The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has announced the most recent figures for its “For the Future of Medical Research Campaign.” As of January 1, over $46 million has been received or pledged to the fundraising campaign, with $26 million dedicated to Endowment Needs and $20 committed to Capital Project Needs.The campaign, which was launched on November 10, 1999, seeks to raise $100 million over the next five years. $41 million was committed in advance leadership gifts at the campaign kickoff.
“I am pleased with the progress the campaign has made,” said Foundation President J. Donald Capra, M.D. “In less than two months, OMRF has received commitments of more than $5 million dollars, with the majority of the gifts coming from Oklahomans.”
Capra also noted that nearly $750,000 a year is given in donations averaging $25. “Each gift — large or small – is critical to the continued success of OMRF, said Capra.
Major gifts received or commitments made since the November announcement include:
Mabee Foundation (Tulsa)
Bernsen Foundation (Tulsa)
Rapp Foundation (Oklahoma City)
Jackie and Dorie Barrett (Shawnee)
Goddard Foundation (Ardmore)
“OMRF is clearly amongst the top biomedical research institutions in the United States, if not the world,” Capra said. “Our staff and their research is known and respected worldwide. However, our size, which is significantly smaller than similar institutions with which we compete, keeps us from realizing our full potential. The Comprehensive Campaign will allow us to expand our facilities while simultaneously recruiting the most talented and gifted scientists,” Capra said.
OMRF was founded in 1946 by alumni of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine who believed Oklahoma needed a premier independent biomedical research institute. OMRF focuses on several critical areas of research: Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, lupus and other autoimmune diseases, stroke, AIDS, children’s diseases and genetic disorders.
For information regarding gifts to OMRF, please contact Art Cotton, Vice President for Development at (405) 271-8646.
