Walton family charity invests in Teach for America

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Walton Family Foundation revealed Wednesday that it will donate $50 million to Teach For America, a commitment that stands to nearly double the size of the organization’s teaching ranks.

The charity that was created by the founder of Wal-Mart Stores will mete out half of the funds over a three-year period, and will increase the number of teachers to 15,000 by 2015. The remaining half of the donation will support the training of existing Teach for America instructors in seven communities.

Teach for America was founded in 1990 by Wendy Kopp, who proposed the idea in her undergraduate thesis at Princeton University. The organization is based in New York City.