2024 & 2025 ANNUAL REPORT
2024 & 2025 ANNUAL REPORT
Flying in Formation
Flying in Formation
“It is amazing that in the scheme of nature certain birds should patrol the air, others the fields, others the trees, others the forest-floor, and so on, so that all outdoors is, in a sense, cared for by our feathered friends. It has been said that our very existence depends upon these birds who make it possible for the trees, the flowers, and the grain-fields to grow. And all the while these same creatures are delighting us with their beautiful colors and their cheerful songs.”
GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON, An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania, 1928
Brant
Flocks of these small sea geese migrate long distances in arctic conditions, symbolizing heroic endurance and triumph.
These birds herald the new hope of spring and symbolize happiness, joy, and good fortune.
Eastern Bluebirds
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
FELLOW ORNITHOLOGISTS AND backyard birders alike treasured Dr. George Miksch Sutton during his lifetime. A keen nature observer, he published his first bird drawing at age eleven, and his enthusiasm for birds never waned.
Thanks to the generosity of our most significant philanthropic partner, Oklahoma City Community Foundation, along with the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center, we are shining a new light on Dr. Sutton’s watercolors throughout this report.
A longtime professor, Dr. Sutton enthusiastically taught generations of students and beckoned those he encountered to love nature—and life itself—as much as he did. One of his students, Andrew J. Berger, remembered him as a renaissance man, following his curiosity and caring deeply about people. His kindness to animals, as well as his love of art, literature, history, and music,
align with the values of the Kirkpatrick entities.
As we look back on these past two years, Dr. Sutton is a fitting pairing for our own Louisa McCune, longtime Kirkpatrick Foundation executive director, who passed away in 2024. A journalist by training, she, too, was exceptionally bright, interested in absolutely everything, and enamored with her work. Until the end, she strove with all her being for a better world. Everyone in our organization and the greater philanthropic community embraced Louisa, and she will be greatly missed.
The Kirkpatrick entities carry forward the banners first raised by our forebears: to care for one another and build up community. In everything we do, we seek to improve the quality of life for those in our communities—including animals. We are taking Louisa’s mission, to make Oklahoma the safest and most humane place to be an animal, and keeping it in the forefront of our minds.
Among our philanthropies, Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Kirkpatrick Foundation awarded more than $28 million in grants to hundreds of local nonprofits in their past two fiscal years.
The family fund has concentrated efforts in advancing workforce development through arts education. A growing number of studies in neuroscience and other fields are proving the arts to be a powerful tool for transforming individual lives and entire communities. (I recommend Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.) Meanwhile, the foundation has rallied behind nonprofit journalism outlets that have lost funding in recent years, supporting this critical element of democracy. We also celebrate Kelley Barnes as the foundation’s new executive director, leading with heart and cheer and moving important work forward.
For a new initiative in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, four organizations related to the Kirkpatrick family and Kirkpatrick philanthropies have formed the Arboretum Collaborative with a significant tree collection, considered a “living museum.” Red Ridge Nature Preserve, Park House, Mollie Spencer Farm, and Campbell Art Park (adjacent to Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center) are dedicated to advancing biodiversity and conservation as part of their work.
I’m proud to share that Kirkpatrick Bank celebrated fifty-five years in 2025 and opened a new full-service branch in the Denver Tech Center, complementing our main Colorado bank in Colorado Springs and a specialized office in Boulder. We at Kirkpatrick hold fast to stability and growth, as we have advanced $396 million to individuals and small businesses in the communities we serve. Kirkpatrick Oil Company, meanwhile, rides the fluctuations of market volatility with aplomb through a diversified portfolio and a strong history of hedging commodity risk. In the past two years, Kirkpatrick Oil has invested $6 million in energy exploration and acquired new opportunities for untapped potential.
These topics brush the surface of our work— read on for more of our recent highlights. Thank you for your interest and partnership in these endeavors, your commitment to the community, and your friendship. I appreciate the confidence that has been placed in me. Together, we are “Flying in Formation.” Join us as we fly forward.
CHRISTIAN KEESEE
Groove-Billed Ani
This social bird is known as an entertainer, moving and singing in amusing yet strategic ways. It values community and cooperation.
We support arts, culture, education, animal wellbeing, environmental conservation, and historic preservation, primarily in central Oklahoma.
White-Eared Hummingbird
The hummingbird symbolizes joy, adaptability, hope, and wonder.
Daffodils at Red Ridge Nature Preserve
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE BENEFITS OF “FLYING IN Formation” include efficiency, effective communication, and advanced navigation. It requires awareness, careful flight, and a leader who sets the course and pace. Christian Keesee, our leader, embodies the Kirkpatrick family motto, I mak sikkar “I’ll make sure.” His reputation as a visionary is well earned. He leads with encouragement, a keen intellect, a drive to make things better, humor, and care for the work and those around him.
