The Gaylord Foundation

What The Gaylord Foundation does

The Gaylord Foundation, formally known as the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, is a private charitable foundation established in 1994 by Edward L. Gaylord and his wife Thelma Gaylord. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the foundation operates as a grant-making organization that distributes funds to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations in the greater metropolitan Oklahoma City area. It does not sell products or services; its sole offering is philanthropic grant capital allocated by a Board of Trustees based on proposal merit and the foundation's annual financial requirements.

The foundation runs a standardized application process through a third-party online Grant Request Portal, accepting Letters of Inquiry during two annual windows (Spring: November 15 to January 15; Fall: May 15 to July 15), with final decisions communicated by April 15 and October 15 respectively. Each applicant organization may submit only one grant request per year, and late submissions are not accepted. Grants are concentrated in four thematic areas — arts, education, medical research, and children's issues — reflecting the founders' personal interests, and the publicly disclosed recipient roster spans roughly 50 organizations across healthcare, social services, animal welfare, environmental, youth development, and media/journalism causes.

The foundation is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees composed entirely of Gaylord family members (Christy Gaylord Everest, Mary Gaylord McClean, Louise Gaylord Bennett, Tricia L. Everest, Mary FitzSimons) and is administered operationally by a single Director of Administration, Debi Tallent. Total headcount is reported as 1–10 employees. The foundation maintains no subsidiaries, has no parent company, and reports no funding rounds, M&A activity, or product launches beyond the operational grant portal.

Name

The Gaylord Foundation

Legal name

E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation

Website

https://gaylordfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Gaylord Foundation (E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation) is a private Oklahoma City-based charitable foundation established in 1994 that distributes grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the greater Oklahoma City metropolitan area, prioritizing arts, education, medical research, and children's issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Charitable grantmaking
• Philanthropic foundation
• Community grants
• Nonprofit funding
• Arts education grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Oklahoma City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Gaylord Foundation is a private, non-profit charitable foundation that awards competitive grants to qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations in the greater Oklahoma City area. Its funding focuses on four programmatic areas: arts, education, medical research, and children's issues. Applicants request funding through an online Grant Request Portal, with awards determined by trustee review.

Product overview

The Gaylord Foundation (E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation) is a charitable grant-making organization established in 1994. It does not offer technology products or services; its offering consists of philanthropic grant programs to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. The Foundation operates a Grant Request Portal through which organizations submit Letters of Inquiry for grant consideration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers49 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Direct peers

• Oklahoma City Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the Oklahoma City metro, distributing grants across arts, education, health, and human services. Directly comparable in geographic focus and grantmaking function, though structured as a community rather than private foundation.
• Sarkeys Foundation: Oklahoma-based private foundation supporting education, social services, and cultural programs statewide. Highly comparable in mission breadth, regional focus, and grantmaking scale to the Gaylord Foundation.
• Inasmuch Foundation: Oklahoma City-based private foundation funding education, community health, and human services in the metro. Closest comparable peer given shared geography, similar mission areas, and overlapping grantee pool.
• The Kerr Foundation: Oklahoma-based private foundation supporting education, health, and cultural programs. Comparable in mission areas and regional philanthropy orientation, though with broader statewide rather than metro-only eligibility.
• McCasland Foundation: Private foundation in Duncan, Oklahoma supporting education, community development, and health initiatives. Comparable as an Oklahoma-focused family foundation, though smaller in geographic footprint and grantmaking scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Gaylord Foundation