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For Immediate Release -- Sep 18, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Oklahoma City, OK – At its September quarterly meeting, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation Board of Trustees approved $174,780 in community program grants to 22 metropolitan area charitable organizations.
"Through our focus areas, we can adequately and accurately address numerous issues in our community," says Nancy B. Anthony, Oklahoma City Community Foundation Executive Director. "We greatly appreciate our thousands of donors for giving us the opportunity to reach so many individuals."
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity established in 1969 with the mission of helping donors meet the charitable needs of the community through the development and administration of endowment funds for charitable organizations, scholarships and other charitable causes. The Oklahoma City Community Foundation accepts applications from charitable organizations for grants in five different focus areas:
• The Fund for Oklahoma City helps the community meet changing needs. Grants target strong and established charitable organizations expanding services and programs. Grant requests are accepted from any 501(c)(3) organization in the Oklahoma City area. Next Grant Deadline: January 2, 2008
• The Margaret Annis Boys Trust/Parks & Public Spaces Initiative 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. Next Grant Deadline: October 2, 2007
• The Margaret Annis Boys Trust Signature Project program was initiated to celebrate the 100th birthday of Miss Boys. The purpose of this program is to establish a number of significant projects that exemplify landscaping efforts in parks and public spaces, to recognize the Margaret Annis Boys Trust for its contribution to the beautification of public lands since 1991 and to encourage initiative and innovation on the part of citizens and volunteer groups for the care and maintenance of public space. Please contact Brian Dougherty at 405/606-2908 or b.dougherty@occf.org for more information.
• The Capacity Building Program awards grants to assist charitable organizations implement good planning and quality management. Grants are awarded to charitable organizations with permanent endowment funds at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation for programs, services or equipment designed to increase the organizations’ management efficiency and their capacity to provide service. Next Grant Deadline: January 2, 2008
• Get Moving OKC! seeks to raise awareness in the community of the benefits of exercise to good health and the integration of simple physical activity, such as walking, into the daily routines of children and adults in central Oklahoma. Grant support will be provided to charitable organizations, schools, churches and park groups to develop new programs or significantly expand current programs related to promoting physical activity and wellness. Next Grant Deadline: January 2, 2008
• 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. Next Grant Deadline: January 2, 2008
The grant guidelines and application forms are accessible at www.occf.org under Community Programs & Grants. For more information, contact Sandy Wright at 405/606-2916 or s.wright@occf.org. Below is a summary of the grants awarded to the 22 organizations in September. Grants are listed under the corresponding focus area:
Fund for Oklahoma City (total of $25,000 awarded):
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art -- $25,000 to develop a new media-based interpretive, educational initiative to be debuted during the Roman Art from the Louvre exhibit.
Margaret Annis Boys Trust (total of $18,000 awarded):
• Oklahoma City Beautiful -- $8,000 to purchase plant material for a landscape project on the southeast access road median of I-44 and Western Avenue.
• Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity -- $10,000 to purchase trees for a park located in the new Hope Crossing housing development.
Margaret Annis Boys Signature Project (total of $50,000 awarded):
• The Tree Bank -- $50,000 to purchase trees for a teaching arboretum at a new park in Edmond.
Capacity Building (total of $48,180 awarded):
• Children’s Medical Research Institute -- $3,000 to redesign the web site.
• Variety Health Center -- $3,000 to expand the web site with new graphics and information in English and Spanish.
• Paseo Artists Association -- $2,200 for office hardware and software.
• Girls Scouts-Red Lands Council -- $4,000 to support services associated with the realignment project.
• St. Mary’s Episcopal School of Edmond -- $3,240 to purchase software to complement the current private school management system.
• City Arts Center -- $3,500 to purchase donor management software.
• NAIC-Center for Alcohol and Drug Services -- $3,240 to hire a facilitator to develop a new long range strategic plan.
• Heartline -- $3,000 to hire consultants to conduct an organizational audit and implement a strategic planning process.
• TEEM-The Education & Employment Ministry -- $2,000 in support of a new marketing campaign.
• Oklahoma Foundation for the Disabled -- $8,000 to hire staff to implement a life skills training program.
• Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc. -- $8,000 to help support legal assistance in a new outreach program serving Oklahoma’s homeless population.
• Association of Fundraising Professionals -- $5,000 to support a presentation at the annual fall philanthropy conference.
Get Moving OKC! (total of $16,800 awarded):
• Oklahoma City University -- $7,000 to support a university-wide wellness program.
• Prairie Dance Theatre -- $4,300 to develop and implement a pilot project for a fitness-based curriculum.
Pleasant Hill Elementary School PTA-- $5,500 to purchase seven fitness stations for the recently completed walking track.
LIFE – Literacy is for Everyone (total of $11,800 awarded):
• Community Literacy Centers -- $7,000 to expand adult basic educator services to serve two new sites.
• Oklahoma Christian University -- $4,800 to support the expansion of the ESL based “Lunch Time Learning Series.”
The Trustees also approved the following grant from a Field of Interest Fund.
Hope Community Church-United Methodist -- up to $5,000 to support a new after school sports and wellness program for neighborhood youth.
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charitable organization that manages more than $570 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 charitable organizations, scholarships and other charities.
For more information about the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, please visit www.occf.org.
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