ROGERS -- Regional economic development and diversity initiatives will benefit from a $450,000 Walmart donation to the Northwest Arkansas Council announced Tuesday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

Golfer Natalie Gulbis helped make the announcement from Walmart's Five & Dime Suite on the 18th hole.

"This is one of the favorite stops for players on the tour," Gulbis said of the tournament being held this week at Pinnacle Country Club.

Support from the community is strong, Gulbis said. Players are welcomed and recognized wherever they go, and she sees more fans filling bigger galleries each year.

The sense of community that golfers see is something Mike Malone, president and chief executive officer of the council, hopes to build for those moving into the area.

As large employers continue to recruit nationally and internationally, the face of Northwest Arkansas is changing, Malone said.

"We want everyone who moves here for a great business opportunity to also feel like they've moved home," Malone said.

The donation will help with downtown rejuvenation, a mentoring program for small businesses and other quality-of-life initiatives, said Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart senior vice president of corporate affairs and president of the Walmart Foundation. The council addresses the biggest opportunities and challenges in the region, she said.

"It's a vote of confidence in them and their importance to Northwest Arkansas," McLaughlin said of the donation.

Walmart giving is focused on three areas: sustainability, opportunity and community, which includes quality of life, hunger and nutrition, and health and wellness, she said. Economic development and regional access to recreational activities are important, she said.

"For Walmart, quality of life in Northwest Arkansas is incredibly important. This is our hometown," McLaughlin said.

The idea of the Northwest Arkansas Council was proposed by Walmart founder Sam Walton, said Mark Simmons, presiding co-chairman and a founding board member.

Improved infrastructure was one of the council's original goals, and the vision for what is now Interstate 49 and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport were born from a meeting in the summer of 1990, he said.

The council's four main goals still include infrastructure, but it added economic development, education and quality of life goals in health, wellness and the arts to its vision.

Community leadership brought people together and built a sense of cooperation that continues today, Simmons said.

"Things that we did together we couldn't do individually," he said.

The council will continue projects included in its 2011 five-year plan with the donation and will grow those that have shown success, Malone said.