More Than $164,000 in Community Program Grants Awarded to Area Projects and Scholarship Endowments

May 28, 2010 – At its May meeting, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation Board of Trustees approved $164,150 for community program grants to six metropolitan area charitable organizations, as well as the establishment of three scholarship endowments. Through our community program grants, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation assists charitable organizations in central Oklahoma address specific opportunities and issues in a variety of focus areas.

The Oklahoma City Community Foundation will accept applications from charitable organizations for grants in the following focus areas by the July 1 deadline:

The Margaret Annis Boys Trust is a fund established by the estate of a lifelong Oklahoma resident who had a deep appreciation for Oklahoma native trees and flowers. Grants from this fund support beautification projects for public parks, medians and other public lands in Oklahoma County. Additional beautification grants are funded through the Parks & Public Spaces Initiative.
Literacy is for Everyone (LIFE) seeks to assist organizations in providing opportunities for all children and adults to read, write and speak English at a functional level. This program provides support for new or existing literacy programs for training, materials, awareness building and administrative support to improve the quality and the capacity of their existing programs to serve more learners.

The grant guidelines and application forms are accessible at www.occf.org/communityprograms. Below is a summary of the grants awarded in May. Grants are listed under the corresponding focus area:

Margaret Annis Boys Trust (total of $24,150 awarded):

Twin Oaks Homeowners Association - $6,870 for the landscaping of frontage along Northwest 178th Street and North Western Avenue.
The Greens Homeowners Association - $7,000 for the landscaping of frontage along Memorial Road.
Linwood Place Neighborhood Association - $10,280 for the landscaping of medians along Northwest 19th Street and North Drexel Avenue.

Parks & Public Spaces Initiative (total of $45,000 awarded):

City of Oklahoma City – up to $25,000 for assistance with storm water issues impacting Will Rogers Gardens.
Oklahoma City University – up to $20,000 to fund a study of the Oklahoma City Parks System.

Community Emergency Fund (total of $5,000):

American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma - $5,000 to assist with shelter and service needs following the May 10 tornadoes.

Additionally, the Trustees approved the use of unrestricted funds to establish three scholarship endowments in honor of past Trustees who have completed nine years of service on the Oklahoma City Community Foundation Board. These scholarship endowments are part of the Trustee Scholarship Initiative, established in 1998 to assist high school students in central Oklahoma with continued education.

Paul Dudman Scholarship Fund - $30,000
John Green Scholarship Fund - $30,000
William Shdeed Scholarship Fund - $30,000

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