Tulsa World: Thank you for living United

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Thank you for living United

THANK YOU
Mark. R. Graham: Citizens, like you, make Tulsa such a unique community to live in. You are making Tulsa better for our future generations.

By MARK R. GRAHAM
Published: 12/20/2008 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 12/20/2008 3:18 AM

This year, the Tulsa Area United Way exceeded our goal by raising $24,001,223 for our 63 agencies. What a remarkable achievement.

Yet, that's what people here in the Tulsa area do so well and so often — we give with compassionate hearts to help take care of those in need.

There would have been plenty of reasons for not reaching our $23.9 million goal. The year 2008 has been somewhat of a "perfect storm," beginning with the ice storm aftermath, moving into the roller-coaster ride of $4-a-gallon gasoline and ending with global economic uncertainty. Factor in the focus of the nation on a historic presidential election, and our citizens could have easily opted to sit this campaign out. But they didn't.

Tulsa's generosity is legendary because its spirit of giving goes back far beyond United Way to the days of its founding fathers and has since grown tremendously over the decades. Early leaders cared about our city and its future. Most importantly, they cared about the people, and that's still evident today.

Historically, the Tulsa Area United Way is in the top 10 percent of United Ways in the country, raising more dollars than other vibrant cities with even greater populations such as Austin, Fort Worth, Orlando, Portland and San Diego. As 2009 begins our 85th year, our United Way has contributed more than $500 million to the Tulsa area since its humble beginnings as the Tulsa Community Fund.

We're so grateful to the more than 60,000 generous individual donors and corporate givers from

all walks of life who made this campaign a success. Traditionally, Tulsa truly has a spirit that unites this city. And our history is abundant with leaders who have had a willingness to turn Tulsa into one of the most philanthropic cities in the United States.

In addition to the individual donors and corporations, we have incredible Tulsa foundations, those started by our early leaders to those founded by the next generation, all making a difference today. Foundation leaders with family names known to all of us — Zarrow, Kaiser, Helmerich, Schusterman and Chapman to name just a few — help tackle pressing human needs, such as improving the lives of the mentally ill, eliminating homelessness, providing early-start educational and developmental opportunities for our youth and helping improve the overall quality of life for all Tulsans.

It's true that Oklahomans take care of Oklahomans. In fact, The Foundation Center ranked Oklahoma 28th in the U.S. for total foundation giving in 2006.

Additionally, on a per capita basis, foundation giving has placed Oklahoma 25th nationally, leading Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Kansas and 20 other states.

To quote Waite Phillips, one of our early philanthropists, "The only things we keep permanently are the things we give away."

Each and every one of you who contribute to the United Way and a host of other nonprofits, have taken that step — to help another in a time of need. Citizens, like you, make Tulsa such a unique community to live in. You are making Tulsa better for our future generations.

And for that we say again, "Thank you for living United."

Mark R. Graham is president and CEO of the Tulsa Area United Way.

By MARK R. GRAHAM

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