Kirkpatrick Foundation

Kirkpatrick Foundation Private Foundation in Oklahoma City

• Oklahoma Roundtable for Animal Welfare: September 22, 2017 (Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club)
• National Urban Ecosystems Forum: September 28 and 29, 2017 (Oklahoma City)
• INTERSECTION, the Oklahoma Link Coalition Conference: November 7, 2017 (Oklahoma History Center)
• The ANIMAL Conference of Ideas, Impact, and Inspiration: October 21 - 23, 2018 (Skirvin Hotel)

Did you know you can attend ArtDesk Conversations for free this summer? Join us for this interactive series where great ...
06/03/2026

Did you know you can attend ArtDesk Conversations for free this summer? Join us for this interactive series where great thinkers and doers come together for engaged dialogue.

In Oklahoma City, experience “The Uniqueness of Light” with a panel discussion featuring projection artist Chad Mount, photography artist Andy Mattern, and librarian Judie Matthews from the Oklahoma Contemporary Art Reference Library at Metropolitan Library System, along with Oklahoma Contemporary and Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation. The conversation will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 19 at Belle Isle Library. It is free and open to the public.

Tomorrow, we’ll share details about the ArtDesk Conversations happening during the Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.

📷 A recent ArtDesk Conversation with artist Anthony McCall and Tate Oklahoma Contemporary

Did you know only 27 percent of Oklahoma third-graders met the mark as proficient or advanced in reading in the 2024–25 ...
06/02/2026

Did you know only 27 percent of Oklahoma third-graders met the mark as proficient or advanced in reading in the 2024–25 school year? New Oklahoma laws passed this year will hold back third-graders who fail a set of literacy benchmarks. The updates will also provide interventions such as small-group lessons, extra tutoring, summer programs, and more, informing parents early and often with the aim of improving students’ skills so they can proceed to fourth grade with their peers, according to Oklahoma Voice. A student at the press conference announcing the new laws held a sign proclaiming, “Strong Readers = Strong Oklahoma.” Read more about the challenges Oklahoma faces and examples set by other states in a story by Public Radio Tulsa in the spring issue of ArtDesk.

📷 Bryce Yzaguirre

A meaningful win for animal protection!In early May, Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy secured an...
06/01/2026

A meaningful win for animal protection!

In early May, Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy secured an agreement to transfer 1,500 beagles away from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin breeding facility that supplied dogs to research labs for decades. Rescue teams are now working to place all of the dogs with adoptive families nationwide.

The Kirkpatrick Foundation is proud to support the Center for a Humane Economy and celebrates this meaningful step forward for animal welfare.

📷 Big Dog Ranch Rescue

Last week, Oklahoma City University announced a $25 million renovation of the historic Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. The...
05/29/2026

Last week, Oklahoma City University announced a $25 million renovation of the historic Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. The $13 million lead gift commitment comes from Kirkpatrick Family Fund, Kirkpatrick Foundation, Christian Keesee Charitable Trust, and Kirkpatrick Partners Fund at Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The renovation will restore the understated glory of the Oklahoma Gothic style while providing modern features necessary for a top-tier arts education.

OCU originally built the fine arts center in 1928, establishing a commitment to the arts that continues today. Kirkpatrick Foundation Chairman Christian Keesee spoke at the gift announcement press conference, saying that OCU consistently raises the standard of artistic accomplishment and expands Oklahoma City’s cultural offerings. He highlighted the importance of education and its life-changing impact.

At Oklahoma City University, performing arts students often walk straight off the graduation stage and onto Broadway. Distinguished alumni have earned Grammy, Emmy, and Tony honors after developing their craft in the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center, last renovated in 1968 with a lead gift from Kirkpatrick Foundation founders John Kirkpatrick and Eleanor Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick Family Fund Oklahoma City Community Foundation

📷 Oklahoma City University. Third photo taken May 21, 1965, of Eleanor Kirkpatrick, then-OCU President John F. Olson, John Kirkpatrick, and architect George Sminoff reviewing plans for the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Photo by Tony Woody for The Daily Oklahoman, courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society's Gateway to Oklahoma History.

