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Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$72k
Granted FY2025still arriving
14
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Human Services$93kHousing & Shelter$68kHealth$56kEducation$47kReligion$39kPhilanthropy$17kFood & Nutrition$15kCrime & Legal$14kOther$0
02FY2025 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $37k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $35k
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$4.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FAMILY SAFETY CENTER$15,000
RESTORE HOPE$10,000
TULSA DAY CENTER$10,000
FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES$5,000
TOWN AND COUNTRY SCHOOL$5,000
IRON GATE$5,000
TULSA BOYS HOME$5,000
RESONANCE$3,000
CMC CHARITIES$3,000
CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION EASTERN OK CHAPTER$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,000
YOUTH AT HEART TULSA$2,000
HOSPITALITY HOUSE$2,000
BIRTHRIGHT LIVING LEGACY$2,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $57k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%COVENANT HOUSE: $1k → 17%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $5k → 15%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $5k → 15%TULSA BOYS HOME: $5k → 15%TULSA BOYS HOME: $5k → 15%TULSA BOYS HOME: $5k → 15%TULSA BOYS HOME: $5k → 15%DAY SPRING VILLA: $2k → 15%DAYSPRING VILLA: $1k → 15%RESONANCE CENTER FOR WOMEN: $1k → 15%RESONANCE CENTER FOR WOMEN: $1k → 15%RESONANCE CENTER FOR WOMEN: $1k → 15%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $5k → 15%DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $3k → 15%DVIS: $4k → 15%DVIS: $3k → 15%DVIS: $3k → 15%FAMILY & CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $3k → 15%DVIS: $1k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$391k · 31 repeat orgs$78k to everyone else

31 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 19 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

31
26

Total granted

$391k
$61k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+50%
+55%

Still filing today

48%
31%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $17k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthFood & NutritionReligionHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • The Town & Country School Inc
    7× · 2018–2025 · $42k · revenue +37%
  • TULSA DAY CENTER INC
    4× · 2021–2025 · $40k · revenue +33%
  • TULSA BOYS' HOME INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $20k · revenue +25%

Funded once

  • 1I
    111Project Incgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $8k · revenue +261%
  • AC
    ASBURY CHURCH RESERVE TRUST
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • RESTORE HOPE MINISTRIES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +180%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
City Rescue Mission Inc

Our mission is to lead our community by serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with help, hope, and healing, in the spirit of excellence, under the call of christ.

Human Services
2
Family Hope House Inc

Family Hope House empowers families through therapy, education, and advocacy. As Oklahoma's sole adoption competent mental health agency, we support foster and adoptive children for lasting stability and success.

Health
3
111 Tulsa Inc

111Tulsa exists to mobilize the local church to see that no child is without a family in Tulsa County.

—
4
Family Crisis Center Inc

The family crisis center provides intervention and advocacy for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. this is done with counselors, court advocates and 24 hour shelter for victims and their children.

Human Services
5
Help in Crisis Inc

Our mission is to eliminate family violence, stalking, child abuse, and sexual assault through advocacy, education, counseling, support and prevention services.

Human Services
6
Tulsa Casa Inc

Tulsa casa is organized to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. we promote and support volunteer representation for the children in an effort to provide each child a safe, permanent, nurturing home.

Civil Rights
7
Family Crisis Centers Inc

Walk with people facing violence, offering safety, support, and hope as they heal and rebuild. with every step forward, we build stronger, more resilient communities.

Human Services
8
Shelter House Community Shelter and Transition Services

Through shelter and housing, advocacy and supportive services, our mission is to prevent and end homelessness in our community.

—
9
Covenant House Georgia Inc

Covenant house georgia provides shelters, protects and advocates on behalf of homeless, trafficked, runaway and sexually exploited youth.

