For immediate release: May 16, 2006

 

Inasmuch Foundation Announces

$13.67 Million in Grants to Oklahoma Organizations

 

(Oklahoma City) --- Robert J. Ross, President and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation, announced today the distribution of $13.67 million in grants to 45 Oklahoma organizations.

 

Edith Kinney Gaylord founded the Inasmuch Foundation in 1982 to support charitable, scientific and educational causes that enhance the progress and quality of life for Oklahomans. Today, the Foundation is committed to carrying on the interests of its late founder by giving to education, health and human services, cultural organizations, the arts, historic preservation and environmental concerns.              

 

 “The recipients of grants announced today represent a broad spectrum of charitable organizations, each doing their part to serve a particular need in our community,” said Robert J. Ross, President and CEO of Inasmuch Foundation.  “I know that Edith Kinney Gaylord would be pleased that her Foundation is making such a large impact in so many lives throughout Oklahoma.”     

 

Organizations awarded grants from the Inasmuch Foundation include:

 

  • $5 million to University of Oklahoma Foundation for Phase II of Gaylord Hall of Journalism and Mass Communication, the largest single grant made in the Foundation’s 24 year history. Combined with an earlier grant, Inasmuch Foundation support totals $6.5 million in capital projects for Gaylord Hall. The 34,500 square foot Phase II will include multi-disciplinary classrooms,  writing and graphics laboratories, space for public relations and advertising students to meet with clients, the Graduate Studies Center for the Ph.D. and Masters program, and a 250-seat broadcast capable theatre.

 

  • $2 million to Oklahoma City Educare to provide high-quality very early childhood education to poor and working-poor families living in Oklahoma City with a mission to help break the cycle of poverty. Oklahoma City Educare is being designed, both programmatically and architecturally, through a team approach in partnership with Sunbeam Family Services, Community Action Agency, and Oklahoma City Public Schools.

       

  • $1.5 million to Oklahoma Heritage Association for the capital campaign for the Edward L. Gaylord and Boone Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Center. The former Mid-Continent Life Insurance building in Oklahoma City, designed by famed architect Solomon Layton, is the Association's new headquarters and will house a state-of-the-art museum to promote and preserve Oklahoma's history. The Center will include interactive exhibits, public presentations/lectures, and increased sharing of collections and research.

              

  • $1.25 million to Oklahoma Philharmonic Society for a five year Presenting Sponsorhip of the Classics Series and for the orchestra's comprehensive education programs including Youth and Discovery Concerts, Master Classes with the Artists, Concert Preview Lecture Series, Orchestra Management Internships and Open Rehearsals.

 

  • $600,000 challenge grant to East Central University Foundation for the East Central University Fine Arts Center in Ada. The 85,000 square foot center will have a 1,000-seat performance hall and support areas, classrooms, offices, studios, practice rooms, art gallery and sculpture garden.

       

  • $400,000 to Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County for the Campaign for Kids, an expansion project for the Memorial Park location. Phase I, partially funded with a $100,000 grant by Inasmuch Foundation in 2004, includes a new gymnasium and temporary teen project space. Phase II will include a Computer Technology Center, a Junior/Senior Learning Center, game rooms, music, fine arts, drama, weight room, Kids Café and kitchen.

              

  • $400,000 Challenge Grant to University of Central Oklahoma Foundation for the Investing in Excellence Laboratory Campaign for the College of Mathematics and Science. In 2004, Inasmuch Foundation made a $300,000 grant for Phase I of the project.

              

  • $350,000 to Oklahoma City University’s School of Law to establish a three-year external clinical legal education program for law students to develop the skills and values required to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to the service of clients.

              

  • $281,000 to Smart Start Central Oklahoma, an organization founded by the late John W. Rex. Grant funds will be used to hire an executive director and to pilot READY!, a parenting program developed in Kennewick, Washington to ensure that children are prepared and ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.

              

  • $250,000 to Oklahoma City Museum of Art for a Presenting Season Sponsorship for 2006-2007 and a challenge grant of $15,000 for free admission and busing for students and adults.

              

  • $250,000 to Youth & Family Services for construction costs for the Donald W. Reynolds Caring Center in El Reno, Oklahoma.

              

  • $165,000 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to support the Immigration Assistance Program for three years.

              

  • $150,000 to Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to support the Food 4 Kids program for three years. The program provides nutritious food between Friday afternoon and Monday morning to elementary-age chronically hungry children.

 

  • $50,000 to USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor for a memorial on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The memorial will honor the 429 men serving on the USS Oklahoma who lost their lives in the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

 

  • Grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 include KIPP Reach Academy Charter School, Oklahoma Baptist University, Rainbow Fleet, Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Katheryne B. Payne Education Center, Opportunity Center, and Tulsa Opera.

 

  • Grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 include HeartLine, Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church, Possibilities, Families for Excellence in Education, Hearts for Hearing Foundation, Philbrook Museum of Art, Special Care, Thunderbird Clubhouse, Tulsa Ballet, *Celebrations! Educational Services, and Myriad Gardens Foundation.

 

  • Grants ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 include Oklahoma Caring Foundation, Rebuilding Together OKC, Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma, Cherokee National Historical Society, OK Mozart, and Southwest Youth & Family Services.

              

  • Grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 include Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation, Arts Council of Oklahoma City, Friends of Martin Park Nature Center, Southwest Playhouse Fine Arts Center, Oklahoma City Community College Foundation, Oklahoma Center for the Book, and Ponca City Friends of Education.

To learn more about the Inasmuch Foundation, visit www.inasmuchfoundation.org or call 405-604-5292.

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