The Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF) is a charitable organization which was founded on the 30th of December 1998 by a banker, oilman, and philanthropist George Kaiser. Despite their rather modest beginnings, the foundation is now reflecting upon their milestone achievements in the last 20 years.
The CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation, Phil Lakin, stated that, upon the formation of this foundation, it had only $117,000 in the bank. Now, after 20 years of hard work, the foundation has built more than $4.5 billion worth of assets, making it the second largest charitable foundation in the United States.
The foundation has also entered the list of top ten foundations and now stands among those which have been around for many decades.
Helping The Community In Need
Over the past two decades, Tulsa Community Foundation has donated to many people in need. Not only this, but it has also aided those seeking help by giving them access to worthy job opportunities. The foundation is also held responsible for having made the city, community, and state a lot more beautiful than it was in the past.
Their 20-year legacy also includes planting flowers and making the city more colourful than ever, especially at landmarks like the Tulsa International Airport and the Gathering Place. Apart from decorating the Gathering Place with flowers, the foundation also collected donations for its initial construction.
Helped the Tulsa Zoo
The foundation has played a significant role in keeping the Tulsa Zoo safe and in making sure that it prospers. Until the year 2010, the Tulsa Zoo was under the jurisdiction of the government and, during that time, the zoo had lost all its accreditation.
As a result, the health of the zoo animals as well as the jobs of the zookeepers came under threat. To save the zoo, the Tulsa Community Foundation helped in the privatization process of the zoo, which ultimately ensured the survival of the zoo.
The foundation also initiated 501Tech, a program which invests in the field of technology by providing support services related to IT at discounted prices.
Standing Together with the Affected Families
Tulsa Community Foundation has continuously proved that it is a great asset for the community. The foundation has helped thousands of families in getting back on their feet, especially those which were affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and multiple tornadoes, and also disasters like 9/11, all of which wreaked havoc in the past two decades.
All the credit goes to the team and the outstanding executive leadership of the Tulsa Community Foundation due to which all of this has become possible. The foundation has always aimed to assume the responsibility of managing charitable causes.
However, this foundation is definitely not the first of its kind. One of the first charitable community foundations in the United States was the Cleveland Foundation which was founded in 1914.
But, due to its outstanding leadership under CEO Phil Lakin and commendable execution of hundreds of charitable projects, the Tulsa Community Foundation has surpassed most other foundations.
The Tulsan Community
The Tulsan community has always been charitable and has come forward whenever there was a need. Hence, a need for a charitable community foundation was never really felt by the people. The first time that the Tulsan community ever joined hands was to sponsor the construction of a bridge over the Arkansas River.
However, as time passed, and the city and the community grew, it became hard to execute charitable projects.
Hence, the need for a charitable community foundation was ultimately felt, and the Tulsa Community Foundation was formed. Since then the foundation has continued to flourish and stands at 9th place with respect to grants issued to charitable organizations and 7th place with respect to the contributions received from all over the country.
