Norvell Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Tulsa, OK EIN: 48-1305442

The Norvell Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its 2025 filing lists grants to charitable organizations in several states, including organizations working in the arts, human services, food assistance, conservation, and civil rights.

Key facts about Norvell Family Foundation

In short: Norvell Family Foundation gave $325K across 41 grants in 2025 (avg $8K), top state Oklahoma. 10% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
48-1305442
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$325,000
Grants made (2025)
41
Average grant
$7,927
Median grant
$3,250
New grantees (estimate)
10% first-time grantees (4 of 41, 2025)
Total assets
$1,831,416
Primary geography
Oklahoma (33% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$1.8M

-9.1% YoY

Annual Giving

$325K

+18.2% YoY

Grant Count

41

+2.5% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$8K

+15.3% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Norvell Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $118K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is Norvell Family Foundation open to new grantees?

10%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 4 of 41 grantees (10%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $8K. How we count

Medians: $4K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 88% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 48% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 276% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations whose stated work spans several areas. The Portland Ballet says it provides scholarships and dance outreach for children and youth. John 316 Mission says it serves homeless and at-risk people, while Kitchen Angels says it provides meals to homebound people with serious health conditions. Other 2025 grantees include WildEarth Guardians, which works to protect and restore wildlife and wild places, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which describes its work as advancing racial justice and human rights.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 41 grants totaling $325,000. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $50,000, with a median of $3,250. Notable grants included $50,000 to Tulsa Ballet Theater, $31,719 each to Arsha-Vidya-Pitam and Chinmaya Mission West, and $25,000 each to ALSAC St. Jude Children’s, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, John 316 Mission, and The Portland Ballet.

How to Apply

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, recipients in Oklahoma received 33% of grant dollars, followed by California (16%), Oregon (14%), Pennsylvania (10%), and New Mexico (9%).

Grant Distribution by State

15states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 41 itemized grants.

Cities

Santa FeNew YorkTulsaAlbuquerqueWashingtonSan FranciscoPortlandMontgomeryPalo AltoSan RamonSaylorsburgWest HolywoodClovisDuarteFarmingtonGallupBaltimoreCambridgeMerrifieldChicago

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K$400K18 grants2019 27 grants2020 35 grants2021 33 grants2022 36 grants2023 40 grants2024 41 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $100K (2019) to $325K (2025). In 2025 it made 41 grants totaling $325K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Tulsa Ballet Theater Inc: $50KTulsa Ballet Theater Inc$50KArsha-Vidya-Pitam: $32KArsha-Vidya-Pitam$32KChinmaya Mission West: $32KChinmaya Mission West$32KAlsacst Jude Children's: $25KAlsacst Jude Children's$25KCommunity Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma: $25KCommunity Food Bank of EasternOklahoma$25KJohn 316 Mission: $25KJohn 316 Mission$25KThe Portland Ballet: $25KThe Portland Ballet$25KNorthwest Community Conservancy: $10KNorthwest CommunityConservancy$10KPearl District Neighborhood Assoc: $10KPearl District NeighborhoodAssoc$10KKitchen Angels Inc: $5KKitchen Angels Inc$5K

The largest 2025 recipient was Tulsa Ballet Theater Inc ($50K). Together the top 10 received $238K.

Grant Size Distribution

185 grants across all recorded years

184<$50K1$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 184 grants of 185 (99%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Tulsa Ballet Theater Inc Tulsa, OKSupport$50,000
Arsha-Vidya-Pitam Saylorsburg, PASupport$31,719
Chinmaya Mission West Palo Alto, CASupport$31,719
Alsacst Jude Children's Memphis, TNSupport$25,000
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma Tulsa, OKSupport$25,000
John 316 Mission Tulsa, OKSupport$25,000
The Portland Ballet Portland, ORSupport$25,000
Northwest Community Conservancy Portland, ORSupport$10,000
Pearl District Neighborhood Assoc Portland, ORSupport$10,000
Kitchen Angels Inc Santa Fe, NMSupport$5,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Grant total Number of grants
2025 $325,000 41
2024 $275,000 40
2023 $220,000 36
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$100K$200K$300K$400K2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$1,831,416$2,014,163$2,080,279
Revenue$179,568$230,148$141,077
Expenses$345,782$296,264$240,798
Qualifying Distributions$325,000$275,000$220,000
Net Investment Income$158,786$212,884$124,279
Distributable Amount$117,919$121,739$122,306

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 25, 2025)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 18, 2026)
  3. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 1, 2020)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 6, 2021)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 9, 2022)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 7, 2023)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 8, 2024)

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Merrily Ann Sanzalone as president and Stephen Norvell, Joel Gregg Norvell, and David Norvell as vice presidents.

Norvell Family Foundation is led by Merrily Ann Sanzalone, President on every filing since 2019; all 4 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Merrily Ann Sanzalone

    President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2019) → $1K (2025)

  • David Norvell

    Vice President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2019) → $1K (2025)

  • Joel Gregg Norvell

    Vice President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2019) → $1K (2025)

  • Stephen Norvell

    Vice President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2019) → $1K (2025)

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Stephen Norvell — Vice Pres: $1KStephen NorvellVice Pres$1KMerrily Ann Sanzalone — President: $1KMerrily Ann SanzalonePresident$1KJoel Gregg Norvell — Vice Pres: $1KJoel Gregg NorvellVice Pres$1KDavid Norvell — Vice Pres: $1KDavid NorvellVice Pres$1K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $1K, to Stephen Norvell (Vice Pres). 4 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Contact

Mailing address: PO Box 680, Tulsa, OK 74101-0680
Phone: (918) 664-3417

Frequently asked questions about Norvell Family Foundation

How much does Norvell Family Foundation give each year?

Norvell Family Foundation gave $325K across 41 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $275K across 40 grants.

What is Norvell Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Norvell Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $3,250, and its average grant was $7,927, across 41 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Norvell Family Foundation that year got $4K on average.

Where does Norvell Family Foundation give grants?

Norvell Family Foundation's top state is Oklahoma, with 33% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (16%) and Oregon (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (7 grants), Santa Fe, NM (5 grants), Tulsa, OK (4 grants) and Albuquerque, NM (4 grants).

Does Norvell Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 41 grants with a stated purpose on Norvell Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Support" (41 grants).

Who are Norvell Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Norvell Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Tulsa Ballet Theater Inc ($50,000), Arsha-Vidya-Pitam ($31,719) and Chinmaya Mission West ($31,719), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 35% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Norvell Family Foundation?

Norvell Family Foundation reported $1.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $325K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $118K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Norvell Family Foundation fund?

No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations whose stated work spans several areas. The Portland Ballet says it provides scholarships and dance outreach for children and youth. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Norvell Family Foundation?

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Norvell Family Foundation's EIN?

Norvell Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 48-1305442. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does Norvell Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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