True to the spirit of our founders, John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick, carried forward by Joan Kirkpatrick and continued today, the Scottish ideals of loyalty, hard work, and honesty remain at the forefront of the foundation’s work.
In August 2024, the foundation’s visionary executive director and our friend, Louisa McCune, took her sunset flight after a long illness with cancer. I was warmly welcomed, but one thing was clear—there was important and pressing work to do. And so, with a reconfigured formation, the team came together—with laser-like focus, committed to staying the course.
As you will read in the pages that follow, we work in the areas defined by our founders: animal wellbeing, historic preservation, arts and culture, education, and environmental conservation. These focus areas experienced drastic cuts in federal funding in 2025. While neither Kirkpatrick Foundation nor the broader philanthropic community can fill the gaps, we can support brave leaders, foster innovation, and encourage collaboration.
Our initiatives, partnerships, and grantmaking are strengthened by our internal programs: Red Ridge Nature Preserve, ArtDesk magazine,
the ANIMAL Conference, and, most recently, the Kirkpatrick Medal, which honors individuals who have created meaningful change aligned with the foundation’s mission.
Through our grantmaking, programs, research, and publications, we call attention to the disregard for animal care in industrial production systems, as well as the importance of environmental conservation and the protection of wildlife and their habitats. Locally, we established a collaboration with the City of Oklahoma City to engage partners in planning and taking decisive action to reduce pet overpopulation. These efforts will help ensure that the city’s new municipal shelter, slated to open in 2027, is positioned for success.
Red Ridge Nature Preserve, one of our portfolio’s largest and most ambitious projects, reflects the Kirkpatrick Foundation’s vision of connecting people to nature while fostering conservation and environmental stewardship. Located at the edge of the Cross Timbers, where the forest meets the prairie, the preserve serves as a living classroom and sanctuary for wildlife, offering opportunities for education and research. Red Ridge protects habitats and biodiversity and fosters a culture of care and responsibility for Oklahoma’s environment and wildlife, ensuring that the preserve’s impact remains lasting and meaningful.
Guided by the vision of our founders and strengthened by the dedication of our partners, grantees, trustees, and staff, Kirkpatrick Foundation remains committed to supporting the people and ideas shaping a strong and vibrant Oklahoma.
for what can be accomplished together. For more than seventy years, Kirkpatrick Foundation has championed bold ideas, encouraged creativity, and worked to improve the quality of life in central Oklahoma.
I look forward to leading and building upon a foundation of partnership and purpose, continuing the work our founders began, supporting the vision of our chairman, and ensuring that what we do is forward-thinking and meaningful for the communities we serve.
As we look ahead, we do so with gratitude for those who work alongside us and with optimism KELLEY BARNES
SHEVAUN WILLIAMS
HONORING CHANGE-MAKERS
IN 2024, KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION UNVEILED the Kirkpatrick Medal awards and celebrated the inaugural recipients, each representing outstanding contributions to the foundation’s focus areas of arts and culture, education, animal wellbeing, environmental conservation, and historic preservation.
Kirkpatrick Foundation Chairman Christian Keesee summarized the medal awards when he said, “It’s so nice to celebrate exceptional people and their outstanding contributions in a meaningful way. The work our partners do can be challenging, and we find so much joy in supporting and encouraging them.”
The awards were inspired by the foundation’s co-founder, Eleanor Kirkpatrick, and her daughter, Joan Kirkpatrick, who led the foundation in various capacities—from board member to president to board chair—between 1976 and 2008.
Recipients have a track record of passion, innovation, bravery, collaboration, and, perhaps most essentially, hard work and the desire to make things better. Each received a medal designed by sculptor Eugene Daub, a $2,500 honorarium, and a $50,000 endowment gift to the nonprofit of their choice at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. In November 2024, we recognized this exceptional group of change-makers at a dinner at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City.
ANIMAL WELLBEING
Harvey Payne
Wildlife Photographer
Images by wildlife and nature photographer Harvey Payne have appeared in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and books, including The New York Times and National Geographic. Payne was crucial to the development of the Nature Conservancy’s Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, where he served as director for eighteen years. Payne is a retired attorney and municipal judge, and he coordinates communications at the Tall Grass Prairie.
ARTS
Nan Sheets (Posthumously)
Painter, Printmaker, Museum Director
Artist, teacher, and arts advocate, Nannine Jane “Nan” Quick Sheets established the Oklahoma Art Center, a key predecessor of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. At the art center, she sourced and displayed as many as thirty exhibits a year. Her Oklahoma City home, the Elms, served as a salon for visiting artists and later became the commercial art gallery JRB Art at the Elms in the Paseo Arts District.
