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Charles And Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Annual Giving
$450.0M
Grant Range
$5K - $25.0M

Charles And Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $363-450 million (2023-2024)
  • Assets: $2.27 billion
  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $25,000,000 (most grants: $20,000 - $50,000)
  • Geographic Focus: National (U.S.), Israel, and Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Application Process: Invitation only - does not accept unsolicited proposals
  • Funding Type: Multi-year general operating support preferred

Contact Details

Website: https://www.schusterman.org/

Headquarters: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Additional Offices: Atlanta, GA; Jerusalem, Israel; New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC

Note: The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Organizations interested in partnership should understand that grants are made through invitation only.

Overview

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, operating publicly as Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, was founded in 1987 by Charles and Lynn Schusterman. After Charles' death in 2000, Lynn led the foundation until 2018, when her daughter Stacy H. Schusterman became Chair. In 2024, the foundation received the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Since its founding, the foundation has distributed over $2 billion in grants, with $450 million distributed in 2024 alone across grantmaking portfolios in the U.S. and Israel. The organization employs more than 160 team members across six offices spanning four time zones. The foundation has undergone strategic shifts to deepen its impact by focusing on six core issue areas in the U.S.: Criminal Justice, Democracy and Voting Rights, K-12 Education, Gender and Reproductive Equity, their Hometown of Tulsa, and the Jewish Community. In Israel, they focus on strengthening Israeli society through work in security and peace, social services, economic development, and social integration.

Funding Priorities

U.S. Funding Focus Areas

Criminal Justice

The foundation seeks to build healthy and safe communities by ending mass criminalization and incarceration, repairing the harm caused by a criminal legal system built on structural racism, and creating new pathways. Priority strategies include:

  • Ending overcriminalization
  • Scaling community-centered approaches to health and safety
  • Supporting successful reentry and leadership of formerly incarcerated people
  • Community-Centered Health and Safety initiatives
  • Reducing and Repairing Harm programs

Recent Grantees: Fines and Fees Justice Center, The Marshall Project

Democracy and Voting Rights

Funds groups and programs working to protect voting rights and access for all citizens. The foundation believes full participation in a representative democracy is key to a more equitable and inclusive society.

Recent Grantees: Fair Fight Action, All Voting is Local, Protect Democracy

K-12 Education

The Youth Experiences and Education initiative supports local school and nonprofit leaders' efforts to provide K-12 students with high-quality educational opportunities. The foundation supports teacher development and recruitment of teachers of color.

In Tulsa: Brought Teach For America to Tulsa schools, supported the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, and youth development through arts, STEM learning, and out-of-school programming.

Gender and Reproductive Equity

Seeks to build an equitable world in which all women—particularly Black, Indigenous and women of color—and transgender and gender-expansive people have freedom and control over their bodies, equal political and economic power, and safety from violence and harassment. Focus areas include:

  • Reproductive Freedom and Power: Comprehensive sex education, full access to abortion, contraception and birth equity
  • Economic Power: Policy advocacy on equitable and affordable care policies including paid parental leave, paid sick leave, accessible child care, wage equity, and preventing workplace violence
  • Political Power and Leadership: Increasing women's political power and leadership
  • Safety and Security: Programs ensuring women can live safely, independently and without fear

Recent Grantees: Advocates for Youth, Futures without Violence, Mothering Justice, Planned Parenthood, SisterReach, Survivors' Agenda, Youth Guidance, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice

Hometown of Tulsa

Nearly four decades of investment in strengthening the social and economic fabric of Tulsa, focusing on:

  • Public education and higher education improvements
  • Social services and housing
  • Family and Community Support programs tackling food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, domestic violence intervention, and homeless response systems
  • Approximately tens of millions annually to the Center for Leadership Initiatives to support Tulsa's Jewish community

Jewish Community

Significant support for Jewish education and community programs:

  • K-12, university and informal educational programs engaging with Israeli art, culture, history, politics, and technological innovations
  • Israel education in K-12 settings and universities across the U.S.
  • Trips, service opportunities, gap year programs, study abroad programs and professional internships in Israel
  • Support for Israeli professors on college campuses and growth of Israel Studies as an academic field
  • Co-founders of Birthright Israel
  • ROI Community: A global network connecting and mobilizing innovative Jewish and Israeli changemakers

Israel Funding Focus Areas

The foundation works to strengthen Israel as a secure homeland for the Jewish people, a thriving democracy and an inclusive society that cares for its most vulnerable.

Key Areas:

  • Security and Peace: Partnerships with leading think tanks for research and policy work advancing national security, regional stability, peace and prosperity efforts building on the Abraham Accords
  • Social Services and Vulnerable Populations: Supporting underserved populations, addressing child abuse and neglect, gender-based violence and prostitution, aging Holocaust survivors, and Israel's LGBTQ+ community
  • Economic Development and Social Integration: Building pathways for diverse communities (Haredi and Arab communities) to live, work and thrive together through education, training, employment opportunities, and socioeconomic development
  • Emergency Response: Support during crisis situations

What They Don't Fund

  • Individual grant requests (does not make grants to individuals)
  • Unsolicited proposals from organizations not already in their network

Governance and Leadership

Chair: Stacy Schusterman - Became Chair in 2018 after serving as CEO of the family's oil and gas businesses and Co-founder and Chair of Granite Properties, a commercial real estate business.