—
10
The Wichita Children's Home

To assure the safety and well-being of children and to create heathly families by providing: assessment and intervention services; a temporary home for children at risk of abuse, neglect, or homelessness; education, prevention and advocacy…

Human Services
11
Tulsa Community Service Center Inc

Provide financial and supplement assistance to the tulsa area communities

Human Services
12
Safehouse Denver Inc

Safehouse denver assists adult, children, and youth in reclaiming their right to a life free from domestic violence. the agency provides a broad spectrum of culturally competent, trauma-informed services, including but not limited to,…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Tulsa Dream Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Samaritan's Purse. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

25 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 25 of the 59 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
22/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Town & Country School Inc: $42,050 · OtherThe Town & Country School IncASBURY UMC: $25,850 · OtherASBURY UMCCMC CHARITIES: $20,000 · OtherCMC CHARITIESMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF TULSA: $20,000 · OtherMENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF TULSASALVATION ARMY TULSA AREA COMMAND: $17,500 · OtherSALVATION ARMY TULSA AREA COMMANDIndividual grant recipient: $17,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHOSPITALITY HOUSE: $17,000 · OtherHOSPITALITY HOUSELITTLE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $13,586 · OtherRESONANCE: $13,000 · OtherRESTORE HOPE: $12,000 · OtherHOSPIALITY HOUSE: $11,500 · Other+33 more: $103,755 · Other+33 moreTULSA BOYS' HOME INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesTULSA BOYS' HOM…DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $18,250 · Human ServicesDOMESTIC VIOLEN…Family & Childrens Services Inc: $12,500 · Human ServicesFamily & Childr…111Project Inc: $8,000 · Human Services111Project IncResonance Center for Women Inc: $3,000 · Human ServicesTHE SPRING SHELTER INC: $2,500 · Human Services+1 more: $1,000 · Human ServicesTULSA DAY CENTER INC: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterTULSA DAY…Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: $15,000 · HealthCHILDRENS MEDICAL CHARITIES ASSOCIATION: $2,000 · HealthFAMILY SAFETY CENTER INC: $15,000 · Crime & LegalCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC: $7,500 · Food & NutritionMeals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa Inc: $2,500 · Food & NutritionIRON GATE INC: $6,000 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,000 · Religion
Other$313,241Human Services$65,250Housing & Shelter$40,000Health$17,000Crime & Legal$15,000Food & Nutrition$10,000Religion$8,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe Town & Country School Inc: $42,050 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetTULSA DAY CENTER INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTULSA BOYS' HOME INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $18,250 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLITTLE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $13,586 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFamily & Childrens Services Inc: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budget111Project Inc: $8,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF OKLAHOMA CITY INC: $7,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIRON GATE INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTULSA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC: $5,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetRESTORE HOPE MINISTRIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSTREET SCHOOL INC: $3,700 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PARENT CHILD CTR OF TULSA INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetResonance Center for Women Inc: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SPRING SHELTER INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetRonald McDonald House Charities of Tulsa: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMeals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa Inc: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTULSA DREAM CENTER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBIRTHRIGHT LIVING LEGACY INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds The Town & Country School Inc ↗
  • Who funds TULSA DAY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds TULSA BOYS' HOME INC ↗
  • Who funds DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY SAFETY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE LIGHT HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Family & Childrens Services Inc ↗
  • Who funds 111Project Inc ↗
  • Who funds CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF OKLAHOMA CITY INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC ↗
  • Who funds IRON GATE INC ↗
  • Who funds TULSA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM INC ↗
  • Who funds RESTORE HOPE MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds STREET SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE PARENT CHILD CTR OF TULSA INC ↗
  • Who funds Resonance Center for Women Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE SPRING SHELTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tulsa ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Anne and Henry Za…Tulsa Community Found…Sanford P & Irene F B…Mervin Bovaird Founda…The Gelvin FoundationThe Sharna and Irvin …Morningcrest Healthca…Hille Family Charitab…Grace & Franklin Bern…The Hardesty Family F…Sarkeys FoundationGeorge Kaiser Family …
The Anne and Henry Zarrow FoundationOK32.2× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation · Tulsa Community Foundation · Sanford P & Irene F Burnstein Foundation Irene F Burnstein Co-Trustee · Mervin Bovaird Foundation · The Gelvin Foundation · The Sharna and Irvin Frank Foundation · Morningcrest Healthcare Foundation · Hille Family Charitable Foundation · Grace & Franklin Bernsen Foundation · The Hardesty Family Foundation Inc · Sarkeys Foundation · George Kaiser Family Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Domestic Violence Intervention Services: 15% of income from government
  • Tulsa Day Center Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: 8% of income from government
  • Family & Childrens Services Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Don & Barbara Thornton Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 59 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Don & Barbara Thornton Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home