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Oklahoma · Nonprofit

George Kaiser Family Foundation

George Kaiser Family Foundation (Oklahoma) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,865,018 to it, the largest being BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC ($44,000,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$550M
Funders on record
5
Grants received
$46M
Net assets
$4.9B
2/5 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 0%
01What it does

What George Kaiser Family Foundation does

Mission

The George Kaiser Family Foundation ("GKFF") is organized for the specific and primary purpose of benefiting, performing the functions of, or carrying out the purpose of that class of publicly supported organizations, including Tulsa Community Foundation, that are described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, and that engage in charitable activities which are consistent with the charitable purposes of Tulsa Community Foundation. George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) is a charitable organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The foundation is a Type I supporting organization of the Tulsa Community Foundation as described in IRC Section 509(a)(3). The foundation is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services and civic enhancement.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Tulsa Community Foundation - Direct Support of Tulsa Community Foundation, the supported organization, and other directly related entities.

    $55,810,285 spentof which $55,810,285 as grants
    32% of program spending
  2. Civic enhancement projects benefitting the citizens of Tulsa. This includes legacy programs Root Guides LLC, Tulsa Innovation Labs LLC, Tulsa Remote, ADPM, American Song Archives, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, InTulsa Initiative, Invest NorthTulsa, and Build in Tulsa.

    $46,553,144 spent
    27% of program spending
  3. Indirect support of Tulsa Community Foundation, through direct support of charitable organizations that engage in charitable activities which are consistent with the charitable purposes of Tulsa Community Foundation, as well as government sponsored life enhancement projects. Includes social services support and community health initiatives.

    $28,001,069 spentof which $28,001,069 as grants
    16% of program spending
  4. Salaries and Benefits related to Program Services

    $11,222,003 spent
    6% of program spending
  5. Urban growth and renewal programs directly benefiting the citizens of Tulsa. Including NP36 and West Park.

    $15,147,687 spent
    9% of program spending
  6. Educational initiatives including GKFF BEST and Atlas School.

    $13,011,199 spent
    7% of program spending
  7. Gathering Place Operational Expenses

    $4,637,312 spent
    3% of program spending
  8. Legislative relations supporting early childhood education initiatives.

    $247,500 spent
    0% of program spending

The 8 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $174,630,199.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20202020 Revenue 100 ($148M) Expenses 100 ($181M) Net assets 100 ($3.8B)2021 Revenue 145 ($214M) Expenses 132 ($239M) Net assets 129 ($5.0B)2022 Revenue 551 ($813M) Expenses 133 ($241M) Net assets 122 ($4.7B)2023 Revenue 499 ($736M) Expenses 145 ($263M) Net assets 123 ($4.7B)2024 Revenue 373 ($550M) Expenses 151 ($274M) Net assets 128 ($4.9B)
20202021202220232024
Revenue (373)Expenses (151)Net assets (128)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $4.2B to $5.3B (+25%).

$4.2B
$5.3B
$4.9B
$4.9B
$5.1B
20202021202220232024
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

79% of George Kaiser Family Foundation’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 160 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.

−$34M
’20
−$25M
’21
$572M
’22
$473M
’23
$276M
’24
37
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Ken Levit

Exec. Director

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

20202021202220232024
Listed1416161517
Joined·+2+2+2+4
No longer listed·0232
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base held at 1 funder, grant income fell $421k → $22k.

Funder
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24*
total
AARPunclassified
$170k
funders
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
2

1 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

Left out of every figure on this page: $56M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Tulsa Community Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money George Kaiser Family Foundation raised.

From the IRS filings of George Kaiser Family Foundation’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

George Kaiser Family Foundation leans on a few funders — its largest provides 96% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left

100% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund George Kaiser Family Foundation.

96%
largest funder
100%
top three
~1
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

Where its funders are

George Kaiser Family Foundation draws 97% of its grant income from funders outside Oklahoma, across 4 states in all.

NY
KS
DC
OK

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Oklahoma out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $421k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

George Kaiser Family Foundation runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 153 philanthropy nonprofits its size.

Operating margin50% · top quartile
Months of reserve36.8mo · top quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)39% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 153 philanthropy nonprofits over $100M, FY2024

Government funding George Kaiser Family Foundation receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $13k on record.

State$13k
Top programs
  • Pmts-Local Gov't-Nat.Resources$13k

Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.

Organizations like George Kaiser Family Foundation

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In Oklahoma

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

64% of spending goes to programs.

Program 64%Management 36%Fundraising 0%

Governance

10
board members
30%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

OK

Part of a family of 141 related entities

  • Acme Investing LLC · disregarded
  • Acme Leasing LLC · disregarded
  • Acme Lending LLC · disregarded
  • Acme Lending II LLC · disregarded
  • Acme Lending III LLC · disregarded

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for George Kaiser Family Foundation: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds George Kaiser Family Foundation?
George Kaiser Family Foundation (Oklahoma) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $45,865,018 to it, the largest being BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC ($44,000,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does George Kaiser Family Foundation have?
IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $45,865,018 in grants to George Kaiser Family Foundation, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of George Kaiser Family Foundation?
BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC is the largest funder on record, with $44,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like George Kaiser Family Foundation find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Oklahoma. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 5 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing