Inasmuch Foundation announces $9.0 million in grants

OKLAHOMA CITY – Inasmuch Foundation announced today the distribution of $9.0 million in grants.  Grants were awarded to 53 organizations serving Oklahoma communities.

Inasmuch Foundation, founded by Edith Kinney Gaylord in 1982, supports education, health and human services and community enhancement initiatives that enrich the quality of life for Oklahomans.

“A common theme running through Inasmuch Foundation’s grants this cycle is the commitment to collaboration and partnership,” said Bob Ross, President and CEO of Inasmuch Foundation. “John Rex Elementary School, Palomar, ReMerge, Homeless Alliance, Variety Care, and Oklahoma Public School Resource Center are just a few examples of successful public-private partnerships working towards a better Oklahoma.”

Grants were awarded to organizations for projects addressing the foundation’s areas of interest as follows:

Education

• $1,000,000 expansion grant to John W. Rex Charter School to add 6th-8th grades in a downtown middle school.
• $775,000 to Oklahoma Public School Resource Center to provide professional development and consulting services to member charter schools and rural public school districts across the state.
• $500,000 to Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County for the Great Futures Campaign, ensuring future growth, impact and sustainability.
• $150,000 to Fields and Futures Foundation to build Oklahoma City Public Schools athletic complexes.
• $150,000 to KIPP:OKC for general support.
• $100,000 to Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools to provide teacher certification assistance to bilingual paraprofessionals working for the district and to recruit teachers from Puerto Rico.
• $100,000 to Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Foundation to provide merit-based faculty stipends.
• $52,000 to Community Literacy Centers to provide basic literacy instruction by partnering with other nonprofits.
• $45,000 to Millwood Enrichment Foundation for a one year fellowship with the High Tech High Charter Network in San Diego.
• $25,000 to Oklahoma Conference of Churches for general support.
• $25,000 to Reading Partners to expand the one-on-one literacy intervention program for K-3rd grade students in low-income Tulsa public elementary schools.
• $25,000 to Tulsa Legacy Charter School for general support.
• $15,000 to Oklahoma Autism Center Foundation to expand professional development opportunities for Oklahoma educators working with children with autism.
• $15,000 to Payne Education Center to create an online curriculum portal to train teachers instructing students with reading difficulties and dyslexia.
• $12,500 to El Sistema Oklahoma for an ensemble-based after school music program.
• $10,000 to LeadLearnLive for a post-secondary pilot program for high-functioning students with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
• $10,000 to Oklahoma City Police Athletic League for expansion of Oklahoma City Public Schools elementary athletics league.

Health and Human Services

• $500,000 to Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to ensure that Oklahomans struggling with food insecurity have access to healthy, nutritious food.
• $500,000 to ReMerge of Oklahoma County to build a new facility on the NorthCare campus.
• $500,000 to Variety Care Foundation for the Britton Road Family Resource Center, providing health services for children and obstetrics services for women.
• $470,000 to Palomar for operations and for Camp HOPE, a camping and mentoring initiative that focuses on children who have been exposed to domestic violence.
• $150,000 to Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives Foundation for screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment services in primary care and other community/health settings.
• $150,000 to Oklahoma City Indian Clinic for the capital campaign to fund a new pharmacy building and a digital mammography machine.
• $125,000 to Hunger Free Oklahoma to leverage the power of collaboration to solve hunger in Oklahoma by improving systems, policies, and practices.
• $100,000 to Mental Health Association Oklahoma for general support of operations in Oklahoma City.
• $100,000 to OKC First to provide programs, trainers and expert counselors to improve the well-being of Oklahoma’s first responders.
• $75,000 to Urban Mission for general support of programs and services to low income families and children in central Oklahoma.
• $70,000 to Homeless Alliance for repairs, upgrades, and renovations to the Oklahoma City Day Shelter, serving those who are homeless or are at risk of being homeless.
• $50,000 to Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City for programs that foster self-sufficiency for low-to-moderate income families.
• $50,000 to Community Health Centers for Healing Hands Health Care Services, providing medical services to the homeless population in Oklahoma County.
• $50,000 to OKC Metro Alliance to build Firstep Men’s Lodge, 20 single room occupancy apartments for men in recovery from substance abuse disorders.
• $50,000 to United Way of Central Oklahoma for the Annual Campaign.
• $50,000 to Youth Services for Oklahoma County to purchase a data and outcomes management system.
• $40,000 to YWCA Oklahoma City for a Childcare Advocate for Safewatch, a service for children and mothers residing in the emergency shelter.
• $25,000 to Family Safety Center, a collaboration of governmental and service provider agencies serving victims and their families.
• $25,000 to Neighborhood Services Organization to provide educational support, job resources and life skills to homeless men ages 18-23.
• $20,000 to Center of Family Love to provide quality lifetime care for individuals with intellectual disabilities who are below the poverty level.
• $15,000 to Health Alliance for the Uninsured to sustain effective and cost-efficient services for low-income, uninsured persons.
• $12,500 to Oklahoma’s Kids Belong to expand foster and adoption awareness and support across the state.

Community Enhancement

• $700,000 to Myriad Gardens Foundation to create educational spaces on the lower level and first floor of the Crystal Bridge for John W. Rex Charter Middle School.
• $700,000 to YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City for remaining improvements to grounds and facilities at Camp Classen in Davis, Oklahoma.
• $250,000 to Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation for general support.
• $250,000 to Oklahoma Contemporary to build a facility with arts classrooms, studios, galleries, theater, dance studio and event/gathering spaces.
• $182,085 to Arts Council of Oklahoma City for new food row and artist tents for Festival of the Arts.
• $100,000 to Oklahoma Philharmonic Society for a tribute concert honoring retiring Maestro Joel Levine and featuring Ben Folds.
• $100,000 to TEEM The Education and Employment Ministry for services to nonviolent ex-offenders that support their successful reintegration into society.
• $75,000 to Lyric Theatre for the upcoming professional season and student academy productions.
• $50,000 to Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits for program support.
• $35,000 to Friends of the Oklahoma History Center to provide free admission to the Oklahoma History Center for students, teachers and chaperones.
• $30,000 to Tulsa Community Foundation for the 501tech program, providing subsidized information technology products and services to Oklahoma City nonprofits.
• $20,000 to Progress OKC to manage, program, and market the spaces in the recently renovated Page Woodson school and auditorium.
• $18,000 to Seminole Nation Historical Society for technology upgrades at the Seminole Nation Museum.
• $10,000 to Oklahoma Hall of Fame for free admission and special activities for family programming at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum.

Letters of Inquiry for the next cycle are due February 15, 2018. To learn more about Inasmuch Foundation, visit www.inasmuchfoundation.org or call 405-604-5292.