Rob Walton Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Rob Walton Foundation
The Rob Walton Foundation is a high-dollar, concentrated funder focused primarily on land and wildlife conservation, especially large-scale protected area creation and management in Africa, and strategic conservation finance mechanisms. It also makes significant investments in U.S.-based conservation education and legacy/cultural projects (notably the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library). Grants are few but very large, often structured as matching or spend‑down support to build endowments, reserves, or institutional capacity.
Focus Areas
Large‑scale protected area creation and management in Africa (national parks and conservation landscapes)Conservation finance and spend‑down/matching mechanisms to build endowments and working capital reservesCapacity building for conservation NGOs (operational support, reserves, institutional strengthening)University‑based conservation research and education (e.g., conservation schools/programs)U.S. historical/cultural legacy projects tied to conservation leaders (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library)
Who They Fund
African protected areas and national parks
About Rob Walton Foundation
The Rob Walton Foundation’s largest recent grant went to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation: $33,863,725 in 2025 to fund the library. That scale fits a pattern of large, concentrated awards rather than a broad sprinkling of small grants. Across the recent grants list, the foundation repeatedly backs conservation work tied to Africa, especially protected areas, national park development, and conservation finance structures that build reserves, endowments, or other long-term funding pools. A second core thread is institutional support for conservation organizations. The foundation made several major grants to the African Parks Foundation of America and African Parks Network for operational, endowed, and incubation support, including work on national parks and key conservation areas in Africa. It also funded Conservation International Foundation multiple times for matching support to Spend Down Fund 2.0, ocean conservation through the Blue Nature Alliance, and the Country Packages Seed Fund. Alongside conservation, the foundation also supports selected education and legacy projects, including conservation training programs, university-based conservation futures work, and a presidential library project tied to conservation history.
What Rob Walton Foundation Funds
A major theme is protected-area work in Africa. In 2025, the foundation gave $9,328,315 to the Wildlife Conservation Society for Africa Protected Areas Strategy Implementation, and in 2024 it gave $10,000,000 to Internationaler Naturerbe Fonds - Legacy Landscapes Fund for the Namibia Skeleton Coast - Etosha Conservation Bridge Legacy Landscape. It also funds conservation capacity and incubation. African Parks Foundation of America received $4,805,998 in 2025 for the African Parks Incubation Program: Scaling Through Partnerships, and $1,110,080 in 2025 to establish a Conservation Academy. Ocean conservation appears through Conservation International Foundation, which received $4,625,913 in 2025 for the Blue Nature Alliance project. The same grantee also received $3,267,348 in 2025 for the Country Packages Seed Fund. Outside conservation, the foundation supported Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University with $8,000,000 in 2025 for the School of Conservation Futures and related programs.
How Rob Walton Foundation Gives
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$107.1M
Total Assets
$441.2M
Total Revenue
$125.8M
Total Expenses
$114.6M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $250K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$250K
Geographic Reach
National19 states funded
About 9% of grants go to recipients in AZ.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Rob Walton Foundation Funds
Top 5 recipient countries by grant volume for Rob Walton Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 218 | $222.9M | 96.5% |
| 2 | Germany | 3 |
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