We care about the communities in which we live and work. Amcor Cares (formerly the Bemis Company Foundation) was founded as our principal tool in the United States to serve our Amcor Flexibles communities. From volunteer work to monetary donations and community support, Amcor Cares donates several million per year to charitable organizations.

Community Support Grants

Encourage

• Fighting Hunger & Homelessness
• Supporting Disaster Relief

Empower

• Expanding STEM Education
• Building Life Skills
• Improving Health & Wellness

Elevate

• Promoting Arts & Culture
• Funding Amcor Scholarships

Types of support:

• Non-profit Organization Programs
• Non-profit Organization Operating Support
• Capital Campaigns
• STEM Programs

Since its inception, the Foundation, which is still led by Lester T. Sunderland's descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects, awarding grants to nonprofits in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company. 

 The Foundation prefers to make grants for construction and special interest projects rather than for annual operating expenses. 

Grants for planning, design, construction, renovation, repairs and restoration of facilities are considered. Areas of interest include higher education, youth serving agencies, health facilities, community buildings, museums, civic projects and energy efficient affordable housing projects sponsored by qualified tax-exempt organizations. 

Funding Areas

In recent grant cycles, the Board of Trustees has awarded the majority of grants in four broadly defined areas:

Health Care and Hospitals

A growing area of need in many of the communities the Foundation serves. In 2017, more than $2.9 million was awarded to hospitals and health-care groups to build and improve their facilities. 

Human Services

The Foundation awarded over $7 million to human service nonprofits in 2017, and the majority of grants in this area were awarded to groups that provide essential services to youth and families. Grantees included a range of youth-focused groups, including the Kansas 4-H Foundation, Kids TLC, Ronald McDonald House & Boys & Girls Clubs. 

Higher Education

In 2017, the Foundation awarded more than $10 million to over 45 educational organizations. Grantees included community colleges, private colleges, and public universities. 

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture projects received $7 million in 2017, including grants to the Eisenhower Foundation in Abilene, Kansas; the Kansas City Symphony, the Nelson Gallery Foundation and many more.

NOTE:

• The applicant may submit a one-page abstract of its proposed request at any time via email .
• The Foundation’s Board meets monthly. To be eligible for consideration, complete proposals must be in the foundation office by Noon of the last business day of the month prior to the meeting that might review the request. 

Bernsen Foundation Grant

The Grace and Franklin Bernsen Foundation (GFBF) provides grants in support of charitable, educational, health and human care, literacy and religious purposes. Support is limited to organizations serving the metropolitan Tulsa, Oklahoma community. 

To be considered, grant requests must be:

• Responsive to all foundation guidelines.
• Submitted by an applicant tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
• Applicants must operate in accordance with the foundation’s anti-discrimination policy: In short, we require applicants and grantees to refrain from discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, creed, color, handicap, sexual orientation or national origin.  

NOTE:  The application deadline has been  extended to December 1, 2023.

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

About the Foundation

The history of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund is closely aligned with the Kirkpatrick Foundation and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. These philanthropies all benefit from the foresight and generosity of John E. and Eleanor B. Kirkpatrick, their daughter Joan E. Kirkpatrick and her son Christian K. Keesee. The Kirkpatrick Family has established a legacy of giving that will continue to benefit future generations in central Oklahoma.

Founders John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick believed that a strong cultural and service community would benefit their hometown for generations to come. The Kirkpatrick family and trustees of the fund continue to honor this vision through their grant programs to support nonprofits that contribute to the cultural landscape, health and well-being of the community.

Project Support Large Grants

These grants are restricted to a specific program or project that provides direct benefit to the organization's constituents over a period of time to achieve measurable results.

Program Areas of Interest

Arts & Humanities 

We believe access to fine arts and humanities experiences enriches the quality of life for all members of our community. We support both established and promising cultural organizations that value excellence in programming, broad community participation, and quality learning opportunities for youth and adults.

Children, Youth, & Families

It is our belief that healthy families raise healthy children. We support organizations that work to foster a beneficial environment for families through essential services and prevention programs that ensure healthy development for children in vulnerable situations.

Community Development

We believe that social and economic transformation is within the reach of all communities. We support organizations committed to inclusion, impact, and innovation in addressing neighborhood and community needs.

