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· Private foundation

Mervin Bovaird Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$2.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
72
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$330k
Largest
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.

Education$4.1MArts & Culture$2.2MHuman Services$2.1MPhilanthropy$1.7MHealth$1.4MYouth Development$670kHousing & Shelter$578kCrime & Legal$515kOther$0
02FY2024 · 72 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k18 grants · $93k
  • $10k–50k46 grants · $801k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $480k
  • $250k+2 grants · $594k
$10,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$46M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Philbrook Museum of Art Inc$330,000
University of Tulsa$264,000
Oklahoma State University Foundation$140,000
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma$80,000
The Nature Conservancy$75,000
University of Oklahoma - Tulsa$75,000
Reading Partners$60,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
Tulsa Community Foundation$45,000
Tulsa Tough Inc$40,000
Eden Village of Tulsa$40,000
Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa Inc$30,000
Tulsa Zoo Management Inc$25,000
Stand in the Gap Ministries$25,000
First Tee of Tulsa Inc$25,000
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 (FY17–24, $2.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%John 3 16 Mission Inc: $20k → 14%John 3 16 Mission Inc: $15k → 14%John 3 16 Mission Inc: $15k → 14%John 3 16 Mission Inc: $15k → 14%Hearts for Hearing: $25k → 16%Hearts for Hearing: $20k → 16%Hearts for Hearing Foundation: $20k → 16%YMCA of Greater Tulsa: $50k → 15%YMCA of Greater Tulsa: $25k → 15%CENTER FOR CONSUMER RECOVERY: $20k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $70k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $35k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $35k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $35k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $35k → 15%Clarehouse Inc: $30k → 15%Domestic Violence Intervention Services: $50k → 15%Domestic Violence Intervention Services Inc: $45k → 15%Domestic Violence Intervention Services: $20k → 15%Domestic Violence Intervention Services: $20k → 15%Crossover Community Impact: $100k → 15%Crossover Community Impact: $100k → 15%Neighbor for Neighbor Inc: $35k → 15%Neighbor for Neighbor Inc: $20k → 15%Neighbor for Neighbor Inc: $15k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $30k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%Stand in the Gap Inc: $25k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%Family and Childrens Services Inc: $20k → 15%Youth Services of Tulsa Inc: $20k → 15%Domestic Violence Intervention Services: $60k → 15%Stand in the Gap Ministries: $25k → 15%John 3 16 Mission Inc: $20k → 15%Hospitality House of Tulsa: $20k → 15%Red Dirt Relief Fund: $30k → 15%Philos Hospitality Inc: $20k → 15%Hospitality House of Tulsa: $20k → 15%Hospitality House of Tulsa: $20k → 15%Hospitality House of Tulsa: $20k → 15%Hospitality House of Tulsa: $20k → 15%Red Dirt Relief Fund: $20k → 15%Boston Avenue Helping Hands Inc: $20k → 15%Boston Avenue Helping Hands Inc: $20k → 15%Boston Avenue Helping Hands Inc: $20k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
NY
OH
CA
VA
AZ
OK
TX
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 122 repeat orgs$947k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +26% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

122 repeat relationships: 66 still active in FY2024, 56 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

122
47

Total granted

$13M
$922k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+17%

Still filing today

67%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $25k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CultureHealthEducationYouth DevelopmentCrime & LegalOther
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 University of Tulsa
    8× · 2017–2024 · $2.4M · revenue +8%
  • THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $410k · revenue +54%
  • OS
    Oklahoma State University Foundation
    6× · 2017–2024 · $325k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • GM
    Gilcrease Museum
    one grant, 2019 · $100k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $75k · revenue -115%
  • UO
    University of Oklahoma
    one grant, 2021 · $75k
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
Tulsa Neighborhood Networks Inc

Provide the poor of the city of tulsa, oklahoma an opportunity to improve their quality of life through guidance and training in the areas of education, employment, family skills, healthcare, housing, socialization and spirituality.

Community Improvement
2
Tulsa Children's Museum Inc

To inspire children, connect families, and build community through exploration, exhibits, programming, and play.

Arts & Culture
3
Tulsa Advocates for the Protection of Children

To improve the lives of children and youth in oklahoma's child welfare system by providing resources and building community.

Crime & Legal
4
Tulsa Regional Chamber (Fka Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce)

The tulsa regional chamber transforms the tulsa region by attracting and retaining employers, talent and tourism for long-term prosperity.

—
5
Tulsa Honor Academy Inc

The operation of a public charter school in the tulsa area with the mission to equip all scholars with the academic skills, content knowledge, and ethical character required for college graduation and life success.

Education
6
Tulsa Legacy Charter School

To prepare students for college through a rigorous arts infused program.

