ART
MATTERS
Allied Arts Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 8, Issue 3, Spring 2015
Enriching Our Communities
Through Advancement of the Arts
CAMPAIGNING FOR THE ARTS
On January 14, the Allied Arts 2015
campaign for the arts launched at the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage
Museum. Campaign co-chairs John
Parsons and Renzi Stone announced
this year’s goal of raising $3.4 million to
more than 300 guests in attendance.
(left) Renzi Stone, Allied Arts
Board Vice Chair & 2015
Campaign Co-Chair; Dr. Robert
Ellis & Mrs. Nancy Payne
Ellis, 2015 Honorary Chairs;
and John Parsons, Executive
Committee Member & 2015
Campaign Co-Chair speak at
the 2015 Campaign Kickoff.
Campaign funds impact the lives of
approximately 1 million people each
year with the power of the arts, including
the provision of 500,000 arts education
experiences to schoolchildren statewide.
Leading arts agencies utilize Allied
Arts funding to continue enhancing
our community’s quality of life. Allied
Arts grants support arts integration into
daily school curriculum, afterschool arts
programs, and free and affordable arts
programming for all to enjoy.
Oklahoma Youth Orchestras, an Allied
Arts member agency, performed to open
the event. In addition, Life Change
Ballroom, an Allied Arts grantee,
performed a number of dance routines
at the Kickoff Event, showcasing
the countless hours that students and
instructors spend on the weekend
rehearsing the foxtrot, jive, paso doble
and samba. Celeste Cotton, a 17-yearold student, shared how her life has
been transformed and the perception of
her future has been expanded through
her seven-year participation with Life
Change Ballroom. She talked about
how she has learned more than dance
technique; she has learned self-respect,
discipline and teamwork.
To date, the campaign has raised more than $2.3 million. With the
campaign ending in May, there is still time for you or your company to
make a difference. You can participate in the campaign in one or more
of the following ways:
The 2015 Kickoff Event was presented
by Chesapeake Energy Corporation,
The Chickasaw Nation, Devon Energy
Corporation and OGE Energy Corp.
• Spread the word about the great deals featured on the OKCityCard,
available with a $50 donation to Allied Arts. Share the back page of this
newsletter with friends and family who don’t already have a card.
(right) Christian Robinson and Rianna
Brooks – 16-year-old Life Change
Ballroom students – perform at the
Campaign Kickoff.
• If you haven’t already, make a donation by returning the enclosed
pledge card to Allied Arts or visiting alliedartsokc.com.
• Recommend your place of business for an employee giving campaign.
It’s a simple and fun way to engage your co-workers in community
enhancement efforts.
RECOGNIZING THE 2015 HONORARY CHAIRS
An Allied Arts tradition for 17 years, the annual fundraising
campaign provides the opportunity to shine the spotlight
on extraordinary Oklahomans making a difference in our
community. In 2015, Allied Arts honors Dr. Robert S. Ellis
and Nancy Payne Ellis for their steadfast support of cultural organizations, as well as their work with countless health,
education and social service issues.
On March 3, more than 200 Allied Arts supporters and Ellis
admirers gathered at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art to
recognize the Ellises for their far-reaching contributions
to our city and state. The tribute included a special
performance from
renowned fiddler
Kyle Dillingham
and presentation
of a special gift
to the Ellises for
their leadership
and guidance on
behalf of this year’s
fundraising effort.
(top) 2015
Honorary Chairs
Bob and Nancy
Ellis.
(right) Campaign
cabinet member
Aimee Harlow
(right), chaired
the event with
her committee
which included
Sherry Beasley,
Tricia Everest
(left), Kirk
Hammons, Judy
Love (center),
Brenda McDaniel
and Darlene Parman.
Thanks to those who donated
in honor of the Ellises, this
year’s Honorary Chair Event
raised more than $828,000
for the annual campaign.
“Our city and state’s tremendous growth and forwardmomentum have run parallel with our cultural renaissance.
Our economic growth and quality of life are tied to our arts
landscape,” Nancy Ellis shared with event attendees.
“Fortunately for us, we live in a city that understands the
value of the arts and invests in our cultural fabric.”