Education 

An investment in education from early childhood to graduate school is an investment in students, families, teachers and schools. We support educational programs and institutions that help children and youth become confident, caring, and contributing adults.

Environment 

We believe the appearance and treatment of the built environment reflects the values and priorities of the community. We support projects which prompt beautification and pleasing aesthetics. These projects seek to improve quality of life in the community.

Health 

We place a priority on organizations that improve access to health services and promote wellness. The Oklahoma City-County Health Department's Wellness Now Adolescent Health Work Group is focusing their efforts on teen pregnancy prevention. You can also visit the Wellness Now website for more information.

Social Services 

We value the desire of individuals and families to achieve self reliance. We support organizations and programs designed to provide a temporary safety net, break dependencies, and change family cycles of abuse.

About the Foundation

The history of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund is closely aligned with the Kirkpatrick Foundation and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. These philanthropies all benefit from the foresight and generosity of John E. and Eleanor B. Kirkpatrick, their daughter Joan E. Kirkpatrick and her son Christian K. Keesee. The Kirkpatrick Family has established a legacy of giving that will continue to benefit future generations in central Oklahoma.

Founders John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick believed that a strong cultural and service community would benefit their hometown for generations to come. The Kirkpatrick family and trustees of the fund continue to honor this vision through their grant programs to support nonprofits that contribute to the cultural landscape, health and well-being of the community.

Project Support

Project support grants are available to assist with the direct expenses associated with specific projects or programs of an organization. These grants are restricted to projects that provide direct benefit to the organization’s constituents, in fulfillment of the organization’s mission. Project support grants may be used to pay for any costs directly related to the implementation of the project. Project support grants cannot be used for general administration of the organization.

Program Areas of Interest

Arts & Humanities 

We believe access to fine arts and humanities experiences enriches the quality of life for all members of our community. We support programs that nurture learning, encourage the creative process and demonstrate a commitment to excellence.

Children, Youth, & Families

It is our belief that healthy families raise healthy children. We support organizations that work to foster a beneficial environment for families through essential services and prevention programs that ensure healthy development for children in vulnerable situations.

Community Development

We believe that social and economic transformation is within the reach of all communities. We support organizations committed to inclusion, impact and innovation in addressing neighborhood and community needs.

Education 

An investment in education from early childhood to graduate school is an investment in students, families, teachers and schools. We support educational programs and institutions that help children and youth become confident, caring and contributing adults.

Environment 

We believe the appearance and treatment of the built environment reflects the values and priorities of the community. We support projects that stimulate beautification and provide pleasing aesthetics. These projects seek to improve quality of life in the community.

Health 

We place a priority on organizations that improve access to health services and promote wellness.

Social Services 

We value the desire of individuals and families to achieve self reliance. We support organizations and programs designed to provide a temporary safety net, break dependencies and change family cycles of abuse.

Strengthening Families and Community Health

As many disparate health outcomes remain significant challenges for so many communities, a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health, and what forces underlie their distribution, is necessary. There is a need to include the terms “structural determinants of health” and “root causes of inequities” when considering how to stage opportunities for resource commitments in communities. Structural determinants are the root causes of health inequities because they shape the quality of communities. Structural determinants include the governing process, economic and social policies that affect pay, working conditions, housing, living environment, and education. TCI would like to utilize our interest in the social determinants of health to help resource preventive and upstream investments in community health around root cause issues that help those in greatest need according to race, gender, social class, geography, sexual orientation, or other socially defined group of people. 

With this Request for Proposals, TCI seeks to emphasize the integration of childhood, family, and community health in new ways for our foundation. TCI wants to resource efforts that advance optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for families, children and youth in the four states TCI supports. We will prioritize reaching caregivers of color and families with limited financial resources – in rural, frontier, or urban settings. Programs supported can be advancing  established evidence-based programs or the refinement of emerging and promising community-based practices. Below represents the targeted areas TCI wants to advance with  our philanthropy in this RFP within the social determinants of health.

That said, the overall part of the social determinants of health we want to position our funding around is strengthening families and efforts that could build family and community resiliency and enhancement of protective factors. These are the only funding themes we intend to support with TCI grant awards.