Education
7
Tulsa Area United Way

The tulsa area united way unites people and resources to improve lives and strengthen our communities.

—
8
Tulsa Community Loan Fund Inc

To support community efforts to provide a greater supply of affordable housing in tulsa county and the surrounding area.

Housing & Shelter
9
Goodwill Industries of Tulsa Inc

Goodwill empowers people to reach their full potential through work opportunities, training, and support services.

Employment
10
Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences

The mission of tsas middle and high school is to provide students a multi-strand liberal arts education in a safe, supportive, individualized and challenging school environment through a college preparatory curriculum.

Education
11
Tulsa Spca

The Tulsa SPCA's mission is to improve the lives of dogs and cats, and their human companions.

Animals
12
Tulsa County Bar Foundation Inc

To promote ethical conduct among attorneys, to advance the effective administration of our judicial system, to ensure equal access to justice for all citizens and to engender respect for the legal profession, the law and the governing…

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma; the most unlike its peers is Center for Consumer Recovery Inc. 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

111 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 111 of the 175 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)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
107/111
Grantees still filing
77/111
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Philbrook Museum: $410,000 · OtherPhilbrook MuseumIndividual grant recipient: $280,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMY: $245,000 · OtherThe Town & Country School Inc: $240,000 · OtherAlzheimer's Association Oklahoma Chapter: $230,000 · OtherChild Abuse Network Inc dba Child Advocacy Network: $220,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC: $220,000 · OtherNEWVIEW OKLAHOMA INC: $255,000 · Other+97 more: $4,198,723 · Other+97 moreThe University of Tulsa: $2,449,000 · EducationThe University of TulsaOklahoma State University Foundation: $325,000 · EducationOklahoma State Universi…READING PARTNERS: $260,000 · EducationREADING PARTNERS+8 more: $295,000 · Education+8 moreClarehouse Inc: $250,000 · Human ServicesClarehouse IncCROSSOVER COMMUNITY IMPACT INC: $220,000 · Human ServicesCROSSOVER COMM…STAND IN THE GAP INC: $205,000 · Human ServicesSTAND IN THE G…DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $195,000 · Human ServicesDOMESTIC VIOLE…PHILOS HOSPITALITY INC: $130,000 · Human ServicesPHILOS HOSPITA…NEIGHBOR FOR NEIGHBOR INC: $115,000 · Human ServicesNEIGHBOR FOR N…JOHN 316 MISSION: $105,000 · Human ServicesYOUTH SERVICES OF TULSA INC: $80,000 · Human ServicesFamily & Childrens Services Inc: $80,000 · Human ServicesTHE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER TULSA: $75,000 · Human ServicesHearts for Hearing Foundation: $75,000 · Human ServicesRED DIRT RELIEF FUND INC: $72,500 · Human ServicesEASTERN OKLAHOMA DONATED DENTAL SERVICES INC: $70,000 · Human Services+12 more: $403,500 · Human Services+12 moreTULSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,695,000 · PhilanthropyTULSA COMMUN…+2 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTHE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INC: $410,000 · Arts & CultureTHE PHILBR…TULSA BALLET THEATRE INC: $240,000 · Arts & CultureTULSA BALL…Fab Lab Tulsa Inc: $170,000 · Arts & CultureFab Lab Tu…TULSA OPERA INC: $140,000 · Arts & CultureTULSA OPER…CHAMBER MUSIC TULSA: $131,000 · Arts & CultureCHAMBER MU…OKLAHOMA ARTS INSTITUTE INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureOKLAHOMA A…JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN CENTER FOR RECONCILIATION INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureCIRCLE CINEMA FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+8 more: $182,000 · Arts & Culture+8 moreTulsa ToughInc: $270,000 · HealthMental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: $180,000 · HealthNICOLE JARVIS MD PARKINSONS RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 · HealthTHE TRISTESSE GRIEF CENTER INC: $50,000 · HealthTHE CENTER FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL CHALLENGES: $40,000 · HealthNIEKRO ANEURYSM AND AVM FOUNDATION: $30,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $27,500 · HealthParkside Inc: $26,500 · Health+4 more: $35,000 · HealthTULSA DAY CENTER INC: $430,000 · Housing & ShelterREVITALIZE T-TOWN: $40,000 · Housing & ShelterTULSA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC: $20,000 · Housing & Shelter
Other$6,298,723Education$3,329,000Human Services$2,076,000Philanthropy$1,705,000Arts & Culture$1,453,000Health$739,000Housing & Shelter$490,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe University of Tulsa: $2,449,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTULSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,695,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTULSA DAY CENTER INC: $430,000 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetTHE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INC: $410,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetOklahoma State University Foundation: $325,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTulsa ToughInc: $270,000 over 8y, 11% of budgetREADING PARTNERS: $260,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetNEWVIEW OKLAHOMA INC: $255,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetClarehouse Inc: $250,000 over 7y, 3.4% of budgetTULSA BALLET THEATRE INC: $240,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetThe Town & Country School Inc: $240,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetCROSSOVER COMMUNITY IMPACT INC: $220,000 over 5y, 9.