2020 Annual Report: The Strength of Together

Dear Donors and Friends,

At the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, it is our mission to develop endowment funds that meet the changing needs of the community. The past year has been the greatest test of that charge in the Community Foundation’s 50-year history, hallmarked by a rapid shift in community needs, the non-profit community’s capacity to provide services and the generosity of donors to meet to these challenges.

Fiscal year 2020 began in July 2019 with the continuation of the Community Foundation’s 50th anniversary celebration. Having recently planted more than 800 trees along the Oklahoma River’s north shore, transforming the empty stretch of treeless space into a 3.5-mile shaded linear park called the Oklahoma City Community Foundation River Trail, we were excited to welcome our next gift to the community.

In September, The Musical Swings, an interactive art exhibit, drew more than 40,000 excited visitors to Bicentennial Park to experience this giant, collective instrument. In October, we continued the momentum with our annual Charitable Organization Endowment distribution event, providing a total of $5 million in earnings to central Oklahoma nonprofits to the tune of 1969 complete with music, food and costumes. A few weeks later, our donor perception survey, conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, ranked the Community Foundation’s impact on the local community in the top 10% of community foundations in the U.S.

We started the new year with the goal to update our long-range plan and build on the excitement of the previous two years. But, in March, COVID-19 was introduced to our vocabulary, marking a new era for Oklahoma City and the Community Foundation. The pandemic took hold in our community and state just as it did throughout the country.

The impact on individuals and the shutdown of the economy and services was unlike any disaster we have experienced. We soon realized that the response, too, would have to be unlike any other.

Together with our donors and community organizations, we quickly worked to put in place health care, daycare, and supportive services that were desperately needed across all sectors of our community. The Community Foundation and its donors contributed more than $1.5 million to assist those most impacted by the health crisis. Through our 2020 Disaster Relief Fund, we focused on addressing the changing needs of those most vulnerable to the effects of the virus such as COVID-19 patients experiencing homelessness, children of essential workers and elderly citizens.

Uncertainty about the future of many services and organizations still dominates much of our planning. Thankfully, the endowments that we have developed for the community over the past 50 years provide us with the tools to meet many of these needs. In gratitude to John Kirkpatrick and our donors for their foresight, we feel more confident than ever that the power of endowment will help us weather these turbulent times.

The coming year will bring change not only in our community, but also in leadership for the Community Foundation as Scott Spradling succeeds Dr. Steve Agee as chairman of the Board of Trustees. We are also excited to welcome Chuck Wiggin and Pete White as new Trustees and thank Ann Johnstone and Paul Odom, III, for their exceptional service over the past nine years. As we continue working on a new long-range plan and looking toward the future, we do so with a new perspective on changing community needs and a strong appreciation of the enduring power of endowment.

Nancy B. Anthony, PresidentT. Scott Spradling, Trustee Chair