Tulsa Regional Chamber Volunteers Raise $3.1 Million During 25th Resource Campaign
The Tulsa Regional Chamber’s annual Resource Campaign concluded r ecently, raising a total of $3,179,039. During the course of the 10-week campaign, 55 volunteers sold sponsorships to 302 member companies for the Chamber’s programs, events, services and publications.
This year marks 25 years of the campaign, which has raised more than $55 million since its inception in 1995. Campaign revenue makes up nearly 25 percent of the Chamber’s annual budget.
“The Resource Campaign is one of the primary ways Chamber members invest in regional economic prosperity,” said 2019 Chamber Chair David Stratton, executive vice president of Tulsa corporate banking for BOK Financial. “Funds raised from the campaign enable the Chamber to affect the trajectory of northeast Oklahoma. From partnerships with the public sector on transformative investments like Vision Tulsa and ONEOK Field, to regional collaboration on economic development and legislative advocacy, the impact of the Tulsa-area business community throughout the last quarter of a century is truly remarkable.”
The campaign funds the Chamber’s member services and programming within its four strategic initiatives: economic development, regional tourism, government affairs and community development. Campaign revenue also supports the contributions the Chamber makes to its regional economic development partnership, Tulsa’s Future; and the convention and visitors bureau housed at the ChamberVisitTulsa.
Mark Poole, president and COO at First National Bank and Trust of Broken Arrow, led this year’s campaign.
“A lot has changed in Tulsa during the last 25 years, but one thing has remained an absolute constant: the commitment and dedication of our campaign volunteers,” said Poole. “The success of this campaign is a direct reflection of their commitment. From our humble beginnings raising $106,000 in 1995 to surpassing $3 million in 2019, I’m honored to be part of this campaign’s history.”
Thirty-year Chamber employee Karen Humphrey has managed the campaign since its inception. As campaign executive director, Humphrey coordinates and directs the efforts of campaign volunteers, Chamber leadership and staff each year.
“We would not be celebrating 25 years of the Resource Campaign without Karen Humphrey,” said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. “She is highly regarded within the chamber industry, as evidenced by the respect she commands among peer chambers and her 2015 induction into the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives Hall of Fame. Raising $3 million in one year is a significant achievement; raising $55 million during the course of a career is unrivaled. Karen is incredibly special to our organization, and we’re thrilled to celebrate her and her impact this year.”
The Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Resource Campaign is considered a model program by chamber peers and continues to be one of the largest campaigns of its kind in the nation.
