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For Immediate Release -- Sep 2, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- The Oklahoma City Community Foundation has established the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund in response to one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history that devastated the Gulf coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. The Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund will receive charitable gifts from individuals, businesses, foundations or fund-raising activities and will direct the gifts to the appropriate aid agencies working in the regions devastated by the hurricane.
"We have had several inquiries about directing charitable dollars to help the victims of the hurricane as they face a long road to rebuild their lives and communities," says Nancy B. Anthony, executive director of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
Anthony says that grants from the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund will most likely not be made for at least 30 to 60 days. "Through the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund, we will direct grants that provide support for the intermediate and long-term recovery efforts, not immediate emergency assistance," she says. Anthony encourages those interested in assisting with immediate emergency needs to contact the American Red Cross.
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is working with both the Baton Rouge and New Orleans community foundations to best identify the needs and appropriate relief organizations in which to direct grants. In addition, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation will not charge an administrative fee to manage the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund to ensure that 100 percent of all gifts go toward the recovery efforts. In January of this year the Oklahoma City Community Foundation established a similar fund for the Tsunami tragedy in Southeast Asia and recently made grants totaling $35,000 to long-term recovery efforts.
All contributions to the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law and may be made in cash, check or marketable securities to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation at: P.O. Box 1146, Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1146.
Gifts can also be made online using a major credit card at www.occf.org
For more information about making a gift to the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund, please contact Cathy Lippard at 405/235-5603 or info@occf.org.
Founded in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charitable organization that manages more than $453 million in assets and is one of the largest community foundations in the country. Governed by a 15-member board of trustees, its mission is to help donors meet the charitable needs of the community through the development and administration of permanent endowment funds for nonprofit organizations, scholarships and other charities. For more information about the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, please visit www.occf.org.
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News Release