July 26, 2022 “Ingredients in Living a Fulfilling Life.” How Alice Walton’s Philanthropy Is Evolving and Expanding July 26, 2022/ Mike Scutari Alice Walton is one of America’s most important arts philanthropists, and lately she’s been ramping up her giving in the health and wellness space. We check in with Walton to discuss her ever-growing charitable portfolio.Read More
February 23, 2022 IP Briefing: What's Going on With Philanthropy for Visual Arts? February 23, 2022/ IP Staff Public funding for the arts has been dwindling for decades, so most arts nonprofits rely on a mix of earned income and philanthropy. Major donors play an outsized role in this area, often creating tensions within institutions.Read More
January 19, 2022 The Most Powerful Heirs in Philanthropy January 19, 2022/ David Callahan As the rich get richer, the descendants of the uber-wealthy will shape the world of philanthropy for decades to come. As such, we’ve compiled our first extensive list of the heirs to family wealth who are making waves in the sector. Read More
October 07, 2021 The Giving of America’s Richest Family Can Be Hard to Track. Here Are 12 Foundations of Walton Heirs October 07, 2021/ Michael Kavate So many Waltons, so much money. Aside from the big foundation, several heirs have their own philanthropies, and they can be hard to keep track of. Here’s a list of 12 Walton family foundations, with brief summaries of their giving.Read More
September 30, 2020 Behind Ford’s Bold Effort to Back Arts Groups Serving Communities of Color September 30, 2020/ Mike Scutari Ford and partner funders are committing more than $156 million to support BIPOC arts groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Ford’s Margaret Morton fills us in on the America’s Cultural Treasures initiative.Read More
August 25, 2020 "There Was Real Need." Art Bridges’ CEO on Backing Museums in a Pandemic and Beyond August 25, 2020/ Mike Scutari In May, Alice Walton’s Art Bridges Foundation launched the Bridge Ahead initiative to help museums navigate the pandemic. We check in with CEO Paul Provost on the initiative’s origins and the foundation’s unique model.Read More
August 13, 2020 Museums Are Fighting to Survive. Here’s One Funder Backing Smaller, Struggling Institutions August 13, 2020/ Mike Scutari A third of museum directors are not confident they’ll be able to survive the next 16 months without additional financial relief. Alice Walton’s Bridge Ahead initiative is disbursing $5 million to endangered small and midsize institutions.Read More
May 18, 2020 Billionaire Donors May Prevent a Museum Meltdown, but Which Institutions Will Be Saved? May 18, 2020/ Mike Scutari COVID-19 has pushed many small museums to the brink, amplifying the gap between the sector’s haves and have nots. Will mega-donors give less affluent organizations a second look or double-down on the pre-crisis status quo?Read More
October 18, 2018 "Seeds of Inspiration." The Walton Family Foundation's Latest Push for More Diverse Museums October 18, 2018/ Mike Scutari As arts funders remain laser-focused on equity—both in terms of representation and access—the Walton Family Foundation makes another big gift towards diversifying the ranks of museum leaders.Read More
December 05, 2017 Strange Bedfellows? Ford and Walton Join Forces on Arts Diversity December 05, 2017/ Mike Scutari At first, it seems a bit jarring to see Ford partnering with the Walton Foundation around the issue of curatorial diversity. But a closer look reveals Alice Walton's fingerprints all over a big new initiative. Read More
September 20, 2017 "Paradigm-Shifting." How Alice Walton Is Taking Her Vision of Art Access Nationwide September 20, 2017/ Mike Scutari By making works accessible to audiences in far-flung corners of the country, Alice Walton's new foundation, Art Bridges, may permanently alter how Americans interact with art.Read More
August 29, 2017 Beautiful Alignment: Walton Family Millions for an Art School with Global Ambitions August 29, 2017/ Mike Scutari One of the biggest campus gifts ever for the arts—to the University of Arkansas—has Alice Walton's fingerprints all over it. What's this ambitious Walmart heir up to?Read More
August 18, 2017 It's One of the Biggest Bets in Arts Philanthropy Ever. What's the Verdict? August 18, 2017/ Mike Scutari When it opened, some saw Alice Walton's multi-billion-dollar Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as a textbook case of nouveau philanthropy gone wrong. Five years later, the verdict is quite different.Read More
June 21, 2017 Is a Powerful New Philanthropic Ally of Arts Education Rising in the South? June 21, 2017/ Mike Scutari Since establishing Crystal Bridges, Alice Walton (who's worth $37 billion) has shown signs of larger ambitions for her arts giving. Now her deep-pocketed museum is getting behind arts education. Read More