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The Adams Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Adams 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.

$44k
Granted FY2024still arriving
8
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0182% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Youth Development$280kPhilanthropy$163kHealth$78kEducation$46kReligion$33kHuman Services$17kArts & Culture$6kPublic Safety & Disaster$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k7 grants · $24k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $20k
$6,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$151k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRIDGE TO RECOVERY$19,900
Individual grant recipient$7,061
CAMDEN MILITARY ACADEMY$6,850
Individual grant recipient$6,000
OKLAHOMA HALL OF FAME$2,735
GREEN SHOE FOUNDATION$475
OKLAHOMA SPORTS HALL OF FAME$450
OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY$250
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 (FY18–18, $750) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%WATER4: $750 → 16%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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$564k · 12 repeat orgs$125k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +70% since the first grant, against +57% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 8 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
24

Total granted

$564k
$90k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+70%
+57%

Still filing today

50%
21%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 22% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $34k 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
EducationHealthInternationalReligionHuman ServicesYouth 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

  • HI
    HOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $58k · revenue ×13
  • OB
    OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2017–2024 · $17k · revenue +1%
  • EP
    E3 Partners Ministry
    2× · 2021–2022 · $15k · revenue +70%

Funded once

  • OC
    OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUEgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $20k · revenue +109%
  • MA
    MERCER ADAMS FUNERAL SERVICE
    one grant, 2020 · $12k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $9k
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
University of the Ozarks

True to our christian heritage, we prepare students from diverse religious, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds to live life fully.

Education
2
Dallas International University

As a christian university, we provide education and research opportunities preparing global leaders to partner with local communities.

Education
3
Leadership Oklahoma Inc

Leadership oklahoma was organized to create, inspire, and support a dynamic network of leaders whose increased awareness and commitement to service will energize oklahomans to shape oklahoma's future.

Public Benefit
4
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
5
Ouachita Baptist University

Ouachita baptist university is a christ-centered learning community. embracing the liberal arts tradition, the university prepares individuals for ongoing intellectual and spiritual growth, lives of meaningful work, and reasoned engagement…

Education
6
Regent University

Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

—
7
Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association

The OSSAA will serve member schools by providing leadership in the development, supervision, and conduct of co-curricular activities, which enrich the educational experiences of high school students. It will provide for equitable…

—
8
Life International

To partner with leaders globally to boldly proclaim the biblical truth of the father's heart for life, champion the gospel of jesus christ, and establish life-giving ministries.

Health
9
Asbury Theological Seminary

Asbury Theological Seminary is a community called to prepare theologically educated, sanctified, Spirit-filled men and women to evangelize and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world through the love of Jesus Christ, in the…

Education
10
Olivet University

Providing guality Christian education to the network generation

Education
11
International Leadership Institute

The international leadership institute (ili) changes history by accelerating the spread of the gospel through training and mobilizing leaders of leaders to reach their nations. ili accomplishes this purpose through cutting edge leadership…

Religion
12
Oklahoma Association of Realtors

The oklahoma association of realtors connects real estate professionals across the state by providing comprehensive professional resources, maintaining the highest ethical standards and giving realtors a unified voice in shaping oklahoma…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Oklahoma Christian Academy Inc; the most unlike its peers is WATER4 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

16 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. 16 of the 40 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/16
Grantees still filing
10/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BAPTIST GENERAL CONVENTION OF OK: $257,700 · OtherBAPTIST GENERAL CONVENTION OF OKIndividual grant recipient: $160,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient+24 more: $102,081 · Other+24 moreHOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC: $57,700 · HealthHOPE IS ALIV…BRIDGE TO RECOVERY INC: $19,900 · HealthBRIDGE TO RE…+1 more: $475 · HealthOKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $17,275 · EducationOKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC: $7,300 · EducationCAMDEN MILITARY ACADEMY: $6,850 · EducationOKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY: $4,500 · EducationE3 Partners Ministry: $15,000 · ReligionP A L Ministries: $8,600 · ReligionOKLAHOMA CITY POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentOKLAHOMA HALL OF FAME: $5,660 · Arts & CultureEdify Leaders: $4,500 · InternationalCompassion International Incorporated: $246 · InternationalWATER4 INC: $750 · Human Services
Other$519,781Health$78,075Education$35,925Religion$23,600Youth Development$20,000Arts & Culture$5,660International$4,746Human Services$750

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 budgetHOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC: $57,700 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetOKLAHOMA CITY POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE: $20,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetBRIDGE TO RECOVERY INC: $19,900 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetOKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: $17,275 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetE3 Partners Ministry: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCAMDEN MILITARY ACADEMY: $6,850 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOKLAHOMA HALL OF FAME: $5,660 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOKLAHOMA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetJIM THORPE ASSOCIATION INC: $4,950 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetEdify Leaders: $4,500 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetOKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY: $4,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWATER4 INC: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGreen Shoe Foundation: $475 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCompassion International Incorporated: $246 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 HOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGE TO RECOVERY INC ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds E3 Partners Ministry ↗
  • Who funds P A L Ministries ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMDEN MILITARY ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA HALL OF FAME ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds JIM THORPE ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Edify Leaders ↗
  • Who funds OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds WATER4 INC ↗
  • Who funds Green Shoe Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Compassion International Incorporated ↗

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.

El and Thelma Gaylord…Oklahoma City Communi…Servant FoundationAmerican Fidelity Fou…Inasmuch FoundationCommunities Foundatio…Arvest FoundationTulsa Community Found…Natl Christian Charit…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…The Bank of America C…
El and Thelma Gaylord FoundationOK15.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: El and Thelma Gaylord Foundation · Oklahoma City Community Foundation Inc · Servant Foundation · American Fidelity Foundation · Inasmuch Foundation · Communities Foundation of Oklahoma · Arvest Foundation · Tulsa Community Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc

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 The Adams Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Adams Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    6get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 40 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

    Play a game based on Adams’ 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