What Does the Judith and Jean Pape Adams Foundation Support in Oklahoma?
/
University of College/shutterstock
In and around Tulsa, Oklahoma, the name Pape is closely associated with the arts community. Maude B. Pape became a devoted patron of the arts in Tulsa after moving there with her husband for his job with the Selby Oil Company. Jean Pape Adams was their daughter, an accomplished pianist, art collector and world traveler. Jean also had a daughter, Judith Pape Adams, who was a painter, potter, gardener and talented cook. Although all three inspiring women have passed away, their legacy remains through the Judith and Jean Pape Adams Foundation.
Since this foundation does not have a website to guide grantseekers, here are some basic facts about this funder and what it donates to locally in Oklahoma.
Funding for the arts
The Pape Adams Foundation has been heavily involved with the University of Tulsa, where Jean Pape Adams received her bachelor's degree in 1933. Arts programs affiliated with the university have steadily received the Pape family’s support. Jean’s sister, Patsy Savage, was active with the university’s arts community after Judith and Jean both passed away, contributing to the McFarlin Fellows, Gilcrease Museum and other university projects.
There is part of a performance center at the university named after Judith and Jean, and their foundation funded a new scholarship endowment for arts management students there as well. Beyond university-related funding, the foundation has supported Living Arts of Tulsa and the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa.
A commitment to ALS research and treatment
Aside from the arts, the Pape Adams Foundation is also a huge supporter of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research to help people who suffer from this nervous system disease, which affects the connection between the brain and muscles. Judith Pape Adams suffered from ALS and died in 1996. The foundation has committed to awarding at least one-third of its grants to ALS research that is innovative, collaborative and takes an aggressive approach to discovering causes and cures.
Meanwhile, the foundation funds other nonprofit needs related to health, human services and youth. Some recent grantees include Emergency Infant Services, Family & Children’s Services and Discovery Lab — all Tulsa-based organizations. Fredericksburg, Texas is another place of interest for this foundation, with grantees that include the Hill Country Community Needs Council, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church and Gillespie County Historical Society.
Approaching the foundation for support
Although the Pape Adams Foundation does not have a website, it is still an accessible funder in Tulsa. Shelley L. Carter serves as the foundation’s executive director and is the best point of contact for grantseekers. The foundation accepts unsolicited grant requests with no specific required forms or submission deadlines. The foundation’s co-trustees, Katherine Coyle and Mandy Sanderson, control some discretionary grantmaking, while other grants go toward nonprofits’ equipment needs, medicine programs, education programs and gift-matching campaigns.
Contact the foundation by phone to make an initial introduction and inquire about the current status of its grantmaking program. You can learn more about foundations in Oklahoma in IP’s GrantFinder database and our Southwest blog, which also highlights giving in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
