Here's What We Know About a Walton Heir’s Zoma Foundation, a Big Supporter of Early Childhood

Denver, Colorado. Colorado is one of two geographic focuses of the Zoma Foundation. Kevin Ruck/shutterstock

The Waltons are America’s richest family, and the Walton Family Foundation is by far their most prominent and largest vehicle for charitable giving, making $750 million in grants in 2020. But it’s a big family, and one whose philanthropy stretches far beyond that single foundation. Several heirs to the Walmart fortune have launched their own philanthropic operations, most of which fly under the radar, but are likely to become major funders.

Ben and Lucy Ana Walton’s Zoma Foundation, which granted more than $21 million in 2020, is not the largest among them. But the couple’s wealth and philanthropy could balloon substantially in the years to come — Ben is one of three children of Rob Walton, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $58 billion — and there are already hints the foundation is growing. That makes it part of an ever-expanding philanthropic dynasty, with other family members’ foundations playing major or emerging roles in the art world and on climate change. The Waltons are also inextricable from the far-reaching impacts of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, in which the family retains a 50% stake.

There’s not a ton of readily accessible information out there on what the Zoma Foundation is funding, as is the case for several of the Walton heirs’ individual philanthropies. Zoma has a website with some basic information, but no public grants database. To get a better sense of what direction the couple’s philanthropy could take, I reviewed the Zoma Foundation’s past tax filings, as well as mentions of its grantmaking and impact investments scattered across the internet. I requested interviews with the couple and Zoma staff, who declined but provided the foundation’s 2020 tax filing and some written answers.

As its website indicates, Zoma’s funding reflects three main priorities — early childhood, workforce training and community economic development. Its grantmaking also shows an organization deeply rooted in its founders’ home communities, funding almost exclusively in Colorado and Chile.

But a closer look reveals some additional facets to its giving. Early childhood and maternal health emerges as far and away its biggest focus, and one with a varied strategy. Past grants also indicate a long-running and potentially growing environmental streak. Last year’s tax filing shows COVID led the foundation to more than double its grantmaking. Past projects show a history of partnering with governments and helping recipients find federal support. Another frequent partner? Cousin Sam R. Walton’s Catena Foundation.

Like the philanthropies of other third-generation Waltons, and in keeping with a broader trend among billionaire philanthropists, the operation goes well beyond grantmaking. The foundation is part of a family office, ZomaLab, that also includes an investment arm, Zoma Capital, which invests in companies with aligned missions. Zoma Foundation, too, is frequently listed as an investor in companies working on issues like health and housing. (Since this article is focused on the couple’s philanthropy, I use “Zoma” to refer to the foundation.)

Granted, there’s still a lot we don’t know. Zoma’s individual grants in Chile are not all detailed in the foundation’s U.S. 990s, as they almost all go through a local grantmaking arm. Zoma may do additional grantmaking through other channels; it had two donor-advised funds, including one at the Denver Foundation, according to a 2018 report on impact investing for DAFs. And of course, we only have tax data through 2020. Nevertheless, here are seven things I learned about the couple’s philanthropy.

The foundation got to its present size fast — and may be growing

Zoma Foundation launched in 2016, during a 15-month period in which three of Ben’s cousins also launched standalone foundations. According to a spokesperson, the timing of Zoma’s formation reflected the couple’s readiness to engage in philanthropy. The foundation then scaled up fast, with Ben Walton transferring roughly $191 million in Walmart stock to the new organization during its first two years. 

The foundation has also received significant transfers from the Walton Family Foundation, which at one time hosted a “Ben and Lucy Ana Walton Fund.” Zoma received a pair of grants totaling $51 million between 2016 and 2017, both of which are listed in the family foundation’s grants database as “special projects.”

As of its 2020 tax filing, Zoma had $243 million in assets. But the foundation may have subsequently grown a lot richer. According to SEC filings, the foundation has sold at least $318 million in Walmart stock since late 2020. A foundation representative did not comment on the sales, but said grantmaking will be relatively similar to 2019 in the coming years and that no staff additions are planned.

Zoma sends nearly half of its funding to its Chilean arm

In recent years, Zoma’s biggest checks have gone to its grantmaking arm in Chile, where Lucy Ana was born and attended university. Called Fundación Viento Sur, which translates as South Wind Foundation, it has received multiple seven-figure-plus awards, including $11 million in 2020. The operation has its own page on ZomaLab’s website. Overall, between Zoma’s inception and 2020, more than 45% of the foundation’s grant dollars went to its arm in Santiago, Chile. 

Still more funding goes to other grantmakers in Chile. Most recently, a major beneficiary has been Fundación Chile, a Santiago-based development organization created in 1976 by the Chilean government and an American manufacturer. In 2020, Zoma awarded that group more than $1 million for water safety projects. 

The South American concentration is reflected in the family office’s small but international staff. The foundation’s office and staff are based in Denver, Colorado, along with three Fundación Viento Sur staff in Santiago, Chile, according to LinkedIn. ZomaLab has a total of 10 staffers, not including its founding couple, according to its website and LinkedIn.

Maternal well-being and child development is a top concern

Zoma makes more grants on one issue than any other: early childhood development. That tag encompasses a wide range of funding for child and maternal wellbeing, often related to depression and other mental health issues. 