Pre-Pregnancy and Pregnancy (Healthy Births)

Prenatal care is the health care that a pregnant woman or someone contemplating a pregnancy receives. Our funding is predicated around the necessity of accessing and receiving culturally appropriate early prenatal care and overall skill and capacity building around reproductive health.

School Readiness and School Health

School readiness is foundational across early childhood systems and programs. It means children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children’s learning, and schools are ready for children and positioned to promote health and healthy development via an educational setting.

Healthy Parenting Skill Development / Strengthening Family Supports

As a parent (or caregiver) you give your children a good start in life. You nurture, protect, and guide them. Parenting is a process that prepares your child for independence (as delivered by a biological parent or trusted caregiver/other family member). As your child grows and develops, there are many things you do to help your child socialize and develop. TCI wants to help advance best practices in parenting skill development and efforts to positively support that family and their journey.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Prevention/ Protective Factors

Protective factors and adverse childhood experiences are frameworks utilized in prevention efforts to reduce the risk of maltreatment and prevent the recurrence of abuse or neglect by drawing upon the strengths of families and acknowledging traumatic events. Protective factors are conditions or attributes that, when present in families and communities, increase the well-being of children and families, and reduce the likelihood of maltreatment. 

View the complete Request for Proposals for illustrative examples of what programmatic efforts and success indicators could be built around.

Anne & Henry Zarrow FoundationThe mission of The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation is to lift our neighbors out of poverty by supporting housing and shelter resources, social services and basic human needs, mental health and indigent healthcare initiatives, and programs that empower and inspire community members to improve their lives.Our philanthropy reflects the faith, vision and values that guided our founders, Anne and Henry Zarrow, who believed in building communities where marginalized populations are elevated in ways that uplift us all.We fund nonprofit organizations working to improve the physical and intellectual lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people primarily in the metropolitan area of Tulsa, and in special cases statewide in Oklahoma and in Israel. Grants from the Foundation may be made in the form of operating, program or capital support.Funding PrioritiesAlleviating & Preventing Homelessness

• The Foundation supports programs that work to end homelessness as well as lessen the struggle of homelessness, including Built for Zero, a housing-first campaign focused on housing all of Tulsa’s chronically homeless and homeless veterans.
• The Foundation supports nonprofits that provide shelter, utility assistance, and basic needs as well as sustainable models of supportive housing, such as those advanced by the Mental Health Association Oklahoma, with its 1500 affordable rental units as well as therapeutic housing and programs. The Foundation also funds housing efforts targeting young adults and seniors.
• In 2017, the Foundation was awarded the HUD Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships for its innovative and impactful cross-sector housing initiatives.

Improving Access to Health Care & Mental Health Services

• The Foundation supports programs that improve health and mental health, especially for those living in poverty. Additionally, the foundation supports collaborative efforts to improve mental health care and delivery systems to positively impact disadvantaged individuals and families.
• In 2017, the Foundation funded a comprehensive assessment of Tulsa’s mental health services in partnership with the Urban Institute and The University of Tulsa.
• Early results from the study encouraged the foundation to make a leadership investment toward planning and construction of a new 114,000 square-foot Parkside Psychiatric Hospital. The project will nearly double the hospital’s capacity, serve 136 patients daily with 80 new single-occupancy rooms, a new mental health emergency room, and 16 new substance abuse rehabilitation beds.

Supporting Social Services

• It is a cornerstone belief at the Foundation that providing annual, unrestricted operating support to social service providers is critical to their mission and to ours. The Foundation also awards grants for piloting new initiatives, organizational planning, and capital projects.
• One capital investment that aims to supports our vibrant nonprofits is Legacy Plaza.
• In 2015, the Foundation purchased the 3-facility campus to be remodeled and owned by five Tulsa nonprofits which were in need of expanding service and headquarter spaces.
• Legacy Plaza owners include Assistance League of Tulsa, Mental Health Association Oklahoma, LIFE Senior Services, Community Action Project, and the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits.

