, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/the-quiet-donors-of-americas-richest-family-three-low-profile-walton-foundations.
2.  “Jim Walton.” Forbes. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-walton/.
3. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Town Branch Foundation. 2023. Part XIV – 3. Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Town Branch Foundation. 2023. Part II, lines 12, 26, 29.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Town Branch Foundation. 2023. Line C.
6. “Company & Leadership.” Walmart. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://corporate.walmart.com/about/samsclub/company-and-leadership.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Town Branch Foundation. 2023. Part VII – Information About Officers, Directors, Trustees, Foundation Managers, Highly Paid Employees, and Contractors.
8. “Jim Walton & family.” Forbes, March 16, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-walton/. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250316192315/https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-walton/.
9. “Walton Family Foundation Launches New Strategy for Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.” Walton Family Foundation, May 9, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/about-us/newsroom/walton-family-foundation-launches-new-strategy-for-arkansas-mississippi-delta.