BENTONVILLE, Ark. (March 27, 2023) – The Walton Family Foundation has launched The Connection Hub, a two-year pilot program designed to support Arkansas-based 501(c)3 organizations in developing their capacity to secure federal grant funding. Open to nonprofits across the state, the group specifically seeks to identify organizations working in early childhood health and education, food insecurity and individual/family economic stability and asset-building. The project will be managed by Abby Hughes Holsclaw of Proper Southern Strategies, a Little Rock-based consultancy firm.
“Many Arkansas nonprofits have limited resources. Which means they can’t secure federal funding and support,” said Caryl M. Stern, executive director of the Walton Family Foundation. “The Connection Hub will provide needed capacity and connections. Nonprofits better positioned to secure federal funding can – and will – help Arkansans.”
Over the next two years, The Connection Hub will identify and connect federal grant opportunities with Arkansas nonprofits, providing education, technical assistance, grant-writing and assessment tools and resources. The program aims to identify and access federal funding that accelerates pandemic recovery and enables nonprofits to sustain these activities in the future.
“The Connection Hub will serve as a basic 'one-stop shop,' providing free support to nonprofits,” said Abby Hughes Holsclaw, president and CEO of Proper Southern Strategies. “Through comprehensive technical assistance offerings, we will help participating organizations submit federal grant applications. With the overall goal of bringing more federal funding dollars to the state, we hope to drive transformative action to better the lives of more Arkansans.”
The group is currently supporting a cohort of nonprofits through submitting applications for the Delta Regional Authority’s Delta Workforce Grant Program. The total funding available is $6,000,000, with individual awards ranging from $50,000 to $450,000. Grant awards will be announced by April 30, 2023.
To join a future funding cohort, email info@theconnectionhub.co.
About the Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org.