grants

2023-2024 Grant Timeline

Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

Nonprofit Workshop held at St. Luke’s Methodist Church

REQUIRED for those wishing to apply for funding

To register, click here to complete our registration form.

    Grant Calendar for 2024 Grant Cycle

    • December 4, 2023 – Letters of Intent/Financials Due (5:00 pm deadline)
    • December 8, 2023 – Invitations to Apply Sent
    • Thursday, January 11, 2024 – Member Training for reviewing applications.
    • January 12, 2024 – Grant Applications Due
    • January 16 – February 16, 2024 – Focus Area Committee Grant Review
    • February 16, 2024 – Semi-Finalists Notified (or sooner)
    • February 19 – March 22, 2024 – Site Visits
    • March 22, 2024 – Finalists Notified
    • Thursday, May 9, 2024 – Impact Oklahoma Annual Meeting and Vote
    • May 2024 – Grants Awarded

    Questions about our process? Be sure to read this page thoroughly or email our Grant Committee. To be considered for an Impact Oklahoma grant, eligible applicants must be self-sustaining in their daily operations, outline their vision and execution concepts, and meet other requirements approved by the Board of Directors as outlined below and on our required grant application.

    Impact Oklahoma accepts grant proposals from Central Oklahoma nonprofits that provide services in one of our five focus areas: Community, Family, Health and Wellness, Education, and Arts and Culture. The winning grant recipients each receive $100,000 grants, as our level of membership allows.

    Depending on membership level, members contribute $575 (Jr member), $1,150, or $1500 to Impact Oklahoma. $500 (Jr) or $1000 of this contribution goes directly to the grant recipients. The additional membership fee goes to administrative costs. Our dream is to be a part of shepherding big ideas to fruition through monetary contribution, thus creating a substantial impact in our very own community.

    Impact Oklahoma solicits proposals and selects grant recipients through a three-part process including use of our required forms. We do not accept grant requests outside of this annual process. To be included in our next solicitation period email our Grant Committee.

    Impact Oklahoma’s funding cycle runs from April of one year to April of the following year. Proposals are solicited and evaluated from December through March, and grants are awarded at the Annual Meeting in April.

    Focus Area Committees, comprised of Impact Oklahoma members, review the grant applications, choose three semi-finalists to visit on-site and select a single finalist to compete for grants if there are fewer than five full grants available.

    Each Focus Area finalist makes a short presentation at the Annual Meeting. Afterward, our membership votes on the winners. The available Impact Oklahoma grants go to the projects that receive the most votes, and the winners are announced live before the meeting is adjourned. It’s simple, effective and together we are changing Central Oklahoma for the better.

    The voting is a completely democratic process where every woman has an equal say in which charities receive the awards each year.

    Eligibility

    In order to be eligible for an Impact Oklahoma grant, an organization must:

    • Be a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization
    • Be in operation a minimum of three (3) years
    • Have Gross Revenue (as of their Prior fiscal Year) of at least $300,000
    • Have Total Assets of at least $250,000
    • Have a representative attend a grant workshop

    The organization’s proposal must:

    • Outline a project or program that targets a specific population for a specific duration and with specific measurable goals to be achieved
    • Must provide services in Canadian, Logan, Cleveland and/or Oklahoma counties
    • Use the full amount of the Impact Oklahoma grant ($100,000) to provide services in the above counties
    • Plan to expend all funds within twenty-four (24) months

    Impact Oklahoma will not award its grant for the following:

    • Non-program operating expenses
    • Debt reduction
    • Endowments or memorials
    • Bridge funding or interim financing
    • Operational deficits
    • Partisan, political lobbying or legislative activities
    • General fund drive or annual appeals
    • Fraternal, sectarian and religious organizations where the grant is intended for the principal benefit of the organization’s own members or adherents, or where the grant is intended for inherently religious activities
    • Private foundations
    • Legal expenses incurred in any action by or against the organization
    • General construction or renovation (unrelated to a specific proposed project or program)
    • Construction or renovation of property not owned by the nonprofit
    • General capital campaign (unrelated to a specific proposed project or program)
    • Fundraising activities or events
    • Advertising
    • Sports teams or any sports-related activity or competition

    Our guidelines continue to evolve, and Impact Oklahoma reserves the right to change its criteria without prior notice at any time.

    Other Restrictions

    An organization may submit only one application each year.

    An organization that has received a $100,000 grant from Impact Oklahoma may not reapply in the following three (3) grant cycles.

    Impact Oklahoma reserves the right to reject a Letter of Intent or a Grant Application for any reason, including if it is late or incomplete in any way. See each document for more detailed instructions.

    Terms of Grant: Prior to receiving the grant money, the grant recipient must execute a Terms of Grant document.

    Evaluations: Impact Oklahoma requires that the grant recipient submit periodic progress reports. Impact Oklahoma emphasizes the use of evaluation to measure program progress and outcomes, promote learning from experience, improve program performance and encourage our grantees to build effective self-evaluation plans into their projects.

    Apply only if you have attended required workshop.