State Profile – Oklahoma
About This Profile
Across the United States, the charitable sector generates incredible impact on both communities and economies. This profile is a snapshot of major statistics about Oklahoma’s charitable community. It’s designed to give you a broad sense of the scale and diversity of nonprofits, foundations, and charities across the state. A downloadable PDF version is available above.
Number of Oklahoma Nonprofit Organizations
- All nonprofit organizations: 16,953
- 501(c)(3) Public Charities (includes some religious organizations): 11,960
- 501(c)(3) Private and Public Foundations: 958
- Other 501(c) Nonprofit Organizations*: 4,035
* includes civic leagues, chamber of commerce, veterans organizations, etc
Economic Impact of the Oklahoma Nonprofit Sector
- Employs 84,335 people, 6.7% of the state’s workforce
- Generates more than $14.8 billion in annual revenues
- Holds assets of nearly $47.2 billion
- Oklahoma foundations annually give over $738 million
- Oklahomans give $2.5 billion to charity each year, representing 4.46 percent of household income
Public Charities and Foundations Benefit Oklahoma Communities
Deliver vital community services
The Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma is made up of 14,000 girls and volunteers with programs dedicated to helping girls make good decisions, improve their self-esteem, appreciate diversity, and contribute to the community. Hands-on learning in areas such as STEM allow the girls to earn badges at out-of-school learning environments, such as the Science Museum Oklahoma.
Give voice to the people they serve
Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma has provided services including job training and case management to over 5,698 people in 2017. Relying on 23 retail stores and 30 donation centers, they reinvest 88 cents of every dollar back into the community.
Contribute to vibrant communities
The Kerr Foundation in Oklahoma City provides community support in the areas of education, health, human services, and arts and culture. In 2018, the Foundation provided grants to organizations including: Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, HandOn Texarkana, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City and The University of Oklahoma Foundation.
Advance solutions for challenges facing society
Located in Tulsa, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and its 350 partner agencies provide food in 24 counties in eastern Oklahoma. In Fiscal Year 2019, the Food Bank distributed more than 28.9 million pounds of food.
Sources
Note: The “nonprofit sector” encompasses organizations that are defined as tax-exempt under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes both public charities and private foundations [501(c)(3)] and other nonprofits such as civic league organizations [501(c)(4)]. Exceptions are noted when relevant.
Employment Information
Best estimate based on available data from the following sources:
Number of nonprofit employees: The 2019 nonprofit employment report, Lester M. Salamon and Chelsea L. Newhouse, S. Wojciech Sokolowski, Nonprofit Employment Bulletin #47, Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 2019 {Data is 2016, page 3}
http://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2019/01/2019-NP-Employment-Report_FINAL_1.8.2019.pdf