OVERVIEW: The Kerr Foundation is a Tulsa-based funder that supports education, health, human services, and arts and culture. It prioritizes nonprofits in Oklahoma but also supports groups in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas.
IP TAKE: The Kerr Foundation is a good source of matching funds if your organization is raising money for a program or projects in the near future. They typically match dollar for dollar, although grants top off at $25,000. LOIs are typically accepted until the end of June, and the foundation invites proposals thereafter. Kerr is approachable; reach out via email with questions.
PROFILE: Incorporated in 1963, the Kerr Foundation is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.The foundation carries on the giving legacy of the late Senator Robert S. Kerr. Its mission is to support “organizations, programs and institutions that provide new or enhanced opportunities for those within the granting areas, particularly the young.” Its stated areas of interest are education, health, human services and arts and culture. Giving prioritizes the state of Oklahoma, but the foundation also gives in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas. The Kerr Foundation prefers to award challenge grants, where organizations “first, in order to receive payment, raise or secure grants, donations and/or pledges in the total amount specified in the grant.”
Grants for Arts and Culture
Over the years, arts and culture have been the foundation’s largest giving area. The foundation does not name specific interests, but indicates support for both visual and performing arts, as well as museums and libraries.
- Past grantees in Oklahoma include Allied Arts of Oklahoma, A to Z Productions in Norman, the Pallard Theatre Company in Guthrie and the RACE Dance Co. in Oklahoma City.
- In other states, the foundation has supported Great Expectations Movement in St. Louis, Denver’s Museo de las Americas, Augustana Arts in Aurora, Colorado and the Santa Fe Film Institute.
Grants for Human Services, Aging and Disabilities
The Kerr Foundation’s Human Services giving focuses on disadvantaged populations, the elderly and people with disabilities and special needs.
- Recipients in Oklahoma include the Mary Abbott Children’s House, Hope Is Alive Ministries, the Okmulgee County Homeless Shelter and Focus on Home of Oklahoma City.
- Other human services grantees include the Senior Citizens Project of Chambers County in Texas, the Sunshine House of Alpine, Texas and Street Patrol, which provides homeless services in St. Louis.
Grants for Public Health
Kerr’s health grants support both health care providers and institutions conducting medical research.
- Grants have supported the Community Clinic of Southwest Missouri, Oklahoma City’s Health Alliance for the Uninsured, Kansas Emergency Medical Services and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Oklahoma City.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The foundation supports both K-12 and higher education, as well as “health science centers and medical research done by educational institutions.” Overall, this is a smaller area of giving.
- K-12 grantees include Christo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School, the Edmond Public Schools Foundation, the Tulsa Debate League and the Wildwood Outdoor Education Center in Kansas.
- At the higher education level, grants have gone to Southern Nazerene University, A.T. Still University, a medical school in Missouri, and Oklahoma State University.
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, this foundation made about $163,000 in grants in amounts of up to $25,000.
- Find information about past grantees here.
- This funder mostly awards challenge grants that match the amounts organizations are able to raise from other sources to support programs and projects.
- The foundation accepts LOIs, typically with a due date of June 30 and invites applications, which are usually due in mid-August.
- See full LOI guidelines here.
- Direct questions about the application process to Cecilia Miller at cmiller@thekerrfoundation.org. The foundation can also be reached by phone at (405) 749-2877.
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