In 1989, the Kirkpatrick Family Fund made its first grant to establish City Arts Center, now known as Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. Since 1989, Oklahoma Contemporary has been dedicated to encouraging artistic expression through education and exhibitions, instilling a lifetime appreciation of the arts and an enthusiasm for creative practice.

In 2012, the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Oklahoma Contemporary acquired 4.5 acres of land in downtown Oklahoma City that will become the new location for the organization. Projected to open in 2019, the arts campus will be a distinctive gateway to Automobile Alley in downtown Oklahoma City, located at Northwest 11th Street and North Broadway Drive. Located in the newly-named Innovation District, Oklahoma Contemporary's new home will allow the organization to expand its programs featuring the work of contemporary artists. A wide variety of educational experiences will promote learning through a cycle of creating, inquiring, appreciating, and celebrating the art of our time.

The new Oklahoma Contemporary and its Campbell Art Park will be a symbol of the cultural aspirations of Oklahoma City and a regional contemporary art destination.

To learn more about Oklahoma Contemporary and its new building, click here.

The Kirkpatrick Family Fund recognizes teen pregnancy as a critical social, health and economic issue. Children born to a teen parent are at higher risk for persistent poverty, abuse and neglect, health and mental health issues, and problems in school. Oklahoma has the second-highest (worst) teen birth rate for 15- to 19- year olds in the U.S. and one out of every five teen births in the state is in Oklahoma County.

The Kirkpatrick Family Fund has provided significant leadership and financial support to reduce the teen birth rate in Oklahoma County. Initiatives funded by the Kirkpatrick Family Fund have lent support to broader public/private effort, which has resulted in lowering the birth rate for teens ages 15 – 19 by 17% in Oklahoma County between 2015 and 2016. This decline can be credited to expanded programs and collaboration between service providers, community partners, and civic and faith-based leaders to provide comprehensive, age-appropriate, evidence-based initiatives in central Oklahoma.

As a Matter of Fact – Central Oklahoma’s Plan to Reduce Teen Pregnancy is a report on the planning process of this united group of community partners, government agencies and service providers to make teen pregnancy prevention a priority. The plan addresses a bold goal: to reduce teen births in central Oklahoma by 33% by the year 2020.

One of the oldest pieces of continually owned family real estate in Oklahoma, the Mollie Spencer Farm, formerly Kirkpatrick Family Farm, in Yukon, OK is owned by the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and is managed for the benefit of the community, ensuring protection of the property for public use and wildlife protection for generations to come.

The 33-acre Spencer Homestead, or what is now known today as the Mollie Spencer Farm, was purchased on December 21, 1894 by Mollie Spencer, whose husband, L. M. Spencer, and brother-in-law, A. N. Spencer, founded the town of Yukon in 1891. She was also the grandmother of John Kirkpatrick, and great-great grandmother to his grandson Christian Keesee, who has owned the farm for 40 years.

Enjoyed by thousands annually during festivals such as the Chisholm Trail Historical Preservation Society’s Easter on the Prairie and the Chisholm Trail Festival, the Mollie Spencer Farm has played host to annual events for the past several decades. Located on the original Chisholm Trail, the Farm serves to educate the community on prairie living during this post-Civil War cattle drive era. Families have enjoyed participating in activities of the period, farm animals, food, dance, music, and demonstrations of traditional cowboy culture, such as gunfight reenactments and blacksmithing. The annual Iron Thistle Scottish Festival at the Farm is a unique celebration of Celtic culture, complete with music, dance, food, heavy athletic competitions, and sheepherding demonstrations.

For more information please visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/molliespencerfarm