Greenwood Cultural Center

PROJECT PURPOSE

The purpose of the project is to renovate the Greenwood Cultural Center's current exhibits used for educational purposes for schools across Oklahoma. Each year, thousands of Oklahoma students and educators visit the center to learn more about the rich history of the historic Greenwood District. The new and renovated exhibits will be interactive and will offer accompanying educational materials, lesson plans, and curriculum along with virtual access to the exhibits and learning resources. The project will not only serve educational institutions but the thousands of tourists that visit the Greenwood Cultural Center throughout the year. The project also includes the restoration of the Mabel B. Little Heritage House which is maintained by the Greenwood Cultural Center. The home is a premier tourist destination for the City of Tulsa and provides an educational and historical experience for students and tourists. Proposed renovations have been needed for some time, but have not been able to be addressed due to a lack of income and revenue because of the pandemic which caused a drastic reduction in visits by schools, tourists, and other groups. Included in this project are expenses for support for current staff, additional staff, and contracted vendors. The Greenwood Cultural Center would serve as the Project Coordinator and be responsible for securing staff and professionals needed to complete the project.

EVIDENCE

Responses received by clients and visitors reflect a desire to see exhibits and renovations that are modern, interactive, affordable, and accessible. GCC has not had the funding or staff to renovate or update current exhibits since its inception nearly 30 years ago. Research shows, especially in light of the pandemic, that there is an increased need for virtual access to museums and community centers that offer programming and educational and cultural opportunities that not only provide an educational opportunity but exposure to the arts.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The Greenwood Cultural Center is located in the historic Greenwood District in North Tulsa. The pandemic has been devastating to the North Tulsa community, which was plagued with social and structural inequities prior to the pandemic that included a lack of access to mental and medical health providers, homelessness, low employment, food desert designation, youth, and domestic violence, and evictions. As schools relied on virtual learning for months, many children in North Tulsa lacked access to reliable internet service, food, and proper supervision during normal school hours. Afterschool programs were almost completely unavailable or unaccessible for children living in North Tulsa. This project will increase access to afterschool and out-of-school programming that provides quality care, educational and arts-based opportunities, supervision, and access to food during program hours. There will also be information for parents regarding additional resources in the community that addresses food security, housing, medical needs, etc. Renovation of GCC exhibits, and learning resources provide an opportunity to partner with local schools to create afterschool programs and learning experiences that are new, innovative, creative, affordable and accessible.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

GCC Board Members, staff, stakeholders, and community members will collaborate to create a process for project management that aligns with the Greenwood Cultural Center's mission statement and purpose. Currently, the Board of Directors is engaged in a Strategic Planning Process to ensure that the center's mission, values, goals, and purpose are clearly defined, relevant, and positioned to best serve the local community and communities throughout the State of Oklahoma. Key project performance measures will be monitored by a steering and planning committee and will consider; Return on Investment, Productivity, Cost Performance, Schedule Performance, Customer Satisfaction, and Approval. Programmatic data will be collected by recording the number of visitors, documenting requests for information, surveying visitors, students and educators, analyzing data and comparing to pre-project numbers, and surveying potential visitors.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

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