Presenting Sponsors of the 2015 Honorary Chair Event were
American Fidelity Foundation, Tricia L. Everest, Judy and
Tom Love and Martha Williams. Patron Sponsors were
Kathy and Hal Brown, and Lori and Bond Payne. Special
thank you to Valerie and Brad Naifeh and Central Liquor
for providing beverages, and to the Oklahoma
City Museum of Art for donating the venue space.
(left)
Ann Lacy
joins Michael
Whittington,
Executive
Director of
Oklahoma
City Museum
of Art.
(left)
Diane
and Joel
Lippert
enjoy
the event.
(left)
Guests
enjoyed
the musical
talents of
Kyle
Dillingham,
shown here
serenading
Terri
Cooper.
ALLIED ARTS MONTH - IT’S A WRAP
On January 20, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and the Oklahoma City Council
proclaimed February 2015 as Allied Arts Month. With this designation, Allied Arts
accelerated its marketing and outreach efforts to engage the entire community in
supporting the arts.
In order to engage new companies with Allied Arts, John Richels, Devon Energy
president and CEO, hosted a breakfast on February 5 for local executives to
illustrate the impact of the arts on education, economic development and quality of
life. Speakers included American Fidelity Foundation president and MAPS 3 Citizens
Advisory Board chairman Tom McDaniel who examined the link between the city’s
progress and the expansion of cultural offerings, and Oklahoma Children’s Theatre
executive director Lyn Adams who shared her personal experience of changing
young lives with theatre.
Allied Arts welcomes the participation of companies of all sizes and industries.
Opportunities include corporate giving, event sponsorship and in-kind donations.
To learn more, please contact [email protected].
As a part of Allied Arts month, the Edmond Running Club designated a
portion of proceeds from its 20th annual Frigid Five Run to Allied Arts.
Staff hosted a craft area for children participating in the fun run.
EMPLOYEES TAKE CENTER STAGE
Two of Allied Arts largest employee giving campaigns – Devon
Energy and American Fidelity – also launched in February. Allied
Arts staff visits more than 100 local businesses each year to spread
the word about Allied Arts and its member agencies. Since every
company has its own culture, Allied Arts tailors each employee giving
campaign to meet those needs - be it a live presentation, online
giving or even coordinating trips to visit local arts agencies. To learn
more or sign up your company, email [email protected].
(top) John Parsons and Renzi
Stone, 2015 Campaign
Co-Chairs, with Oklahoma
City Mayor Mick Cornett.
(middle) The Oklahoman
graciously donated its
downtown digital billboard
to help promote February as
Allied Arts Month. The banner
also welcomed guests to the
annual CEO breakfast.
(bottom) Allied Arts staff
members, Zach Gozlan and
Caitlin Tarasi, pose with the
Edmond Running Club’s
Frigid Five mascot.
(clockwise from top) OK
City Chorus singers perform
at the Devon rotunda to
entertain employees during
their lunch hour; Allied Arts
staff member, Abby Walker,
leads a team-building
activity for American Fidelity
employees; Science Museum Oklahoma performs a demonstration
at American Fidelity’s Member Agency Fair – an opportunity for
employees to mingle with and learn more about the local arts
organizations their donations support.
YOUR INVESTMENT AT WORK
In the second funding cycle of the 2015 fiscal year, the Allied
Arts grants committee awarded $84,000 in support of 26
youth arts education projects and $53,881 in support of 21
capacity-building efforts. The Allied Arts capacity-building
program provides grants to qualified cultural nonprofits to
build their capability to remain strong, sustainable and in a
position to meet their constituency’s needs.
The Allied Arts Educational Outreach program funds
activities working to bring arts experiences to Oklahoma
youth, with a focus on underserved, at-risk students.
Through the projects supported this cycle, approximately
200,000 schoolchildren will benefit from cultural opportunities
in their classrooms, school break camps and afterschool
programs. Funded projects include Oklahoma City Ballet’s
ArtsReach which enables Title-1 schools across central
Oklahoma to attend a live ballet performance, and Prairie
Dance Theatre’s in-school programming using movement
to enhance letter and site word recognition and promote
phonics and basic sentence building for low-performing
second grade Oklahoma City classes.
2015 EDUCATIONAL
OUTREACH FUNDERS
Bank of America
Dobson Family Foundation
Flogistix
Hobby Lobby
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Target
To read about all the
projects supported by
Allied Arts, visit
alliedartsokc.com/grants.