EDUCATION
Angela McKenna
Choral Director, Classen School of Advanced Studies
Vocal music teacher Angela McKenna has devoted over twenty years to helping young students find their voices. More than two hundred of McKenna’s students have earned places in All-Region and All-State Choirs in recent years, and she directs one hundred-plus additional students at the Studio J Performing Arts Center in Edmond. McKenna holds National Board Certification.
Foundation Chairman Christian Keesee honors Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Ed Brocksmith
Co-founder, Save the Illinois River
Ed Brocksmith co-founded Save the Illinois River in the early 1980s to protect northeast Oklahoma’s Flint Creek, Barren Fork Creek, and Lake Tenkiller, along with their tributaries. He was inspired to act after a permit allowed Fayetteville, Arkansas, to discharge treated sewage into the Illinois River watershed. This action led to a US Supreme Court decision in 1992, Oklahoma v. EPA, which established water quality rules to protect Oklahoma rivers from interstate water pollution.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Melvena Heisch
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, State Historic Preservation Office (Retired)
Melvena Heisch drafted legislation that created the state’s historic rehabilitation tax credit and led to the resurrection of the Skirvin Hotel. Heisch and her team oversaw programs ranging from assisting local governments with rehabilitation tax credits to working with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to recognize families who have farmed or ranched for at least one hundred years.
CULTURE
Bill Anoatubby
Governor, Chickasaw Nation
Bill Anoatubby has worked to preserve and share Chickasaw culture through artistic and educational programs and a world-renowned cultural center. Anoatubby has overseen the creation of businesses in a variety of industries, which fund Chickasaw programs that address aging, education, health care, and housing. The nation employs nearly fourteen thousand people, and the Chickasaw Foundation funds dozens of Oklahoma nonprofit organizations.
Left to right: Payne, Anoatubby, Heisch, Brocksmith, and McKenna
The historic Red Ridge Mansion at the nature preserve
Red Ridge Nature Preserve
A REFUGE IN THE URBAN CORE
RED RIDGE NATURE PRESERVE, a unique historical and botanical property in the heart of Oklahoma City, is a rare Cross Timbers ecosystem that has captured the hearts of Oklahoma City residents and propelled local conservation and stewardship efforts.
In August 2023, Kirkpatrick Family Fund Real Estate purchased 133 acres at NE 50th Street and Lincoln Boulevard from the Commissioners of the Land Office. Kirkpatrick Foundation, along with the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and the Christian Keesee Charitable Trust, is ensuring this distinctive corridor is safeguarded for nature now and for future generations.
Nature preserves are quiet landscapes where conservation is paramount. Studies confirm that large urban green spaces, with minimal human disturbance, pay dividends to their surroundings—improving air and water quality, lowering temperatures, and mitigating the urban heat island effect. Protected habitats safeguard ecosystems, provide a home for wildlife, and create opportunities for scientific research.
Meet the Deputy Director
Lance Swearengin was hired as deputy director of Red Ridge in May 2024. He has worked to preserve and protect the property while growing the nonprofit organization. Red Ridge’s new logo features a geometric yellow daffodil as a nod to the heirloom daffodils planted across the property by homesteader Sadie Cason Edwards, wife of R. J. Edwards.
The Kirkpatrick philanthropies have safeguarded the land from development and are working to restore the native habitat and reduce invasive species.
Rendering of a planned gate at Red Ridge Nature Preserve
Red Ridge luncheon
Red Ridge luncheon
Conservation Partners
Conservation partners are essential to our mission of preserving plants, animals, and habitats. The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden assists with our annual spring bioblitz, and the Oklahoma Ornithological Society and Oklahoma Audubon Society help count bird species to document Red Ridge’s biodiversity. Other key partners, such as the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, are developing a conservation and grazing plan to restore habitat and manage invasive species, including Chinese privet, eastern red cedar, and Johnson grass.
Stewardship Center
Over the past year, our strategic plan has begun to take shape, laying the groundwork to minimize the developed footprint and protect nature to the greatest extent possible. We introduced our plans for a stewardship center at our inaugural spring luncheon in April 2025. The center will house operations and nature education, as well as provide opportunities for scientific research. Our guiding principle stands strong: nature comes first at Red Ridge.
Sadie’s Daffodils
After the Red Ridge Mansion was built in 1933, Sadie Cason Edwards would ride in her opentop car, driven by her chauffeur, throwing daffodil bulbs out the top along the long, winding roads and driveway. Her chauffeur returned to plant the bulbs where they landed. Her gloriously unorthodox methodology yielded vibrant fields of naturalized daffodils blanketing areas along the roadway, in pastures, and around the homes on the property. Her sunny legacy blooms to this day.
