We Can Do More Together.
Exploring whether Oklahoma foundations, nonprofits, schools, communities and experienced practitioners can combine their respective strengths to help local communities create and sustain opportunities for children and families.
This is not a request to adopt a finished program. It is an invitation to review the evidence, challenge the assumptions and help determine whether a responsible collaborative model should be explored.
From one memorial to a much larger question.
The Brian Crawford Memorial began after the death of Brian Allen Crawford in 2005. What followed was not a prewritten strategic plan. Over twenty-one years, the work grew into seventeen annual memorial baseball tournaments, a scholarship tradition, a permanent scholarship fund through Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, BCM Sports operations, permanent memorial facilities in Prague and Seminole, service to grieving families and an expanding research effort examining youth opportunity, public facilities, governance and economics in Oklahoma.
In March 2025, an early conversation with Communities Foundation of Oklahoma explored philanthropic services, fiscal sponsorship, endowments and whether a broader nonprofit/community partnership warranted further discussion. The concept presented here is materially more developed—and intentionally more cautious.
Brian Crawford Memorial cannot do this alone — and should not try.
A Community Opportunity Network — not another statewide bureaucracy.
The proposed network would help communities connect what they already have with what they lack. It would strengthen rather than replace local nonprofits, schools, recreation programs and community leadership.
Local Communities
Children, families and locally defined priorities remain at the center.
Community Foundations
Philanthropic expertise, funds, administration, donor relationships and long-term sustainability.
Schools & Higher Education
Trusted community access, facilities, after-school opportunity, research and evaluation.
Local & Specialized Nonprofits
Program delivery, mentoring, arts, education, disability inclusion, grief support and family services.
Public & Community Assets
Facilities and local coordination where municipalities, counties, schools or other public partners are appropriate.
BCM / Baseball Heaven
Twenty-one years of memorial experience, operations, research, documentation and pilot-design participation.
From documenting problems to designing durable institutions.
Mission Needs Durability
Successful programming does not automatically secure long-term access, governance or institutional continuity.
Measure the Right Things
Economic impact, facility revenue, operator revenue and community benefit are different measures.
Access Still Matters
Children need an entry point even when they do not already have a team or coach.
Revenue Should Serve Mission
Events and economic activity can support community opportunity, but should not replace the community mission.
An existing relationship — and expertise to evaluate the question.
The Brian Crawford Memorial Scholarship already provides an institutional relationship with Communities Foundation of Oklahoma. The permanent scholarship fund dates to 2016.
The March 12, 2025 conversation identified philanthropic services, fiscal sponsorship and possible connections to other organizations as subjects for further discussion. Current CFO public materials also describe collaboration, community engagement, fiscal sponsorship for qualifying charitable projects and community funds supported by professional financial and administrative services.
None of that means CFO has agreed to participate. The purpose of this inquiry is to ask CFO to independently evaluate whether the concept merits further discussion and, if appropriate, what expertise or organizations should be involved.
Possible roles to evaluate
Advisor or convener • philanthropic infrastructure partner • fiscal-sponsorship resource for a qualifying pilot • fund administrator • community-fund resource • connector to aligned nonprofits and donors • scholarship partner • or no formal role beyond professional guidance and referrals.
Discovery first. One community before Oklahoma.
1. Discovery
Map existing Oklahoma resources, identify duplication, test assumptions and define the problem with outside expertise.
2. Design
Select one willing community and map programs, facilities, organizations, barriers, resources, governance and safeguards.
3. Pilot
Strengthen existing local organizations where possible and test a limited set of opportunity supports.
4. Measure
Evaluate participation, affordability, utilization, volunteer capacity, partner leverage, transparency and organizational strength.
5. Decide
Proceed, modify, refer elsewhere or stop. Replication occurs only if evidence demonstrates value.
No facility acquisition, fiscal sponsorship, statewide entity, public-financing commitment or major fundraising campaign is treated as decided before discovery and professional review.
Partnership does not require endorsement of independent research.
Participation in a future Community Opportunity Initiative would not constitute endorsement of Baseball Heaven findings, allegations, litigation positions, tax submissions, policy recommendations or interpretations. Supporting research is available for independent review. Charitable decisions should rest on the initiative's own governance, due diligence and evidence.
Start small. Go deeper only when useful.
The six-document package is intentionally ordered so a reviewer can understand the inquiry without reading the entire research archive.
Executive Brief
A concise overview of the need, framework, proposed CFO inquiry and pilot-before-scale approach.
Open Executive BriefMaster Strategic Concept
The complete rationale, partnership architecture, safeguards, questions, research firewall and evidence roadmap.
Open Master ConceptBCM Organizational & Experience Profile
Who Brian Crawford Memorial is, what experience it brings and why complementary expertise is essential.
Open BCM ProfileResearch & Evidence Guide
What each supporting source establishes, why it matters, and the limits that should remain attached to it.
Open Evidence GuideProposed Discovery Charter
A limited, low-risk process for determining whether one-community discovery and a future pilot are warranted.
Open Discovery CharterMarch 12, 2025 CFO Discussion
The professional historical exhibit preserving the audio-derived conversation that preceded the 2026 initiative.
Open Historical RecordThe research is available — but it is not the pitch.
These materials explain how the questions developed. Prospective partners are invited to review them independently and are not asked to adopt their conclusions.
Community Asset Stewardship
Mission protection, durable facility control, transparent governance and institutional continuity.
View ResearchBefore the Gates Opened
Pre-opening governance, user groups, facility utilization, community programming and documentation.
View Case StudyHidden Valley — Statewide Research
Longitudinal research into tournament activity, economics, facilities and accountability questions.
View ResearchLittle League Research
Community-based baseball, access, governance and the future of local programs.
View SummaryShawnee Regional Sports Park
Economic-impact projections, existing community infrastructure and facility-level outcomes.
View Case StudyBCM Sports
The operational experience behind the later research: tournaments, facilities, officials and community programming.
View Case StudyBrian Crawford Memorial Tournament
Seventeen annual editions connecting Brian's memory, family, baseball and opportunity.
View HistoryFrom Memorial to Mission
The bridge from personal loss and memorial work to operations, facilities and research.
View StoryBaseball Heaven Research Hub
The broader research archive, case studies, public records and documentary record.
Research HubWe are asking for expertise before we ask for resources.
We are not asking Communities Foundation of Oklahoma to adopt a theory. We are asking CFO to review what has been learned, help determine whether the documented need and emerging framework merit further discussion, and—if appropriate—help identify what a responsible collaborative structure could look like.
The first step is assessment, not commitment and not funding.
First question:
Does this merit a deeper conversation?
Second question:
If CFO is not the right institutional partner, who should be at the table?