Guidelines

General Guidelines for All Application Categories

1. Only nonprofit organizations qualified as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may apply.
2. Priority is given to organizations serving central Oklahoma.
3. Requests should reflect the Kirkpatrick Family Fund’s primary areas of interest.
4. We do not fund or sponsor individuals, school or organization trips, tables or tickets for fundraising events, or matching endowment grants to churches, ministries or religious programs.
5. All reporting requirements related to a previous award must be completed in a timely manner and prior to submitting a new grant, unless an exception is discussed with the staff at Kirkpatrick Family Fund.
6. Our median grant is approximately $10,000. Organizations new to Kirkpatrick Family Fund frequently receive smaller awards. We occasionally make larger grants to organizations that are closely aligned with our strategic goals.

Project Support

These grants are restricted to a specific program or project that provides direct benefit to the organization’s constituents over a period of time to achieve measurable results. Project support grants may be used to pay for any costs directly related to the operation of the project. Requests for individual projects, programs and capital projects will be considered in this category. Organizations are required to submit their project support request online. Please follow the online application process and a member of the staff will contact you to discuss your inquiry for project support.

General Operating Support

This type of support is generally awarded for activities that strengthen an organization, helping the group to better achieve its mission. General operating support may include expansion of services, infrastructure improvement, organizational assessment, strategic planning, board/staff development, and so on. This funding is unrestricted and an organization may use the funds in any way that supports its mission.

1. Requests for general operations will be considered in the general operating support category only, not in the project support category.
2. Generally organizations must have received prior support from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund for multiple years to be eligible for general operating support. General operating support grants from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund are by invitation only.
3. Eligibility assessment and post-submission follow up may require interviews or conversations with the applicant organization’s staff members and members of the board of directors.

Endowment Matching Support

John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick intended endowment to be foundational in supporting organizational sustainability while encouraging new and broad donor investments to endowment funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Preference will be given to organizations that are initiating a public campaign to engage and expand donor participation. Events and/or campaigns that have already been completed will be considered based on broad donor participation. Donations or bequests from only one source must be supplemented with an additional 10% of the original donation, raised from multiple independent donors.

1. Qualified organizations may apply in one of two categories:
   1. Established Charitable Organization Endowment Fund: Organizations with an existing Charitable Organization Endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation may submit a request in which organizations must raise $3 for every $1 contributed by the Kirkpatrick Family Fund. Organizations considering submitting a match request greater than $20,000 should contact Kirkpatrick Family Fund staff prior to submission.
   2. New Charitable Organization Endowment Fund: Organizations who have approval to establish a new Charitable Organization Endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation may, if eligible, request a grant of $15,000 to be matched with $25,000 raised by the organization to establish the fund.
2. Approved organizations are required to raise the full cash match in a 12-month period.
3. Organizations submitting a request for a Matching Grant may also apply for either a Project Support or General Operating Support Grant during the same year or 12-month period.
4. Only dollars raised and given to the Charitable Organization Endowment Program following approval of the grant request will be considered eligible for meeting the match requirement. Interest derived from Charitable Organization Endowment Funds may not be used to provide the match for Kirkpatrick Family Fund grants. A key component of the matching grant program is to encourage new investments in Charitable Organization Endowment Funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Dollars held in other existing donor funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation are not eligible to be transferred toward the endowment match.
5. We do not fund matching endowment grants to churches or ministries. Organizations with religious programs where participation is limited based on adherence to a specific religion or religious doctrine are also ineligible. In addition, fundamentally we do not fund organizations that advocate for or are involved in the killing, abuse or harm of animals. Support for professional associations, educational and civic organizations is considered secondary and require the organization to demonstrate a broad community benefit.

For more information about the Charitable Organization Endowment Program contact the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

Our grants staff is available to provide more information regarding our application process and to answer any questions you may have. Prior to submitting an LOI, please click this link to schedule a brief phone call with Liz Charles, Senior Program Officer, and Julia Witcher, Grants Specialist, to discuss your funding request.