April 2022

Strategic Planning Design Webinar Tuesday, April 26, 10:00 a.m. Join Oklahoma School Foundations Network Director Katy Leffel and Edmond Public Schools Foundation Executive Director Deanna Boston to talk about the importance of strategic planning to school foundation success, and how your foundation can use a strategic plan as a powerful communication and fundraising tool. Learn how to leverage free, widely available technology tools like Zoom and Google Suite to survey stakeholders, review and prioritize goals based on survey feedback and design a virtual, hybrid or in-person planning session that maximizes time spent on constructive tasks. Customizing a process that works for your foundation can be a game changer. Katy and Deanna will share the story of how the Edmond Public Schools Foundation board held a successful, completely virtual planning session in January 2021 at the height of the pandemic by designing a process utilizing these free technology tools.

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School Foundation Support for Homeless Students: A Panel Discussion Webinar Tuesday, May 10, 10:00 a.m. How can public school foundations advocate for and support homeless students? Join OSFN Director Katy Leffel in a discussion on this important topic with Mid-Del Public Schools Foundation Director Lindse Barks and Moore Public Schools Foundation Director Clayton Ramick. The Moore and Mid-Del foundations are both engaged in homeless student support and will share background on how they got started and the actions they are taking to make an impact.

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Register to Attend the 2022 Academic Awards Banquet Five outstanding Oklahoma educators will be honored along with 100 of the state’s top public high school seniors when the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence hosts its 36th annual Academic Awards Celebration at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel, 100 Oklahoma City Blvd. The gala banquet, which has been described as the “Academy Awards of public education in Oklahoma,” will feature a keynote address by violinist and arts education advocate Vijay Gupta. Gupta is the founder and artistic director of Street Symphony, a nonprofit organization providing musical engagement, dialogue and teaching artistry for homeless and incarcerated communities in Los Angeles. Former Tulsa television news anchor Scott Thompson – an Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence trustee – will serve as the emcee for the evening ceremony honoring "the best of the best" in Oklahoma's public schools. The event will also feature musical entertainment by the Oklahoma Arts Institute Orchestra. Admission is $65 per person. Reservations are limited and can be made online at www.ofe.org. The ceremony will be broadcast statewide on OETA public television at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 28, and at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 29.

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On-Call Help for Foundations Oklahoma School Foundations Network Director Katy Leffel provides FREE on-call help to all Oklahoma foundations. Have a question or need a sample document? Call or email Katy for support: (405) 922-5420, kleffel@ofe.org. Katy is also available to lead board retreats and strategic planning sessions.

The Oklahoma School Foundations Network is a program of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Follow us on Facebook, and find more information at www.ofe.org.