Reducing Hunger & Supporting Basic Needs

• We believe that food insecurity and hunger are solvable, unnecessary, unjust and impact everyone living in Oklahoma. The Foundation has long supported the state’s food bank efforts to improve nutrition with expanded produce offerings and broader rural outreach.
• In 2016, the Foundation funded a statewide hunger assessment which identified millions of available federal funds for children’s meal and supplemental nutrition programs that were being left on the table annually. In response, the Foundation launched Hunger Free Oklahoma, an organization dedicated to leveraging partnerships to secure these funds for children’s hunger and other programs in Oklahoma.

Areas of InterestTo a lesser degree, The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation focuses on four additional areas of interest.Supporting Education 

• For The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation, lifting neighbors out of poverty also means expanding access to higher education and improvement of K-12 programs likely to increase a disadvantaged child’s chance of entering college.
• The Foundation considers capital and operations grants to organizations that support education, and also provides ongoing scholarship support for programs at seven area universities including Langston University, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma State University, Rogers State University, Tulsa Community College, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Tulsa. For information on scholarships, please contact the universities directly.

Special Projects

• From time-to-time the Foundation will fund Legacy Gifts, which go beyond target areas of interest, especially where there is an opportunity to honor the strongest interests of our founders.

Jewish & Israel Giving

• The trustees of The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation are committed to supporting Jewish communities, especially where projects can improve the lives of the disadvantaged.
• The Foundation’s strategy for Jewish Giving centers largely on support for social services and vulnerable populations, primarily in Israel. There will continue to be a preference for these types of projects located in the rural regions of Israel, such as the Galilee and the Negev. In addition, local and national grants will be considered along with other special projects internationally.
  • Please see the grant page for Israel grants here. 

Enriching Local Culture & Quality of Life

• The trustees of The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation envision a community where people from all walks of life can interact, gain insight, engage with beauty, and be inspired to reach their full potential.
• Grants to cultural institutions, civic improvement, arts organizations, and advocacy projects build on a longstanding commitment made by Anne and Henry Zarrow to invest in the community where they built their company and raised their family.

Ms. Foundation for Women

The mission of the Ms. Foundation for Women is to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all. We achieve our mission by investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural and economic change in the lives of women. Ms. has six grantmaking initiatives, one of which is the Birth Justice Initiative.

Birth Justice Initiative

Our Birth Justice Initiative aims to:

• advance equitable birth outcomes and experiences;
• strengthen the capacity, organizational infrastructure, and financial stability of grassroots Black, Indigenous and women of color-led birth justice organizations; and
• expand the frame of birth justice to support intersectional movements and strategies that recognize the full spectrum of experiences and identities in birthing, parenting, and family building.

We believe that Black, Indigenous, and women of color (including trans women and non-binary people) are key experts and should be decision-makers in shaping policy and culture change around birth justice. By investing directly into organizations led by and for women and girls of color, we are ensuring that the movement to address racial based disparities in healthcare, including birth outcomes and experiences, is led by those who are impacted most. Strengthening the collective power of communities of color is critical to addressing the root causes of these disparities and advancing birth justice for all.

The U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates of all developed nations and Black women die at three to four times the rate of white women in birth – one of the widest racial disparities in women’s health. Systemic racism, implicit bias, and anti-Blackness all contribute to the significant disparities in birth outcomes among Black, Indigenous and birthing people of color. Moreover, the spectrum of intersectional issues that comprise birth justice and the ability to have children and parent with dignity, are not only limited to the birth process.

As such, the Ms. Foundation’s Birth Justice Initiative invests in organizations who represent the full spectrum of birth experiences including–but not limited to–preconception health, mental health and wellness, infertility, abortion access and abortion care, comprehensive sex and sexuality education, non-racist culturally affirming and gender expansive healthcare, access to birth workers of color, access to lactation support and services, postpartum health and wellness, grief and loss care and support, and sexual assault prevention and survivor support services. Organizations supported collectively utilize a range of movement building strategies to advance birth justice—such as narrative change, policy and systems change, advocacy, leadership development, direct service among others. And finally, they work at the intersection of birth justice and other movements, such as disability justice, youth justice, LGBTQIA+ justice, environmental justice, economic justice, and criminal legal reform.

Funding

During this cycle, Ms. will provide one-time grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to selected organizations not currently receiving funding from Ms.’ Birth Justice Initiative. The grant period will comprise two years.