The Oasis Institute
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It owes more than it owns.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
OASIS IS A NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION DESIGNED TO EMPOWER THE LIVES OF OLDER ADULTS, AND INCLUDES A NATIONAL NETWORK OF OASIS PROGRAMS IN MORE THAN 250 COMMUNITIES THROUGH SEVEN EDUCATION CENTERS AND A NATIONAL NETWORK OF OVER 800 PARTNERS IN 47 STATES. OASIS OFFERS CHALLENGING PROGRAMS IN THE ARTS, HUMANITIES, HEALTH, TECHNOLOGY LITERACY AND VOLUNTEER SERVICE AND CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS TO CONTINUE THEIR PERSONAL GROWTH AND PROVIDE MEANINGFUL SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. OASIS WAS ESTABLISHED IN ST. LOUIS IN 1982.
- Income
- $7.7 million
- Spending
- $7.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 81%
- Reserves
- -2.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 71%
- Employees
- 46
- Volunteers
- 1,264
- Highest pay
- $215,195, president
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 38 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (human services, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 138% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 1% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 16% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1581% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 7 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (human services, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2523 of 23 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $4.7 million spent. HEALTH - THE INSTITUTE'S HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS PROVIDE BEHAVIOR-CHANGE WORKSHOPS EMPHASIZING INCREASING AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR OLDER ADULTS TO ADDRESS THEIR HEALTH NEEDS AND MANAGEMENT. OASIS BOTH CREATES HEALTH PROGRAM CONTENT AND HOLDS LICENSES FOR NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EVIDENCE-BASED WORKSHOPS. THESE PROGRAMS ARE IMPLEMENTED BY THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS NON-SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION CENTERS AND PROGRAM SITES. PROGRAM CONTENT INCLUDES TOPICS ON NUTRITION, EXERCISE, CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT, DIABETES MANAGEMENT, FALLS PREVENTION, REDUCING SOCIAL ISOLATION AND GENERAL HEALTH PROMOTION.THE HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS PRIORITIZE EVIDENCE-BASED HEALTH PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE SELF-MANAGEMENT RESOURCE CENTER'S CHRONIC DISEASE SELF-MANAGEMENT AND DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS, AGING MASTERY PROGRAM, AND A MATTER OF BALANCE THROUGH MAINEHEALTH. THE INSTITUTE COLLABORATES WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE HEALTH BEHAVIOR CHANGE PROGRAMS IN COMMUNITY LOCATIONS TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM HEALTH OUTCOMES. PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON BEHAVIOR CHANGE ARE MULTI-SESSION WORKSHOPS WHILE MANY HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE ONE-TIME SESSIONS. OASIS IS ANALYZING THE DATA FROM THE THREE-YEAR GRANT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF OASIS' PROPRIETARY PROGRAM, VIRTUAL HEALTHY HABITS. OASIS IMPLEMENTED AND COLLECTED DATA FROM PARTICIPANTS ENROLLED IN THE RESEARCH STUDY. THE ANALYSIS OF PROGRAMMATIC OUTCOMES IS VERY PROMISING. OASIS EXPECTS VIRTUAL HEALTHY HABITS WILL BECOME A PROGRAM THAT WILL BE LICENSED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND SERVE AS A SUSTAINABLE REVENUE STREAM IN THE NEXT 1-3 YEARS. IN 2019, THE INSTITUTE WAS AWARDED A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING, PART OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, TO DEVELOP A NEW NATIONAL PROGRAM, COMMUNITY CARE CORPS. AS A RESULT, THE INSTITUTE IS A NATIONAL FUNDER DISCOVERING EFFECTIVE MODELS FOR NON-MEDICAL VOLUNTEER CAREGIVING PROGRAMS TO MAINTAIN THE INDEPENDENCE OF OLDER ADULTS. SINCE 2020, OASIS HAS AWARDED 109 GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IN 2020, OASIS WAS ALSO AWARDED A MULTI-YEAR GRANT THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING FOR INNOVATIONS IN NUTRITION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. THROUGH THIS GRANT, OASIS IS RESEARCHING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NEWLY DEVELOPED VIRTUAL HEALTHY HABITS PROGRAM AS AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO NUTRITION EDUCATION, HANDS-ON MEAL PREPARATION AND SOCIALIZING FOR OLDER ADULTS. OASIS WAS AWARDED ANOTHER FIVE-YEARS OF FUNDING TO CONTINUE THIS WORK IN 2024.