Chair Emerita: Lynn Schusterman - Founder and Chair Emerita who ran the foundation from Charles' death in 2000 until transitioning to Stacy in 2018.

Co-President: Lisa Eisen - Became Co-President in 2019 after serving as National Director and Vice President for more than 20 years.

Staff: More than 160 team members spanning six offices (Tulsa, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Jerusalem) and four time zones.

Leadership Philosophy

Stacy Schusterman on the foundation's values: "Our Jewish values have always been—and will always be—at the core of our family's philanthropy: a commitment to the pursuit of justice, repairing the world, and treating all people with dignity and civility."

Lynn Schusterman on their approach: "Philanthropy alone cannot solve these problems. But we do have a huge responsibility to be a partner at the table. To work in partnership with the people and communities most impacted." She also emphasized: "We have a responsibility to listen to people's stories, to learn their histories and to see their experiences and perspectives in a way that challenges our own understanding of the world."

The foundation's philosophy: "We have always believed that while our resources make work possible, our partners' expertise and dedication make progress happen."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process. The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals from organizations or individuals. The grant application process is by invitation only.

Grants are awarded through strategic partnerships that the foundation identifies and invites. The foundation has made deliberate decisions to focus where they can have "the most unique, 'value add' as a grant maker," according to Co-President Lisa Eisen.

Getting on Their Radar

The foundation is described as "not an accessible or transparent funder" by Inside Philanthropy. However, there are limited pathways for specific contexts:

For Tulsa-area organizations: Grantseekers working in education or community development could try making contact via the foundation's website contact form or through local networking in Tulsa's philanthropic community, where Schusterman has been active for nearly four decades.

For ROI Community members: The foundation's ROI Community (a global network of Jewish and Israeli changemakers) offers specific micro-grant opportunities including Grassroots Initiatives Grants and Professional Development Grants that do have application processes available to network members.

General approach: Organizations that align with the foundation's six core focus areas and demonstrate innovative, systemic approaches to social change within those areas may be considered. However, there is no formal process for introducing your organization - partnerships are identified through the foundation's own network scanning and sector engagement.

Application Success Factors

Since the foundation operates on an invitation-only basis, success factors are oriented toward the type of work and organizational characteristics that align with their strategic priorities:

Multi-Year General Operating Support Philosophy

The foundation "often provides multiyear general operating support that enables grantees to think long term and execute a strategy that will best achieve their shared goals." According to the foundation, "General operating grants, particularly multiyear ones, are viewed as a vote of confidence that signals to grantees that funders believe in their ability to think long-term and execute an effective strategy over time."

Partnership Approach

The foundation explicitly "recognizes the inherent power dynamic between funders and grantees, and views its grantees as partners in the work and experts at what they do." This suggests they value:

  • Organizational expertise and sector leadership
  • Long-term strategic thinking
  • Organizations led by or deeply connected to the communities they serve
  • Innovative approaches that address systemic issues

Beyond Financial Support

The foundation "offers robust assistance beyond its grants to build organizations' capacity and deepen their expertise in a variety of areas, including evaluation and learning, communications, leadership and talent development, and more." Organizations should be prepared to engage in capacity-building partnerships, not just transactional grant relationships.

Values Alignment

The foundation's Jewish values guide their work: "a commitment to the pursuit of justice, repairing the world, and treating all people with dignity and civility." Organizations that demonstrate these values through their work and approach are more likely to align with foundation priorities.

Focus on Systems Change

The foundation's strategic shift to focus on six core areas indicates they prioritize work that addresses root causes and systemic issues rather than Band-Aid solutions. Their emphasis on issues like ending mass incarceration, protecting voting rights, and achieving reproductive equity suggests they value bold, transformative approaches.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Invitation-only process: This foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Do not submit an application unless specifically invited.
  • Multi-year general operating support preferred: The foundation typically provides multi-year unrestricted funding, allowing organizations to focus on long-term strategy rather than short-term programmatic outputs.
  • Grant range is wide but strategic: While grants range from $5,000 to $25 million, most fall between $20,000-$50,000. The foundation makes strategic decisions about where they can have unique impact.
  • Partnership philosophy: They view grantees as partners and experts, providing capacity-building support beyond just financial resources. Successful partnerships involve collaboration and relationship-building.
  • Values-driven: Jewish values of justice, tikkun olam (repairing the world), and dignity guide all their work. Alignment with these values is essential.
  • Focus areas are specific: The six U.S. focus areas (Criminal Justice, Democracy and Voting Rights, K-12 Education, Gender and Reproductive Equity, Tulsa, and Jewish Community) plus Israel work are clearly defined. Organizations outside these areas will not be considered.
  • Tulsa connection: If you're working in Tulsa in education, community development, or Jewish community support, there may be more accessible pathways given the foundation's long-standing local presence.

References

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