Daffodils at Red Ridge
Red Ridge luncheon
Millwood High School band at the inaugural Red Ridge luncheon
A TWENTY-YEAR PLAN FOR ANIMALS
SAFE & HUMANE IS AN ANIMAL wellbeing initiative launched by Kirkpatrick Foundation in 2012. Our focus is to improve the lives of animals in our state, making Oklahoma the safest and most humane place to be an animal by 2032. Significant milestones for Oklahoma animals in the past two years include an eye-opening publication on the negative effects of pigs living in extreme confinement, a new volunteer-driven advocacy group uniting animal welfare proponents, and the fourth ANIMAL Conference, which welcomed 150 passionate champions. We also collaborated with the City of Oklahoma City to bring together animal welfare organizations and launch an initiative to address the overpopulation of cats and dogs. In 2024, the Oklahoma Animal Coalition was established as a volunteer-driven advocacy group, bringing together animal welfare leaders from across the state.
The Way Forward
In June 2024, the foundation released The Way Forward, a fifty-page booklet revealing the grim reality of the more than 450,000 pregnant pigs confined in small gestation crates across Oklahoma. Distributed in The Oklahoman and The New York Times, the report exposed an industry stuck in the past. While 40 percent of US sows live in humane group housing, Oklahoma’s farms remain dominated by foreign-owned companies still using gestation crates. With demand from major food companies such as McDonald’s, Target, Wendy’s, and Burger King, hundreds of large-scale pig operations across the Midwest have successfully moved to group sow housing. The report made it clear: moving away from intensive confinement operations is not only good for the pigs but also good for Oklahoma’s economy and people.
Buddy Clements of Clinton, Oklahoma, in 1956
Oklahomans have a long history of caring for pigs and sheep on family-owned farms. That all changed with the arrival of industrial-scale agriculture in the 1990s. It’s time for Oklahoma pork producers to free the pigs and end the inhumane treatment of animals.
With The Way Forward, the Kirkpatrick Foundation calls for pigs to be raised outside of cramped gestation crates, where they don’t even have room to turn around.
The Oklahoma City Louisa McCune Animal Welfare Center
A new Oklahoma City animal welfare center, named for Louisa McCune, Kirkpatrick Foundation’s executive director who died in 2024, will significantly strengthen the work of OKC Together for Pets. When Oklahoma City broke ground in February 2025, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt recalled McCune’s bold 2018 campaign, “Paws for MAPS 4,” to secure funding for the shelter. Replacing the outdated 2001 facility, the center will expand space for adoptions, kennels, and veterinary care—enabling staff to better serve the city’s animals and their owners.
Architect’s rendering of the Oklahoma City Louisa McCune Animal Welfare Center
Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital, Celebrating Ten Years
In 2015, Kirkpatrick Foundation donated $1 million to help establish the Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital at the Oklahoma City Zoo in honor of the late Joan Kirkpatrick, who led the foundation as board member, president, and board chair. Since then, the twenty-thousandsquare-foot facility has become the heart of animal health at the zoo.
The outstanding care provided by the zoo has translated into a remarkable baby boom. In 2024 and 2025, newborn animals included an endangered François’ langur, an Asian elephant, an okapi, a zebra, and a giraffe. These new residents bring energy, hope, and a spotlight on the zoo’s mission to protect species and the habitats they call home.
ANIMAL Conference
The fourth ANIMAL Conference at the Oklahoma City Zoo in October 2024 united advocates, leaders, and volunteers from across the state in a shared commitment to animal welfare. Speakers included Katie Hawk from the Oklahoma Monarch Society and former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. Sessions addressed urgent issues, including the condition of Oklahoma’s animal shelters and the ethical implications of gestation crates for female pigs. The conference culminated with a keynote from biologist Doug Smith, renowned for leading the Yellowstone National Park wolf reintroduction project. Attendees drew inspiration from one another’s work and returned to their communities motivated to continue making a difference for animals.
While networking at the conference, representatives from the Oklahoma City Zoo, WildCare Oklahoma, and animal advocacy organizations from across Oklahoma discussed unifying animal welfare efforts statewide. The Oklahoma Animal Coalition later held its first official meeting and collaborated on two significant initiatives in 2025. The group contributed to an interim legislative study that examined the operational challenges and capacities of Oklahoma’s animal shelters. It also spearheaded Lights Out Oklahoma, a campaign to reduce nighttime artificial lighting to make the environment safer for migrating birds. The coalition continues to foster cross-sector collaboration and evidence-based approaches to improve the lives of animals.
OKC Together for Pets
The City of Oklahoma City and Kirkpatrick Foundation launched a collective impact effort in 2025 to create lasting change for animals, their people, and the organizations that serve them. OKC Together for Pets is working to reduce pet homelessness through early and equitable intervention, keep pets and families together without relying solely on shelters, foster collaboration through shared infrastructure and data, and improve both animal and human wellbeing by recognizing their deep interdependence. The result will be a movement toward a compassionate, coordinated, and effective approach to animal welfare.