- $941,920 spent. VOLUNTEER SERVICE - OASIS COOPERATED WITH 78 SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND PARTNER SITES TO OFFER THE OASIS INTERGENERATIONAL TUTORING PROGRAM IN THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR. THIS RESEARCH-BASED PROGRAM MATCHES TRAINED VOLUNTEER TUTORS WITH PRIMARY GRADE CHILDREN TO BUILD READING SKILLS, CONFIDENCE, SELF-ESTEEM AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD LEARNING. , THE PROGRAM OPERATES IN 20 MAJOR CITIES AND INVOLVED MORE THAN 2,000 TRAINED TUTORS. VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION IS SHOWING A STEADY INCREASE IN RESPONSE TO THE GROWING NEED FOR ACADEMIC AND MENTORING TUTORS. WITH THE DECLINE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE RETURNED TO HOSTING OASIS TUTORS IN PERSON.SOME HAVE UTILIZED ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMING DEVELOPED DURING THE PANDEMIC AS A SUPPLEMENT TO TRADITIONAL TUTORING AS WELL. TUTOR TRAINING IS PROVIDED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO NEW SCHOOL DISTRICTS JOINING THE PROGRAM AND FOR NEW TUTORS IN EXISTING PROGRAMS. OASIS TUTORING IS CURRENTLY SERVING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA, MISSOURI COUNTIES OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY, JEFFERSON, FRANKLIN, ST. CHARLES, AUDRAIN, CALLAWAY, LINN, AND LIVINGSTON. THE OASIS TUTORING NETWORK INCLUDES PROGRAMMING IN ALBUQUERQUE, LOS ANGELES, PORTLAND, PITTSBURGH, DENVER, PHOENIX, ROCHESTER, SAN DIEGO, SAN ANTONIO, SYRACUSE, TAMWORTH, WADSWORTH, AND WASHINGTON D.C. METROPOLITAN AREA TO PROVIDE TUTORING.. UTILIZING KEY MENTORING ASPECTS OF THE OASIS TUTORING PROGRAM, A NEW INTERGENERATIONAL MENTORING PROGRAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. OASIS GRAND CHAMPIONS GIVES OLDER ADULTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MENTOR ADOLESCENTS RESIDING IN FOSTER CARE AND TO PROVIDE THEM GUIDANCE ON NECESSARY LIFE SKILLS. OASIS ALSO PROVIDES INFORMATION AND TRAINING FOR OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ON A REGULAR BASIS AND ENCOURAGES ALL ASPECTS OF VOLUNTEERISM ESPECIALLY THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN ENGAGE OLDER ADULTS IN CONTRIBUTING THEIR TIME, TALENT AND EXPERIENCE TO HELP OTHERS. DURING 2023, 2,259 OASIS VOLUNTEERS PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT SERVICE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. IN ADDITION TO TUTORING, VOLUNTEERS ALSO SERVE AS PROOFREADERS, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT PERSONNEL, INSTRUCTORS, CLASS COORDINATORS, COMPUTER INSTRUCTORS, HEALTH FACILITATORS, AND PEER DISCUSSION LEADERS.
