While endorsed and supported by the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Arts Institute's primary funding source is individuals, corporations, foundations and civic groups. Without private donations, the programs of the Oklahoma Arts Institute would not exist. A dispirited art in all its forms would condemn our souls to a drab existence on a single plane, where variety is only a mathematical concept. Where art exists and thrives, human society never loses sight of the possible.
Art enhances the quality of every aspect of our lives.
Ann S. Alspaugh quoted in The American Benefactor , Winter 1997, page 118. Ann S. Alspaugh, right, serve as trustees on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Arts Institute. In every organization there is a group of committed donors who loyally contribute large gifts each year for the purpose of underwriting annual operations. For the Institute, the Quartz Crystal Club is this group. Members are invited to the program each year to meet the students and faculty artists.