The Kelley Foundation
The Kelley Foundation is a private foundation based in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Established by Robert and Judy Kelley and their daughter Marla, it says it focuses primarily on humanitarian projects in Oklahoma, with an emphasis on Southern Oklahoma.
The Kelley Foundation at a glance
In short: The Kelley Foundation gave $102K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), mostly in Oklahoma. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $102,000
- +187.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 19
- +90.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,368
- +51.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $912,405
- +41.1% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Oklahoma (98% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to The Kelley Foundation
- How to Apply
-
Submit a completed application form as described on the foundation’s website. The foundation says it responds to requests and inquiries within a reasonable time frame.
- Contact
Application contact: The Kelley Foundation
Mailing address: PO Box 1507, Ardmore, OK 73402
Phone: (405) 714-4214
Website: https://thekelleyfoundation.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Kelley Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Food and Resource Center of South Central Oklahoma ($15K). Together the top 10 received $79K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($10,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
51 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 51 grants of 51 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s website gives the United States as its geographic limit and says its primary focus is humanitarian projects in Oklahoma, especially Southern Oklahoma. Its 2025 grantmaking was concentrated in Oklahoma: 98% of grant dollars went to recipients there.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.
Cities
How The Kelley Foundation gives
- 53% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 79% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 226% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $28K (2021) to $102K (2025). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $102K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Food and Resource Center of South Central Oklahoma Ardmore, OK | Operating Budget | $15,000 |
| Ardmore Animal Care Ardmore, OK | Operating Budget | $12,000 |
| 1 individual scholarship Recipients not named | — | $10,000 |
| River of Life Food Bank Wilson, OK | Operating Budget | $8,000 |
| HFV Wilson Community Center Ardmore, OK | Fund Campaign Operating Budget | $7,500 |
| Plainview Public Schools Ardmore, OK | Funds for First Grade Teachers | $7,000 |
| Ardmore Soup Kitchen Ardmore, OK | Operating Budget | $7,000 |
| Sharing Hope in Hugo Food Bank Hugo, OK | Operating Budget Groceries to Prepare Holiday Meals | $6,000 |
| Ardmore City Schools Ardmore, OK | Operating Budget | $6,000 |
| Community Youth Services Ardmore, OK | Operating Budget | $5,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $912,405 | $367,262 | $102,724 | $102,000 | 19 | $102,724 | $100,606 | $45,388 |
| 2024 | $646,557 | $364,693 | $36,152 | $35,500 | 10 | $36,152 | $39,261 | $23,136 |
| 2023 | $318,016 | $357,936 | $40,943 | $40,000 | 7 | $40,943 | $25,535 | $1,836 |
| 2022 | $1,023 | $47,010 | $58,141 | $57,000 | 11 | $58,141 | $45,869 | $185 |
| 2021 | $12,154 | $38,949 | $27,732 | $27,500 | 4 | $27,732 | $13,717 | $785 |
| 2020 | $937 | $45,000 | $44,927 | $42,000 | 2 | — | — | — |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Kelley Foundation reported a distributable amount of $45K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation says it provides support to qualified religious, charitable, scientific, and educational institutions that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) and are not private foundations. Its website lists the United States as its geographic limit.
Its 2025 grants included operating support for food banks, a soup kitchen, an animal-care organization, a community center, and other local organizations, as well as support for schools and scholarships. The grantees describe their work in their own terms: Ardmore Animal Care says it provides humane treatment for unwanted animals and promotes responsible pet ownership; Ardmore Soup Kitchen says it serves a hot meal every day of the year to people experiencing homelessness and others in need; and Family Shelter of Southern Oklahoma says it provides emergency shelter and counseling for victims of domestic violence.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 19 grants totaling $102,000. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $15,000, with a median grant of $5,000. The largest listed award was $15,000 to Food and Resource Center of South Central Oklahoma for its operating budget. Other notable awards included $12,000 to Ardmore Animal Care for its operating budget, $10,000 to an individual recipient for two scholarship funds, and $8,000 to River of Life Food Bank for its operating budget.
The foundation’s 2025 filing shows that 98% of grant dollars went to recipients in Oklahoma, with 1% each going to Tennessee and New York. Its website says directors meet as needed, but at least annually, and invite proposals and applications from qualified charitable institutions. It also says directors generally identify and make grants to institutions known to them for administering programs that meet the foundation’s humanitarian objectives. Applicants must submit a completed application form; the website says the form is available there. The filing states there are no deadlines and no restrictions on awards. The website identifies needs normally outside the foundation’s support as direct-mail solicitations and annual programs, international institutions, political organizations, grants to individuals, responsibility for permanent program financing, programs intended to be profit-making, and grants that trigger expenditure responsibility.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Robert Kelley as president, Judy Kelley as vice president, Marla Baird as secretary of treasury, and Scott Baird and Carol Mitchell as directors. The foundation’s website lists Robert Kelley, Judy Kelley, Faith Kelley Hope, and Carol Mitchell on its board of directors.
The Kelley Foundation is led by Robert Kelley, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Robert Kelley
President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carol Mitchell
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Scott Baird
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Judy Kelley
Vice President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Marla Baird
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of the Treasury → Secretary of Treasury, 2021
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about The Kelley Foundation
How much does The Kelley Foundation give each year?
The Kelley Foundation gave $102K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $36K across 10 grants.
What is The Kelley Foundation's typical grant size?
The Kelley Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $5,368, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The Kelley Foundation give grants?
The Kelley Foundation gives mostly in Oklahoma: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Ardmore, OK (10 grants) and Wilson, OK (2 grants).
Does The Kelley Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 84% of The Kelley Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (16 of 19) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Kelley Foundation's largest grantees?
The Kelley Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Food and Resource Center of South Central Oklahoma ($15,000), Ardmore Animal Care ($12,000) and River of Life Food Bank ($8,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($10,000), which are not listed by name. Together they received 34% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Kelley Foundation?
The Kelley Foundation reported $912K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $103K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $45K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Kelley Foundation fund?
The foundation says it provides support to qualified religious, charitable, scientific, and educational institutions that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) and are not private foundations. Its website lists the United States as its geographic limit. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Kelley Foundation?
Submit a completed application form as described on the foundation’s website. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Kelley Foundation's EIN?
The Kelley Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-3571853. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 28, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 31, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 30, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 22, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 7, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 24, 2026)
Live grants for the work The Kelley Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Kelley Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-kelley-foundation-morg_9b123b7409f84756b7b11ef93c7bc84c
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_843571853_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Kelley Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-kelley-foundation-morg_9b123b7409f84756b7b11ef93c7bc84c},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from The Kelley Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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