Inger Giuffrida, WildCare Oklahoma executive director, at an Oklahoma Animal Coalition meeting
Katie Hawk, executive director of Oklahoma Monarch Society, speaks at ANIMAL 2024.
MEETING THE MOMENT
FOR MORE THAN TWELVE YEARS, CHANGE and growth are two concepts that ArtDesk magazine has embraced. The editorial board and staff regularly ask, What else can we do?, What makes this interesting?, and What would be better?
Initially envisioned on a park bench in Marfa, Texas, in a conversation between Louisa McCune and Christian Keesee, ArtDesk was born with a simple phrase, “Let’s make contemporary art accessible to everybody.”
Over the past two years, the magazine has introduced new ideas while never straying from our ideals. In 2025, the magazine’s editorial scope expanded to include investigative news stories through partnerships with nonprofit news outlets The Frontier and Investigate Midwest . These stories are in-depth features on subjects ranging from the lack of arts funding in Oklahoma public schools to pollution from poultry factory farms
in the Illinois River to foreign ownership of land in rural Oklahoma.
ArtDesk has taken its readership global with features on American Mississippi Choctaw Cherokee painter and sculptor Jeffrey Gibson at the Venice Biennale and contemporary land artist James Tapscott, whose work Arc ZERO appeared at Green Box Arts Festival. Covers have included major contemporary artist Jenny Holzer’s blockbuster exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, Gillian Murphy’s final bow after twenty-nine years onstage for American Ballet Theatre, and the artwork of Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, whose first major retrospective at Oklahoma Contemporary drew record crowds.
ArtDesk Conversations, our ongoing series of panel discussions, artist talks, and gatherings curated to spark dialogue and connection, also expanded. In 2024, Pulitzer Prize-winning
television critic Emily Nussbaum and novelist Andrew Krivak participated in ArtDesk Conversations at the annual Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. The magazine, in conjunction with National Public Radio affiliate KOSU, hosted a sold-out conversation in November 2025 with All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly. The conversation series has evolved to feature gatherings of contemporary artists, performers, and thinkers, with a July 2025 luncheon at the Santa Fe Opera with Robert Meya, general director, and Oklahoma City artists and friends, and a reception in December 2025 in South Beach, celebrating Miami Art Week.
ArtDesk prints eighty-two thousand copies each quarter and has added more than forty new distribution points, including museums in Arkansas, Colorado, and Texas, and four new school districts in the Oklahoma City area.
SHANE BEVEL
ANDREA JOHNSON
ArtDesk debuted its collaboration with Oklahoma nonprofit news organization The Frontier in 2025 with a report titled “Ill River, ” about contamination of the Illinois River by poultry farms.
An Oklahoma City Zoo grizzly bear featured in a community volunteer highlight
CLYFFORD STILL
PH-272 (1950)
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado
BOLSTERING THE FOURTH ESTATE
AT KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION, WE believe a healthy, free, and independent press is foundational to an informed citizenry, ensuring a free exchange of ideas, strengthening democratic participation, creating accountability for public and elected officials, and serving the public interest.
As traditional revenue models continue to erode, combined with the recent elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting, philanthropy has become an increasingly important source of support for nonprofit journalism organizations.
During the last two years, Kirkpatrick Foundation has invested in investigative and watchdog reporting, pro bono legal support for journalists, infrastructure improvements for public radio, collaborative efforts to create new models of production and distribution, and internships for student journalists. In ArtDesk magazine, our quarterly publication dedicated to contemporary arts, performance, and thought, we have initiated collaborative partnerships with Oklahoma online news organizations that have reported on environmental issues, lack of arts funding in public schools, and foreign ownership of state lands.
“As media corporations consolidate—diminishing the independent voices of writers and
reporters—strengthening local, regional, and national reporting is more important than ever,” said Kelley Barnes, Kirkpatrick Foundation executive director. “We will continue to support media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence.”
Grants to Nonprofit
Journalism Organizations in 2024–2025
• Frontier Media Group
• KGOU
• KOSU
• Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
• Oklahoma Media Center
• Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
• Oklahoma Watch
• Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press
• Sustainable Journalism Foundation
dba NonDoc Media
• The Independent View
NPR All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with KOSU Executive Director Rachel Hubbard in an ArtDesk Conversation at Oklahoma City Community College in 2025.
MITCH
Environment and science reporter Chloe Bennett-Steele at KOSU Radio
Mary Louise Kelly of NPR
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
Founded in 1959, the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation is dedicated to strengthening the state’s newspaper industry and quality of journalism. Through its annual internship program, the foundation promotes the value of working in Oklahoma news organizations while fostering college students beginning their professional careers. Support from Kirkpatrick Foundation made it possible to place summer interns in Oklahoma newsrooms where they received mentorship, constructive feedback, and hands-on experience from professional journalists. In smaller community news outlets, interns not only gain invaluable training but also help preserve resources while ensuring critical news coverage.
Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press
With the sole purpose of providing pro bono legal services to journalists, the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press safeguards the right to gather and report news. Our grant funds supported the organization’s work to hold government accountable and protect access to public records, meetings, and courtrooms. By defending the principles of free speech and unfettered press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, the committee ensures journalists in Oklahoma can pursue enterprise and investigative reporting without unnecessary obstruction. Legal action has been undertaken on behalf of Oklahoma news organizations to ensure transparency as they seek access to public records to conduct their work.
Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
As an independent nonprofit newsroom, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting serves the public as an independent watchdog dedicated to covering powerful agribusinesses through investigative, data-driven journalism. With a focus on the animal agriculture industry, including the impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and meatpacking plants, the center produces stories to inform the public, amplify underrepresented voices, and advance the importance of building a more humane and sustainable food system.
GIVING WITH PURPOSE
SINCE ITS BEGINNING IN 1955, KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION HAS worked to improve the quality of life in our community and create lasting impact. During the past two years, grants totaling $5,011,323 supported 207 projects. As a result of strategic and sound financial investments—and a focus on the long term—our grant portfolio has increased over time. Founders John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick centered the work on a clear directive: improving life for people and animals and fostering care for natural and built environments. We remain dedicated to their principles.
Kirkpatrick Foundation grantmaking addresses five areas: arts and culture, education, animal wellbeing, environmental conservation, and historic preservation. Recent federal cuts have affected our areas of interest. While philanthropy alone cannot bridge these monumental funding gaps, we will continue consistent support, standing alongside partners and emboldening leaders.
We are pleased to share a sample of our investments made through grantmaking.
Unwanted, small senior dogs with chronic health conditions live their days in the best way possible at Happy Dog Farm in Jones, Oklahoma.
HOPE Crew
Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE) Crew, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, seeks to deepen historic preservation education by having youth learn the specific trades and craftsmanship required to restore historic sites. With support from Kirkpatrick Foundation, twenty students from Mid-Del Technology Center and Guthrie Job Corps acquired hands-on experience in preservation masonry while working on the W. H. Slaughter House in northeast Oklahoma City.
Paseo Artists Association
As the historic heart of the Oklahoma City arts community, the Paseo Arts District has a long and colorful history. Paseo Artists Association is telling that story in a forthcoming book. From dairy farm to failed shopping center to the arts district that it is today, documenting the history of this unique area preserves the cultural heritage and identity of this community. Recognizing the legacy of the Paseo Arts District provides educational insight while inspiring future generations of artists and creators.
ANIMAL WELLBEING EDUCATION
Center for a Humane Economy
Kirkpatrick Foundation support for animals extends beyond the world of shelters, rescues, and sanctuaries. From animal cruelty law enforcement to ending the extreme confinement of pigs and egg-laying hens, a grant to the Center for a Humane Economy will help support grassroots efforts to end cruelty to animals, which occurs in many forms, including cockfighting, testing, puppy mills, greyhound racing, and trophy hunting.
OK Messages Project and Friends for Folks
OK Messages Project, a literacy initiative, alleviates the adverse effect of parental incarceration. In the Friends for Folks program, Oklahoma correctional inmates train abandoned and abused dogs as companions for special needs owners. The two groups teamed up to provide four hundred copies of the bestselling children’s book Sarge: The Veteran’s Best Friend, by John Otto, DVM, and Payton Otto of Norman, for a reading at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center as a Christmas gift to children of incarcerated parents.
Alpha Community Foundation
In 2022, Alpha Community Foundation transformed a vacant elementary school in northeast Oklahoma City into the Garden Oaks Community Center. Hundreds of nearby students now have access to after-school tutoring, mentoring, STEAM camps, and more. A grant from Kirkpatrick Foundation helped launch the learning initiatives, which are offered to improve health outcomes, expand educational opportunities, promote civic engagement, and provide direct support to those in need.
Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation
Kirkpatrick Foundation supports two initiatives benefiting Oklahoma City Public Schools. The Teacher Pipeline Program helps paraprofessionals and recent district graduates earn their degrees and become certified classroom teachers. ReadOKC On the Go! Book Buses visit each school in the district, and each student chooses a book to take home.
University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health
A research team from the Departments of Occupational and Environmental Health and Biostatistics and Epidemiology is assessing the environmental and public health impacts of extreme animal confinement to quantify the effects of this practice on the air, water, and soil quality of the surrounding areas. They are sampling surface water, as well as municipal wastewater, through partnerships with approximately fifteen poultry and swine operations representing Oklahoma farms.