- $477,877 spent. EDUCATION - THE NETWORK CENTERS DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT LOCAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE AREAS OF THE ARTS, HUMANITIES AND A BROAD RANGE OF OTHER INTEREST AREAS. TOPICS RANGE FROM CREATIVE WRITING AND POETRY, ART HISTORY, PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, AMERICAN AND WORLD HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS. THE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS THE NETWORK IN DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS TECHNOLOGY LITERACY THROUGH THE OASIS CONNECTIONS TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM AND INCLUDE TOPICS ON HOW TO USE IPADS, IPHONES, INTERNET, EMAIL, FACEBOOK, ACCESSIBILITY FOR HANDHELD DEVICES AND FRAUD AND SCAM PROTECTION. THE INSTITUTE WORKS WITH THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER PROGRAM LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY TO IMPLEMENT THESE PROGRAMS. PARTICIPATION IN OASIS PROGRAMS HAS GROWN BY DOUBLE DIGIT PERCENTS EACH YEAR SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. GROSS REVENUE GREW BY 50% BETWEEN 2022 AND 2023 AND AN ADDITIONAL 40% BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024. OASIS STILL OFFERS MOST PROGRAMS IN A HYBRID FORMAT AND AROUND 50% OF PARTICIAPNTS ARE STILL LOGGING ON, EVEN IF THEY LIVE IN THE SAME CITY IN WHICH THE PROGRAM IS HOSTED. OASISEVERYWHERE, THE VIRTUAL EDUCATION CENTER THAT SOURCES CONTENT FROM OASIS NETWORK CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND PROVIDES AN ADDITIONAL REVENUE STREAM AND GROWING AUDIENCE FOR LOCALLY DEVELOPED AND DELIVERED LIFELONG LEARNING, HEALTH/EXERCISE, AND SOCIAL CONNECTION PROGRAMS, IS STILL OPERATING AND A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF OASIS OPERATIONS. OASIS EVERYWHERE, THE SOLELY VIRTUAL 'CENTER' GREW BY ABOUT 17% BETWEEN 2022 AND 2023, WITH REVENUE TOTALING $103,000 IN 2022 AND $121,000 IN 2023. OASIS ALSO STARTED OFFERING CONTENT IN 2023 FROM PARTNERS OUTSIDE OF THE OASIS NATIONAL NETWORK, AS WELL AS EXPANDING OUR PARTICIPANT BASE THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER NON-PROFITS, MARKET RATE AND SUBSIDIZED SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES, AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CORPORATE PARTNERS.
- $212,781 spent. TECHNOLOGY LITERACY - THE INSTITUTE HAS DEVELOPED A BROAD LIBRARY OF TECHNOLOGY LITERACY CURRICULA THAT IS OFFERED UNDER THE OASIS CONNECTIONS PROGRAM CATEGORY. THESE COURSES TEACH ADULTS HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN ORDER TO STAY CONNECTED WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO DECREASE SOCIAL ISOLATION, ADD DIGITAL TOOLS TO THEIR LIVES, PROVIDE THEM WITH CONFIDENCE TO LEARN NEW TECHNOLOGY SKILLS ON THEIR OWN, AND NAVIGATE THE INTERNET SAFELY. PARTICIPANTS ALSO GAIN OR IMPROVE SKILLS TO ENGAGE IN ONLINE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS MANAGING BENEFITS AND HEALTHCARE/HEALTH MONITORING. THE CURRICULUM IS COMPOSED OF MORE THAN 30 COURSES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO PEOPLE IN THE OASIS DEMOGRAPHIC. THESE INCLUDE INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPUTER, INTRODUCTION TO EMAIL, GOOGLE PHOTOS, INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET, IPAD, IPHONE, MOBILE ACCESSIBILITY, SAFETY AND PRIVACY ONLINE, WINDOWS 10, WINDOWS 11, MAC OS AND ANDROID DEVICES. ALL COURSES ARE TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH. THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER LOCAL PROGRAM SITES OFFER A WIDE RANGE OF TECHNOLOGY COURSES TO PARTICIPANTS USING THE OASIS TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM. ENROLLMENT IN CONNECTIONS CLASSES HAS EXCEEDED 155,000 SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN IN 2001. OASIS CONNECTIONS YOUTUBE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS HAVE RECEIVED MORE THAN 213,000 VIEWS.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2001.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.