That topic is clearly Lucy Ana’s driving passion. She is not only a licensed child psychologist, but her website bio also points to her “experience with perinatal mental health and… a system not designed to provide comprehensive care” as her motivation for supporting parents from the time of conception until their children turn five. 

Groups in the couple’s home state have been particularly big beneficiaries. For instance, the foundation’s second-largest grant in 2019, which totaled $804,932, was to the University of Colorado. The award funded multi-year grants to four groups, most focused on childhood and maternal mental health, according to a spokesperson. In 2020, major grants went to two Denver-based childhood development groups: Tennyson Center for Children ($500,000) and UCHealth’s Bright by Three program ($450,000). Both received similar awards the year before.

Zoma also backs research. For instance, in 2019, it was one of the funders of a study of the financial impact of untreated maternal mental health issues, an academic article on alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use among depressed pregnant women, and a policy paper on the costs to society of untreated mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and after. 

The foundation often partners with governments

Zoma is open to working with — and funding — government agencies. It was one of several grantmakers that previously funded positions in the Colorado governor’s office, according to an investigation by the Colorado Sun. Zoma provided $20,000 in early 2019 to support a statewide coordinator of an economic security program. Another funder providing similar support was Sam Walton’s Catena Foundation. 

Such work dates back to 2017, when Zoma provided $500,000 to the Colorado Department of Human Services to develop a framework for preventing child abuse and mistreatment. A couple years later, it granted $375,000 to the Colorado Workforce Development Council.

It continues to give big to state government. In 2020, it awarded $280,000 to the state’s Department of Labor and Employment and another $75,000 to the Department of Public Health and Environment. More recently, it supported OnwardCo, a multipartner, private-public effort in Colorado to launch a one-stop online portal for COVID-19 resources. Catena and Walmart.org were also supporters. 

Zoma has also worked on ensuring government benefits reach those who are eligible. It partnered with the Denver Health Foundation in 2020 to fund an enrollment coordinator for WIC and SNAP recipients. As part of its COVID response, it gave $15 million in loans in 2020 to two programs aimed at helping Colorado businesses get loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program. 

COVID giving has dominated recent years

Like most foundations, funding prompted by the coronavirus pandemic figures prominently on Zoma’s grants list for 2020. Major COVID awards went to the SCL Health Foundation ($500,000), Denver Health Foundation ($500,000), University of Colorado Foundation ($365,000), and Mile High United Way ($355,000). In all, Zoma’s spending rose well above foundations’ mandatory minimum, with grants alone accounting for 8% of its year-end assets in 2020.

Such commitments are in line with a pair of public partnerships it has joined on COVID. In 2020, it partnered with Catena and Gates Family Foundation to back a $3 million COVID-19 rapid response fund focused on rural small businesses and nonprofits in Colorado and hosted by the First Southwest Community Fund. And in May 2021, ZOMA joined with Philanthropy Colorado, Telluride Foundation and the Denver Foundation to provide $1.5 million in unrestricted grants to support rural communities during the pandemic. 

Zoma leverages its assets in pursuit of its priorities

Like many of today’s billionaire philanthropists, the couple sees investments as a complement to grantmaking. “We believe there are important yet distinct roles for philanthropy and market-based investments in advancing systems change,” states the ZomaLab website. Public announcements attribute some investments to Zoma Capital, but many to the foundation.

Take health: Last year, the foundation invested in SonderMind, a digital behavioral health company based in Denver, Colorado. Similarly, back in 2017, it made a $1.2 million program-related investment in digital developer myStrength to fund the creation of web and mobile apps designed to help families identify perinatal mental health risks. 

Helping purchase housing and property has been another major focus. It has given at least $6.5 million in loans to Landed — a national brokerage firm serving teachers, nurses and police officers — to help Denver educators purchase homes in the region. In 2021, it invested $4 million in an effort by Denver Cultural Property Trust to buy up and develop affordable housing for cultural communities in Denver. 

It has also made investments in a range of other enterprises: LearnStart, for tech startups focused on early childhood development; PAIRIN, a workforce technology company; and Innovate Onwards Fund at the First Southwest Community Fund, which offers loans to businesses in rural Colorado.

The environment is not a listed priority, but perhaps it will be

Ben Walton may have earned a degree in environmental design from the University of Colorado, but green causes are not among the foundation’s named priorities. Nevertheless, the foundation has made one or two grants it tags “environment” virtually every year. And they are substantial.

In 2017, it provided $1.5 million in seed funding for a 10,000-square-foot water treatment research facility at the Colorado School of Mines. In both 2018 and 2019, it made roughly $500,000 grants to the Energy Foundation, one of the nation’s two largest environmental intermediary funds. In 2020, it awarded Western Resources Advocates more than $450,000 to support clean energy in Colorado.

Its Chilean grantmaking also has a green streak. Dating back to its first year of grantmaking, the foundation has given annual six-figure-plus awards to grantmakers in the country in support of water safety and sustainability projects. 

There are signs of greater interest in this sphere. The couple are listed among the investors in Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the investment-philanthropy vehicle started by Bill Gates to back clean energy technologies. ZomaLab recently joined Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, tennis legend Roger Federer and others in backing the unicorn food-tech company NotCo. And the couple’s outfit is also backing the Nature Conservancy’s Enduring Earth initiative, which pushes to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030.

Could more dollars — either in grants or investments — be on the way?