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC: $220,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetChild Abuse Network Inc dba Child Advocacy Network: $220,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetLITTLE LIGHT HOUSE INC: $205,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetSTAND IN THE GAP INC: $205,000 over 8y, 4.4% of budgetDOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES: $195,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetMental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: $180,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetFab Lab Tulsa Inc: $170,000 over 8y, 10% of budgetTULSA OPERA INC: $140,000 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetIRON GATE INC: $140,000 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetCHAMBER MUSIC TULSA: $131,000 over 7y, 7.0% of budgetPHILOS HOSPITALITY INC: $130,000 over 7y, 3.4% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC: $120,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetLEGAL AID SERVICES OF OKLAHOMA INC: $115,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetNEIGHBOR FOR NEIGHBOR INC: $115,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetJOHN 316 MISSION: $105,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $105,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetA NEW LEAF INC: $90,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetHOSPICE OF GREEN COUNTRY INC: $85,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $80,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH SERVICES OF TULSA INC: $80,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetFamily & Childrens Services Inc: $80,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTulsa Lawyers for Children Inc: $80,000 over 8y, 2.9% of budgetNICOLE JARVIS MD PARKINSONS RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 over 5y, 15% of budgetOKLAHOMA ARTS INSTITUTE INC: $80,000 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetYOUTH DEVELOPMENT OF TULSA INC: $75,000 over 3y, 5.8% of budgetCAMP LOUGHRIDGE: $75,000 over 2y, 3.5% of budgetTULSA ZOO MANAGEMENT INC: $75,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF GREATER TULSA: $75,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHearts for Hearing Foundation: $75,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetRED DIRT RELIEF FUND INC: $72,500 over 4y, 9.0% of budgetEASTERN OKLAHOMA DONATED DENTAL SERVICES INC: $70,000 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetEDEN VILLAGE OF TULSA INC: $65,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetTULSA BOYS' HOME INC: $61,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetBOSTON AVENUE HELPING HANDS INC: $60,000 over 3y, 4.3% of budgetCROSSTOWN LEARNING CENTER INC: $60,000 over 6y, 0.7% 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 University of Tulsa ↗
  • Who funds TULSA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TULSA DAY CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART INC ↗
  • Who funds Oklahoma State University Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Tulsa ToughInc ↗
  • Who funds READING PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds NEWVIEW OKLAHOMA INC ↗
  • Who funds Clarehouse Inc ↗
  • Who funds TULSA BALLET THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds The Town & Country School Inc ↗
  • Who funds CROSSOVER COMMUNITY IMPACT INC ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC ↗
  • Who funds Child Abuse Network Inc dba Child Advocacy Network ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE LIGHT HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds STAND IN THE GAP INC ↗
  • Who funds DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma ↗
  • Who funds Fab Lab Tulsa Inc ↗
  • Who funds TULSA OPERA INC ↗
  • Who funds IRON GATE INC ↗
  • Who funds CHAMBER MUSIC TULSA ↗
  • Who funds PHILOS HOSPITALITY INC ↗
  • Who funds GIRL SCOUTS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA INC ↗
  • Who funds LEGAL AID SERVICES OF OKLAHOMA INC ↗
  • Who funds NEIGHBOR FOR NEIGHBOR INC ↗
  • Who funds JOHN 316 MISSION ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗

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 Zarrow FoundationOK141.2× affinity70 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 · The Gelvin Foundation · The Hardesty Family Foundation Inc · George Kaiser Family Foundation · Ralph and Frances McGill Foundation the Trust Company of Oklahoma · Grace & Franklin Bernsen Foundation · The Sharna and Irvin Frank Foundation · Tulsa Community Foundation · Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation · Oneok Foundation Inc · One Gas Foundation Inc · Morningcrest Healthcare 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 Mervin Bovaird Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mervin Bovaird Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 500%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Newview Oklahoma Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Domestic Violence Intervention Services: 15% of income from government
  • Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc: 13% of income from government
  • Tulsa Community Foundation: 11% of income from government
  • Tulsa Day Center Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Youth Services of Tulsa Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Mental Health Association in Tulsa Inc dba Mental Health Association Oklahoma: 8% of income from government
  • The University of Tulsa: 5% of income from government
  • The Philbrook Museum of Art Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Ywca Tulsa Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Oklahoma Arts Institute Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Family & Childrens Services Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Tulsa Habitat for Humanity Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Global Gardens Incorporated: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
50get no government money at all
32report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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.

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 175 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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