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For Immediate Release - October 29, 2008
Contact: Cathy Nestlen
405/606-2913 or c.nestlen@occf.org
Oklahoma City Community Foundation distributes $5.45 million to 285 charitable organizations
Endowment funds provide an important annual source of income for the organizations
October 29, 2008 – During October, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation distributed $5.45 million to 285 charitable organizations in central Oklahoma. The money represents the annual distributions from the organizations’ endowment funds that are administered by the foundation. The average distribution check was $11,000, an increase of $500 from the prior year.
“We have investment, distribution and administrative policies that are appropriate for long-term endowment growth,” says Nancy B. Anthony, executive director. “Each year, these endowments provide the organizations with a source of income that doesn’t have to be raised through an event or from donors. And each year, these organizations know they will receive the cash distribution.
In these tough economic times, the importance of an endowment truly becomes tangible,” Anthony adds.
Since 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation has advocated the importance of endowments. Anthony says that any charitable organization that expects to be in operations for 20 years or more should have an endowment fund to help sustain their long-term viability.
“In addition to providing a predictable stream of income, endowments also offer donors a single fund to which they can contribute to help build permanent support for the organization,” she explains.
Through the Oklahoma City Community Foundation’s charitable organization endowment program, the 285 charities also have access to free training and educational roundtables and workshops. We also work to encourage gifts to their endowments through a number of resources, Anthony adds. An important online promotion is Central Oklahoma Charities, the area’s most comprehensive and up-to-date directory of nonprofit organizations located at www.occf.org. The directory includes a description of the organization’s mission and the population it serves as well as contact information including e-mail and Web site links. The listings also each have an link to a secure online giving service where donors can make gifts directly to the endowments using a major credit card.
The following illustrates how two organizations utilize their endowment funds’ annual distributions:
Encouraging Students to Read
The Friends of the Mustang Public Library created their endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation in 2006 with the intent that the annual distribution would help off set costs associated with the library’s summer reading program. The program works to keep students’ reading skills at the same level or higher during the summer break so when they return to school in August their skills are at the same level or higher than in May. “We are dedicated to growing our endowment until it will cover the entire cost of the program,” says Carolyn Klepper, president of the organization. “While the Friends of the Mustang Library might not always be around, the endowment will always be there. That’s the importance of an endowment.”
Helping Students Reach Their Goals
Thanks to the annual distribution it has received from its endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation each of the past 15 years, the Francis Tuttle Foundation is able to offer up to 30 scholarships a year for Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech Center students who are unable to pay tuition. “We have a number of students who wouldn’t be able to continue their studies if it wasn’t for the availability of these scholarship funds,” says Dr. Tom Friedemann, foundation director. “Without the scholarships, these students would have to go back to low income jobs or menial labor.”
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501c3 public charity that was established in 1969 to serve the charitable needs of donors and the Oklahoma City area through the development and administration of endowments and other charitable funds. For more information including an online directory of the 285 charitable organizations, please visit www.occf.org.
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