A healthy, free, and independent press is foundational to an informed citizenry. During the past decade, Kirkpatrick Fou...
05/28/2026

A healthy, free, and independent press is foundational to an informed citizenry. During the past decade, Kirkpatrick Foundation has invested more than $1.2 million in investigative and watchdog reporting, pro bono legal support for journalists, infrastructure improvements for public radio, collaborative efforts to create new production and distribution models, and internships and educational programs for aspiring journalists. We continue to support nonprofit media outlets to strengthen local, regional, and national reporting with small and large grants.

Announcing the ANIMAL Conference Awards! New in 2026! Five awards will honor Oklahomans advancing animal wellbeing acros...
05/27/2026

Announcing the ANIMAL Conference Awards! New in 2026!

Five awards will honor Oklahomans advancing animal wellbeing across several fields: veterinary care, journalism, architecture and design, farming and ranching, and restaurants and grocers. Five categories, one goal: advancing animal wellbeing in Oklahoma. Award winners will be recognized at ANIMAL 2026.

Learn more, submit a nomination, and register for ANIMAL 2026: theanimalconference.com.

Some biologists call the Monarch butterfly the “canary in the coal mine.” When monarch populations decline, it’s often a...
05/26/2026

Some biologists call the Monarch butterfly the “canary in the coal mine.” When monarch populations decline, it’s often a warning sign of deeper environmental stress.

Protecting monarchs means protecting the habitats we all depend on—milkweed, nectar plants, and healthy ecosystems that support bees, birds, and countless native species.

In Oklahoma County, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Oklahoma Monarch Society lead the Yard-by-Yard project, encouraging residents to take simple actions such as going pesticide-free, planting native species, composting, and using rain barrels. The program is supported by Kirkpatrick Foundation.

Small changes in your yard can make a big difference for Oklahoma’s wildlife.

okmonarchsociety.org
okiesformonarchs.org
Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, Okies for Monarchs

📷 James Wheeler on Unsplash

05/26/2026

Announcing the ANIMAL Conference Awards! New in 2026!

Five awards will honor Oklahomans advancing animal wellbeing across several fields: veterinary care, journalism, architecture and design, farming and ranching, and restaurants and grocers. Five categories, one goal: advancing animal wellbeing in Oklahoma. Award winners will be recognized at ANIMAL 2026.

Learn more, submit a nomination, and register for ANIMAL 2026: theanimalconference.com.

Did you know Smithfield Foods, owned by China’s WH Group, “basically controls an eighth of the world’s pork supply,” acc...
05/21/2026

Did you know Smithfield Foods, owned by China’s WH Group, “basically controls an eighth of the world’s pork supply,” according to US trade adviser Peter Navarro? In Oklahoma, Smithfield Foods raises hogs on roughly 2,575 acres in northwest Oklahoma. Smithfield uses gestation crates, which prevent pigs from even turning around. According to Humane World for Animals, in 2025, Smithfield still kept sows in extreme confinement for several weeks at the start of each breeding cycle. This practice is cruel, and it needs to stop. No creature deserves to be treated so inhumanely. Pigs are caring animals who sing to their babies and make friends, get the zoomies, and can live 15–20 years at sanctuaries or as pets. Factory farming with extreme confinement is not good for pigs, and it’s not good for Oklahoma.

Read the full report about farmland ownership by Investigate Midwest in the recent winter issue of ArtDesk, and read Kirkpatrick Foundation’s 2024 publication “The Way Forward: A Report on the Extreme Confinement of Pregnant Pigs in Oklahoma” at oklahomaanimals.org/uploads/the-way-forward-a-report-by-kirkpatrick-foundation.pdf.

📷Zac Lucero

Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem, pollinating crops in our food supply. Warriors to Bees, a Slaughterville-ba...
05/20/2026

Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem, pollinating crops in our food supply. Warriors to Bees, a Slaughterville-based nonprofit and grantee of Kirkpatrick Foundation, mentors US veterans in hive management, honey harvesting, and bee removal, benefitting veterans and protecting the bee population. Teaching these practical beekeeping skills builds community while maintaining heathy pollinator habitats.

📷 Warrior to Bees, warriorstobees.org

Address

1001 W. Wilshire Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK
73116

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+14056080934

Website

https://oklahomaanimals.org/uploads/the-way-forward-a-report-by-kirkpatrick-foundation.pdf

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