Oklahoma City Beautiful

PROJECT PURPOSE

Oklahoma City Beautiful is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that has been leading Oklahoma City?s beautification and environmental stewardship through collaboration, education, and advocacy for 53 years. We have facilitated 156,925 volunteer hours for a total benefits figure of $3,787,714. We have facilitated and invested $6,831,505 in beautification and maintenance of medians and public spaces. We know that to continue to grow and to better serve our community, owning our own facility is essential. We have rented space since the organization was established. Eliminating the current monthly rent of $2,300, which will only continue to increase, would allow us to grow our beautification and education reach for our great community. Our programs have tripled over the past ten years and our current facility does not allow us to operate efficiently. Oklahoma City Beautiful is requesting $2,900,000 to purchase land, build office space, community room for programing, furniture, and garage for outdoor garden classroom equipment. An outdoor demonstration garden will also be included. These improvements will allow us to expand our reach, collaborate with more community members, provide more hands-on education, and serve as an investment in the long-term viability and quality of life of our residents.

EVIDENCE

Our school garden program is aiding the long-term health and well-being of students. Studies show gardens benefit students physically, mentally, emotionally. It addresses healthy habits, provides diverse learning opportunities, a calming environment, and invests in students' health and understanding of the natural world. Our programs adding green infrastructure and abating litter create a beautiful, sustainable, healthy community. Attractive cities do better economically, entice visitors, improve the quality of life. Investing in our organization is an investment in the environmental health and well-being of our community and will enable us to focus more efforts on programming that foster Oklahoma City's growth.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

OKC Beautiful?s environmental educational programs focus on students in Oklahoma City Public Schools. All schools in the OKC district have a high percentage of free and reduced lunch recipients. The families of these students have been adversely affected by COVID-19 due to loss of income, illness, and death. The education we provide includes sustainability practices, taking care of their environment, understanding gardening, the benefit of healthy food, leadership training, and the negative impact litter has on the economy. Due to COVID-19 there was an increase in single-use, disposable materials being used for carryout dining, resulting in a need for a more concerted effort of litter cleanups. In 2021 alone, we have had more than 3,400 volunteers participate in a litter clean up, helping keep our parks, roadsides, waterways, and public spaces clean and beautiful. This directly benefits the environmental health of our city, as well as benefiting the quality of life for our residents

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Having more functional space and up-to-date technology will allow us to reach more residents. Data will be collected to document this the number of students and adults touched by our increased programing. Data will be collected on funds that are redirected from monthly rental payments to our education and beautification programs.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma