New $18 million Great Plains Grassland Fund to support ranchers and conserve native grasslands

Washington, D.C., Oct. 07, 2026  The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced a $9 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to launch the Great Plains Grassland Fund, a public–private grant fund that will protect and sustainably manage intact grasslands across the U.S. Great Plains. The $9 million grant from Walmart Foundation will establish the fund, which will also be supported by $9 million in aligned investment from McDonald’s USA and several of its key suppliers through existing contributions made to the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative. The commitment represents a major conservation investment by the Walmart Foundation. The effort brings together two founding philanthropic funders around a shared goal: supporting ranchers, as members of the communities that steward these lands, in protecting and regenerating the native grasslands of the Great Plains and the fish and wildlife habitat they provide, while building a durable source of conservati