(clockwise from top left)
A Big Brothers Big Sisters “little” tours the [Artspace] at
Untitled Gallery; Members of Canterbury Choral Society’s
Youth Chorus prepare to perform; and high school
students create their own artwork after a fieldtrip tour
of Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.
CHARITY NAVIGATOR FOUR-STAR RATING ACHIEVED
Allied Arts is pleased to announce
that it recently received the highest
possible rating given to nonprofits
for sound fiscal management and
commitment to accountability and
transparency from Charity Navigator,
a national nonprofit evaluator.
The organization provides essential
information to give donors the greatest
confidence in the charitable choices
they make. According to Allied Arts
president and CEO, Deborah
McAuliffe Senner, “Transparency and
accountability are paramount in our
organization. Our donors place a
tremendous amount of trust in us to
ensure that their dollars are used wisely.
We realize that donors have many
choices on where to give their dollars
– and this distinction further endorses
the work that we are doing. Allied
Arts, our board and our employees are
extremely proud to have earned this
distinction.”
Receiving four out of a possible four
stars indicates that Allied Arts adheres
to good governance and other best
practices that minimize the chance of
unethical activities and consistently
executes its mission in a fiscally
responsible way. With more than
17,000 nonprofits in Oklahoma, only
17 have received a four-star rating.
Of those, Allied Arts is the only
organization in the arts, culture and
humanities category to receive this
distinction. This exceptional
designation demonstrates to the
public Allied Arts is worthy of their trust.
CATALYST CORNER
Catalyst, Allied Arts’ young professionals network, invites current and
prospective members to ARTini in Wonderland on March 27 from 7-11
p.m. at the OKC Farmers Market. Chaired by Claire Turmelle, the event
features original martinis crafted by the metro’s favorite restaurants, an art
auction of works by local artists, a raffle featuring one-of-a kind experiences
and live music by Replay.
ARTini is an annual fundraising event coordinated
by emerging leaders engaged in the arts who
donate $300 for a single membership or $500 for
a couple membership. Catalyst benefits include
ARTini ticket(s) as well as quarterly social and
networking events.
ARTini in Wonderland is presented by Devon Energy
and OGE Energy Corp., along with 110 events. The
VIP sponsor is Kickapoo Casino Harrah and Shawnee.
Other sponsors include AT&T Oklahoma, Bank of
Oklahoma, Cox Communications, Cushman
Wakefield/Commercial Oklahoma, Dunlap
Codding, GableGotwals, The Oklahoman, Prairie
Wolf Spirits and Traction.
Claire Turmelle,
2015 ARTini Chair
TICKETS: $75 per person
Available at alliedartini.com
or by calling 405.278.8944
FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
If you love the arts, crave a tasty gyro sandwich
and plan to attend the Festival of the Arts, Allied
Arts needs you!
We are looking for volunteers to help us serve
up Greek specialties from April 21-26 during
the 2015 Festival. Shifts are four hours. If you
are interested in volunteering, please send an
email to [email protected].
More than 800 guests enjoyed martinis, food,
local art and more at last year’s ARTini event.
SHOP AND GIVE BACK TO THE ARTS
Allied Arts is partnering with Kendra Scott Classen Curve for
a “Kendra Gives Back Party.” Join us on April 9 from 5-8 p.m.
for bubbles and bites while shopping for the latest jewelry
trends. Allied Arts will receive 20% of all sales during the party.
We hope to see you there!
2014 volunteers at the Papa’s Greek Foods booth.
If you prefer online shopping, visit
smile.amazon.com. Customers
receive the same great products,
prices and services from Amazon,
but 0.5% of the price of your
eligible purchases will be donated
to Allied Arts. It’s that easy!
THE ARTS NEED YOU!
See the enclosed packet for more details.
Non-Profit
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oklahoma City
Permit #581
1015 N. Broadway, Ste. 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
office: 405.278.8944
web: www.AlliedArtsOKC.com
follow: @AlliedArtsOKC
IN THIS ISSUE:
• 2015 Campaign Update
• Honorary Chair Event
• Arts Month Wrap Up
• Your Investment at Work
• ARTini is Almost Here!
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