OKLAHOMA CITY – In celebration of its first 40 years, the Inasmuch Foundation recently looked back at some accomplishments, including some that have positively changed the course of lives of many Oklahomans.
The foundation’s “40-year report” released this month also provides some perspective on where it now stands in strongly supporting good causes and how foundation officials see things developing in coming years.
Founded in 1982, the Inasmuch Foundation is a grantmaking organization dedicated to improving quality of life in Oklahoma through avenues of human services, education, community activism and journalism.
The new report highlights major milestones reached over the years, including this year, when the foundation’s grant funding surpassed $350 million – actually the amount of founder Edith Kinney Gaylord’s original contribution. This year, its endowment’s growth also achieved a milestone of sorts, reaching a current value of more than $550 million.
The foundation awards an average of $26 million in grants each fiscal year to nonprofits.
“It is inspiring to see Edith Kinney Gaylord’s vision for Inasmuch Foundation come to fruition through both the growth of the endowment and the grantmaking,” Inasmuch Foundation Chairman and CEO Bob Ross said.
Some of the foundation’s most notable projects have included the Plaza Theatre renovation in 2005, which helped bring new life to Oklahoma City’s now-thriving Plaza District. The foundation also has contributed much to ongoing facility and program support for the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication. It helped introduce the national learning network Educare to Oklahoma City in the early 2000s, and in 2011 it helped establish ReMerge with community partners. ReMerge has since served nearly 200 mothers and their children and saved the state of Oklahoma more than $42 million.
According to the report, the Inasmuch Foundation today is focused on a collaborative approach to community-driven change through public and private partnerships. In the future, it and its partners will be well-poised to tackle some of central Oklahoma’s most troublesome issues.
“Since its inception, Inasmuch Foundation has been guided by a deep commitment to Edith Kinney Gaylord’s original vision to benefit people and communities by inspiring change and advocating for Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens,” Ross wrote in an introduction to the report. “Encouraged by the Foundation’s impact on the community over the past 40 years, we are inspired to continue her legacy of working together to create a better Oklahoma.
“Rooted in Edith’s remarkable foresight, Inasmuch Foundation has the unique ability to respond in real time to Oklahoma City’s most critical needs,” Ross continued. “In the summer of 2022, the Foundation hosted listening sessions to gain a deeper understanding of the city’s current issues, hearing directly from key stakeholders. It was clear that vulnerable communities in Oklahoma continue to face barriers, disparities and complex challenges that are not easily solved. … It is time for innovative solutions, unique partnerships and targeted focus. This work cannot be done alone, and Inasmuch Foundation looks forward to expanding its network to inspire change and shape a brighter future.”
Learn more at inasmuchfoundation.org.
The 40-year report can be reviewed online at inasmuchfoundation.org/40-year-report.
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