Bank of Oklahoma / BOKF Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Bank of Oklahoma and the BOKF Foundation have a large Southwest presence, funding United Way, economic development, education, and basic needs in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.
FUNDING AREAS: United Way, economic development, education, basic needs
IP TAKE: This funder supports a much broader area than just Oklahoma, and nonprofits can apply online for grants any time of the year.
PROFILE: The Bank of Oklahoma Foundation, headquartered in Tulsa, is the charitable arm of the Bank of Oklahoma. The bank is part of BOK Financial, which has over $30 billion in assets and is one of the top 25 banks based in the U.S. This bank makes grants through the BOKF Foundation and directly from BOK Financial. This funder concentrates on four areas: United Way, economic development, education, and basic needs.
BOK supports the United Way’s approach to mobilizing communities and funds the group accordingly. Its education grants support local nonprofits with basic education needs. This includes grants for public school foundations, financial literacy, K-12 partnerships, early childhood education, and higher education institutions. It does not support individual K-12 public schools unless they’re involved with the bank’s "Partners in Education Schools" or "Adopt-a-Schools" programs. The bank funder’s basic needs giving goes to groups that provide direct services for critical issues such as hunger, poverty, healthcare, housing, and safety. Finally, the foundation’s economic development grants promote a better standard of living and economic health in its geographic regions of focus. Additionally, the bank gives in-kind contributions, such as computers to elementary schools and furniture to homeless shelters. For community service, the bank has a financial education program that connects employees to local children to teach money skills. In terms of lending, BOK provides financing for affordable housing and economic development organizations. It offers nonprofit lending to human and social services groups, special needs populations, and houses of worship.
Grant amounts are often a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The funder does not have an online grants database. A significant number of the grants are made to groups in Oklahoma. However, the foundation also supports nonprofits in the other places its employees live and work, including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas. Over the years, BOK has established relationships with hundreds of nonprofits in the states where it has banking centers.
The BOK Foundation accepts grant applications throughout the year, without deadlines. Find the application and submit it online. Direct grantseeker questions to the foundation team at communityemployeeengagement@bokf.com. The Tulsa headquarters phone number is 918-588-6010.
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