Want to start giving more to your community? Whether you are looking to direct funds from your business or your personal donations, here are some ways to educate yourself on giving in the 405 and a few places that could use your help.
Why give?
If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so goes our community. When one person, one group or one area of our city is in need of help, it affects the entire ecosystem. Giving back is an opportunity to participate in a process of righting wrongs, lifting up others, loving neighbors, providing chances and altering the future for good.
We have a spirit of giving in OKC and it shows up on all levels of business here. From community banks like Citizens Bank of Edmond and startups like EightTwenty to larger organizations like Love’s Travel Stops and the OKC Thunder, giving is central to the 405 business community.
Where to start?
There are excellent resources that can help align organizational passions with corporate giving. Here are just a few examples:
GiveSmartOKC
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation has developed GiveSmartOKC as a platform to encourage informed giving. It contains information about more than 300 local charitable organizations, including their programs, leadership, financials and how to support that charity.
okc.roundtable.city
occf.org/centraloklahomacharities/
Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits
The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits is a non- profit organization equipping and strengthening the Oklahoma nonprofit sector through training, consulting, advocacy, membership, networking and awards. They also provide insightful data, statistics and reports on nonprofit activity in the state of Oklahoma.
okcnp.orgÂ
A few ideas
We simply have a lot of incredible nonprofits here in Oklahoma City that are doing some pretty remarkable things. Here are some nonprofits I personally recommend looking into:
RestoreOKC
Restore’s mission is building relationships of reconciliation for restorative justice. They seek to serve the physical, social, emotional, educational and economic needs of our neighbors in Northeast Oklahoma City.
restoreokc.orgÂ
Cleats 4 Kids
C4K empowers kids to live healthier lifestyles and learn life lessons through sports by providing sports shoes and safe equipment to kids in need.
okc.cleatsforkids.orgÂ
Sisu Youth Services
Their mission is to ensure that young people experiencing adversity have a safe place to sleep, the security to dream and the support to make a positive impact on the world.
sisuyouth.orgÂ
These are just a few ideas. There are so many others making huge impacts and changing lives. I encourage businesses to explore and identify the causes and nonprofits that align with your organization’s purpose and passions.
Long live giving
Giving is the gift that keeps on giving as one changed life can have a positive impact on many. Businesses make a big contribution in the 405 and have enormous influence on the trajectory of our city. Let’s continue moving forward with a heart of giving, knowing that our city will be better for it.