The Nature Conservancy
The Oklahoma chapter manages more than 120,000 acres on fifteen preserves throughout the state. Kirkpatrick Foundation supports infrastructural improvements and conservation easements with private landowners for Pearl Jackson Crosstimbers Preserve, a 12,000-acre mosaic of tall grass prairie and oak woodlands, and the Flint Hills Initiative, a project to conserve 165,000 acres of this bountiful wildlife habitat.
ARTS & CULTURE
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Reference Library
This collection in the downtown Oklahoma City branch of the Metropolitan Library System features artist biographies, exhibit catalogs, overviews of art history, and highlights of specific movements in art history. The materials are gifted to the library by Kirkpatrick Foundation on an ongoing basis and supported by a grant to the Library Endowment Trust to expand the collection and offer programming to the community.
Santa Fe Opera
Kirkpatrick Foundation’s grant to the Santa Fe Opera helps to increase audiences through Opera in the Park and Opera on Screen, which provides a cinematic experience of opera performances in rural areas of New Mexico. The opera will expand beyond New Mexico for the first time in 2026, taking its broadcast of La bohème to the annual summer arts festival Green Box, in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Music Will teaches students to play, perform, improvise, and compose using popular music that students choose.
KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION GRANTS
In 2024–2025, Kirkpatrick Foundation granted $5,011,323, supporting 207 projects.
ANIMAL WELLBEING
1 Day Ranch Rescue
A Lab for Life
The Accountability Board
All Paws Rescue
Altus Animal Welfare Association
Americans for Oxford Animal Grantmakers
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Bella Foundation SPCA
Best Friends Animal Society
Center for a Humane Economy City Care
Crisis Control Center
Dogs on Deployment
Faunalytics
Free t o Live
Friends for Folks
Friends of the Shelter Foundation
Friends with Four Paws
Good Dogma
Greater Good
Happy Dog Farm Foundation
Horse and Hound Rescue
Foundation
House of Healing
The Humane League
Humane Society of Tulsa
King of Kings Lutheran
Church LCMS
Luvin Pawz Rescue
Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa
Misfits of Oz Farm Sanctuary
Morris Animal Foundation
Nexus Equine
Oklahoma Engineering Foundation
Oklahoma Humane Society
Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary
Oklahoma Zoological Society
Oliver and Friends
Farm Sanctuary
OU Medicine
Patrons of the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter
Pets and People Humane Society
Savannah Station Therapeutic Riding Program
Saving Pets at Risk
Second Chance
Thoroughbred Athletes
Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue
University of Oklahoma Foundation
WildCare Foundation
ARTS & CULTURE
A to Z Productions
Aalim Dance Academy
Austin Hartel Dance Company
Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County
Canterbury Voices
Central Oklahoma Dance Company
Cimarron Circuit Opera Company
Collective Arts Productions
Friends of the Upper East Side
Jazz in June
KCSC Classical Radio Foundation
Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma
Metro Youth Theatre of Oklahoma
Metropolitan School of Dance
MPT Foundation
Namron Players Theatre
NewView Oklahoma
Norman Arts and Humanities Council
Norman Ballet Company
Norman Cultural Connection
Oklahoma Arts Institute
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Oklahoma Music Educators Association
Oklahoma Philharmonic Society
Opry Heritage Foundation of Oklahoma
The Performing Arts Studio
Pollard Theatre Company
Prairie Dance Theatre
RACE Dance Collective
Santa Fe Opera
Scissortail Park Foundation
Scissortail Productions
Southern Plains Productions
Southmoore Theatre Foundation
Southwestern Oklahoma State
University Foundation
Techlahoma Foundation
Teen Recovery Solutions
United Scottish Clans of Oklahoma
Watonga Community Theatre
EDUCATION
Alpha Community Foundation of Oklahoma
American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma Foundation
The Arc of Oklahoma
Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians
Autism Foundation of Oklahoma
Beta Eta Lambda Scholarship Foundation
Black Liberated Arts Center
Chisholm Trail Heritage Center Association
Class Matters
Communities Foundation of Oklahoma
Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries of Oklahoma
Cristo Rey Oklahoma City
Catholic High School
Dove Schools
El Sistema Oklahoma
Frontier Media Group
Generation Citizen
Goddard Youth Foundation
Great Expectations Foundation
Guide Dogs of the Desert
Harding Fine Arts Academy Foundation
Human Animal Link of Oklahoma Foundation
Jubilee Partners Association
Leadership Oklahoma League of Women Voters of Oklahoma
Library Endowment Trust of the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County
Lilyfield
Loveworks Leadership
Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Millwood Public Schools
Music Will
Myriad Gardens Foundation
National Inventors Hall of Fame
OK Alliance for Arts
OK Music Educators
Oklahoma City Community College Foundation
Oklahoma City Police Athletic League
Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma Lawyers for Children
Oklahoma Media Center
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild
Oklahoma School of Science & Mathematics Foundation
Oklahoma State University Foundation
Oklahoma Watch
Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County
Pets Helping People
