2026 Finalists

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Women's Resource Center

Project: Impacting Hope

“My mom didn’t leave. My grandma didn’t leave. My great-grandma didn’t leave. This place helped me leave and (to) show my kids that they can leave too…I am so blessed to have had this place to pause and reset.”

-a former shelter resident

The mission statement of the Women's Resource Center is: "We believe women have the right to live in safety, to be treated with dignity, to make choices and to hope". As vital as our domestic violence shelter is to victims in Cleveland County, it has become dated and worn. It is inspected and certified annually, but we want it to be more than just a safe facility. Our residents deserve a home that is better than the place that they left. With Impact OK funding, we will provide one for them.

On the outside, Project Impact Hope includes repaired or replaced gates, fences, and doors to increase security. On the inside, it includes removing popcorn ceilings, repainting, and replacing two under-sized bathtubs with full-sized tubs and tile surrounds, creating both a space that is easy to clean, and that is immediately comforting to shelter residents and their families when they arrive.

The time that the residents spend in the shelter is meant to be healing and transformative. Project Impact Hope would let us renovate our facility inside and out, updating its exterior security features and elevating the appearance of its interior; creating a home that is a safe haven for domestic violence victims and their children.

Visit us at Women's Resource Center | Hope Starts Here.

FAMILY

RestoreOKC

Project: Family Resource Center Facilities Expansion and Critical Repairs

.The RestoreOKC Family Resource Center Expansion and Critical Repairs project is a critical investment in one of Northeast Oklahoma City’s most essential anchors for family stability. As one of only 17 designated Family Resource Centers in Oklahoma—and one of just 25 Purpose Built Communities nationwide—RestoreOKC serves more than 14,000 neighbors annually through coordinated services in health, housing, education, and employment. For thousands of families, this center is the front door to stability—and it is operating beyond capacity.

Today, 130+ staff and workforce participants share a space strained by overcrowding, failing infrastructure, and limited private areas for counseling and case management. Aging plumbing, water damage, inadequate restrooms, and safety hazards impact both service delivery and the dignity of those seeking help. Yet even under these conditions, RestoreOKC continues to meet urgent and growing community needs.

This project is not simply a renovation—it is a strategic capacity expansion. Improvements will increase overall service capacity by 20% and expand private counseling and case management capacity by 35%, allowing more families to access trauma-informed, confidential care at critical moments.

At its heart is the Impact Oklahoma Family Counseling & Care Room—a dedicated, private space for crisis intervention, healing, and family reunification—reflecting a deeper commitment to dignity, restoration, and hope.

This investment is a clear, high-return opportunity: strengthening infrastructure, expanding proven services, and accelerating life-changing outcomes for thousands of families—now and for generations to come.

Visit us at RestoreOKC

ARTS AND CULTURE

Oklahoma City Ballet

Project: Ballet Moves

Oklahoma City Ballet takes free professional dance performances to schools and

community groups, nurturing an appreciation for dance, music, and live performing arts,

boosting empathy and sparking creativity! With Impact Oklahoma’s support, OKC Ballet

will purchase a box truck and a vehicle to deliver costumes, sets, props, and dancers, to

transform cafeterias, gyms, and community centers into immersive artistic experiences.

This investment will also save $60,000 annually in trucking fees, which can be reinvested in

our community engagement programs.

For many students in central Oklahoma, declining funding has stripped art programs from

curriculums. OKC Ballet addresses this crisis through Ballet Moves. Last year, these

programs enriched over 17,000 lives, many of whom lack access to live performing arts.

Ballet Moves vehicles will expand this reach, ensuring more students, families, and older

adults experience the joy, inspiration, and lasting impact of dance.

This program is profoundly powerful. Teachers share:

“These programs give my students access to an experience they would never be able to

experience otherwise! “Día de los Muertos” was especially impactful ...”

“... opportunities such as this are rare. The value of this experience reaches far beyond art;

it opens their eyes to a whole new world ... provides my students with art, culture,

etiquette, an escape, new paths and adventure.”

Partnering with Impact Oklahoma, these vehicles will sustain and grow Ballet Moves for

years ahead, making in-person dance performances accessible to students, and ensuring

the arts remain a vital part of our cultural landscape for generations to come.

Visit us at OKCBallet.org

EDUCATION

OKC Beautiful

Project: OKC Harvest School Garden Program

Children are far more likely to try eating kale if they’ve grown it themselves.

They’re more inclined to care for the environment when they have experienced it firsthand.

And when learning becomes hands-on, students don’t just hear about a concept, they retain it, apply it, and carry it with them.

These are foundational concepts in OKC Beautiful’s OKC Harvest school garden program, where learning comes to life at elementary schools. School gardens spark curiosity, build confidence, and connect students to their health, education, and community.

Empowered by Impact Oklahoma, we will expand the reach of this program, doubling our impact with school gardens. Funding will be directed to the launch of OKC Harvest at three elementary schools: Kaiser Elementary, Rockwood Elementary, and Cesar Chavez Elementary, reaching a combined 2,600 students with consistent, intentional garden-based learning.

This investment will fund the construction of outdoor classrooms and organic vegetable gardens at each campus. But more importantly, it sustains the people who bring these spaces to life. Each school is supported by an OKC Beautiful Garden Educator, who maintains the gardens year-round, grows fresh produce for students and their families, and leads hands-on programming tied directly to Oklahoma Academic Standards.

In these gardens, students don’t just learn how to grow food. They practice math through planting plans, explore science through ecosystems, strengthen literacy skills through observation and reflection, and express creativity through art and storytelling.

This program is cultivating healthier students, stronger learners, and more connected communities… one garden at a time.

Visit us at OKC Beautiful.

COMMUNITY

Faithworks of the Inner City

Project: Work, Nourish, Belong: The Shidler-Wheeler Thrift Community Impact Project

What if… the nearest grocery store was 5.8 miles away, and your only food source was the

neighborhood 7-11? But, what if…there was a place where you could receive fresh produce, a

smile, and access to other resources within walking distance of your home?

The Shidler-Wheeler community of southeast Oklahoma City is the second poorest community

in our state. It has been designated as a “food desert,” limiting residents’ access to food and

fresh produce. This deficit creates higher rates of diet-related illnesses among both adults and

children and creates a barrier to improving physical and mental health. Food is a powerful

connector—to relationships, to services, and to HOPE. The Shidler- Wheeler Community Thrift

Store is the “HOPE” connector for over 200 community families by building relationships,

providing services, and fresh produce. Over 600 boxes of fresh produce, meat, and dairy

products are distributed to those in need each week.

The Impact Oklahoma Grant has the opportunity to bring HOPE to an underserved community

located in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City through the provision of a box truck for

donation pickups at local stores, as well as delivery to homebound and senior residents. It will

provide essential equipment to increase the capacity for food storage: a produce cooler.

commercial freezer and refrigerator. A forklift and pallet jack will create ease and efficiency in

loading and unloading over 2400 food boxes each month to clients seeking “a way” to put food

on their tables.

Visit us at Home | FaithWorks of The Inner City | Oklahoma City Nonprofit