Piedmont Public Schools
Education Foundation
Putnam City Public Schools Foundation
Raising a Reader
Redeeming the Family
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
RestoreOKC
Seas the Day Mobile Library
Sustainable Journalism Foundation dba NonDoc Media
Trinity School
University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma Foundation
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Colorado Reptile Humane Society
The Nature Conservancy
Oklahoma Association for
Environmental Education
Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts
Oklahoma Clean Lakes and Watershed Association
Oklahoma Monarch Society
Spring Creek Coalition
University of Arkansas Foundation
Warriors to Bees
YMCA of Greater Oklahoma
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Edmond Historical Society
Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Paseo Artists Association
Prague Historical Society
Weavers Guild of Oklahoma City
At Camp Invention from the National Inventors Hall of Fame, local teachers directed STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Christian Keesee, Chairman
Max Weitzenhoffer, President
Rebecca McCubbin, Vice President
Joy Reed Belt, Secretary
Robert Clements, Treasurer
Robert Anthony
Aimee Harlow
Henry Hood
Amanda Kirkpatrick-Lawler
George Records
Glenna Tanenbaum
Elizabeth K. Eickman, Adviser
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kelley Barnes
RED RIDGE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Christian Keesee, Chairman
Elizabeth K. Eickman, Secretary
Kelley Barnes, Treasurer
RED RIDGE DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Lance Swearengin
KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION STAFF
Kelley Barnes, Executive Director
Paris Burris, Editorial Assistant, ArtDesk
Brian Craven, Accountant
Susan Grossman, Senior Program Officer
Manda Overturf Shank, Program Officer
April Marciszewski, Kirkpatrick Senior Editor
Alana Ruiz de la Peña, Managing Editor, ArtDesk
Senka Stevenson, Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Owen Weitzenhoffer, Arts and Culture Associate
“At Kirkpatrick Foundation, we are actively going out and seeking change in the way animals are treated in Oklahoma. We should all be kind to each other and to our fellow earthlings. As philosopher Peter Singer said: ‘There’s no reason to say humans have more worth or moral status than animals. We have to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.’”
—Christian Keesee, Chairman
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1001 W. Wilshire Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116 (405) 767-3702
kirkpatrickfoundation.com
1001 W. Wilshire Boulevard
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116 (405) 608-0934
Christian Keesee Charitable Trust
1001 W. Wilshire Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116 (405) 842-3827
kirkpatrickoil.com
1001 W. Wilshire Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116 (405) 840-2882
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Main Branch
15 E. 15th Street Edmond, Oklahoma 73013 (405) 341-8222
Business Banking Center
5801 N. Broadway Extension Paragon Building, Suite 101 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118 (405) 241-0805
Oklahoma City
222 Northwest 63rd Street Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116 (405) 254-2510
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2245 W. Danforth Road Edmond, Oklahoma 73003 (405) 348-3200
Colorado Springs
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Denver Tech Center
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Westcliffe
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A new acquisition: Audrey Hepburn dancing with Fred Astaire on the set of “Funny Face,” March 28, 1957, detail, by Richard Avedon. Gelatin silver print, 2003.
Our purpose is to improve the lives of the people and animal friends in the communities we serve.
ZOOLOGY PROFESSOR, AVIAN ARTIST, AND author George Miksch Sutton was a dear friend of John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick. Their paths crossed during Sutton’s long tenure at the University of Oklahoma.
In the late 1970s, Sutton donated seventy-five paintings of Mexican birds to the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City, some of which are represented in these pages, in the company of several pieces from the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
The Kirkpatrick philanthropies and companies extend a special thank-you to Oklahoma City Community Foundation and President & CEO Trisha Finnegan for helping to bring the Sutton artwork back to life for future generations to enjoy.
THE GEORGE SUTTON ARTWORK ON THE OPENING SPREAD AND OPPOSITE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAN REINKING, SENIOR BIOLOGIST, GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON AVIAN RESEARCH CENTER. WE EXTEND OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR THE USE OF THIS ARTWORK.
2024 & 2025 Annual Report
Sarge: The Veteran’s Best Friend (Otto and Otto) 57
Sheets, Nan 42
Still, Clyfford, PH-272 (1950) 53
Sutton, George Miksch 6, 108
An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania, 1928 [2] bird illustrations and symbolism [2–3], 4, 7, 39
“Flying in Formation” theme [2], 6, 41 Swearengin, Lance 45
Tapscott, James, ArcZERO 52 University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health 58 urban green spaces, value of 45
KIRKPATRICK FAMILY FUND
KIRKPATRICK FOUNDATION
CHRISTIAN KEESEE CHARITABLE TRUST
KIRKPATRICK BANK
KIRKPATRICK OIL COMPANY