Civics CLASS
PHILANTHROPISTS CHARLES AND RENATE WIGGIN USE THEIR PASSIONS FOR HISTORY, MUSIC, AND GIVING TO SUPPORT OKLAHOMA CITY
AS NEWLYWEDS, Charles and Renate Wiggin came to Oklahoma City in 1978, when Charles took a position managing a commercial real-estate development office. Renate worked as a stockbroker. In 1981, they came to a crossroads, and they made their decision. “We had a choice. Renate quit her job, and then I quit my job, so there we were, two people in the household with no income,” he says.
Charles Wiggin started his own local firm, drawing no income at first due to overhead expenses. Renate Wiggin worked with him for ten years. They raised their son, putting down roots in Oklahoma City. As time went on and their successes mounted, they felt compelled to give back, giving time and money to support numerous philanthropic organizations. “Our son asked us one time, ‘Why do you give?’” says Charles Wiggin. “We said, ‘Because we believe in it.’ And I know it was the right answer when he said, ‘Okay, I get it.’”
Enthralled with the story of Oklahoma City’s birth on April 22, 1889, Charles Wiggin worked with historian Michael J. Hightower and Oklahoma Historical Society executive director Dr. Bob Blackburn to create the ’89er Trail, a series of twenty-eight markers that lead visitors on a historical tour of downtown Oklahoma City. The Wiggins established a fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to finance the project. The final two markers will be installed as current downtown construction clears, and a visitor’s center is planned.
“When anybody asks me about the Land Run of 1889 and its impact on Oklahoma City, I direct them to Chuck. He is now the content specialist on the topic, a historian disguised as a businessman,” says Blackburn. “Chuck and Renate have a deep-seated sense of service to the community.”
Chuck and Renate have a deep-seated sense of service to the community.
The Wiggins have been longtime volunteers, board members, and donors supporting the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and recently established the Wiggin Family Concert Fund for new music. Passionate about classical music, Renate Wiggin is a past board president.
“The Wiggins are such a valued and integral part of our organization,” says Susan Webb, Oklahoma City Philharmonic director of marketing and public relations. “All their ongoing support and engagement ensure not only vibrant musical offerings this year, but fresh new initiatives for many years to come. We are deeply grateful for the positive spirit of support they bring.”
Renate Wiggin also co-founded Positively Paseo, a nonprofit community-housing development organization that works to revive urban core neighborhoods in Oklahoma City. The organization began its work more than twenty years ago in the Paseo Historic District and has since moved on to rehabilitate historic homes and vacant land to increase urban homeownership in three other neighborhoods. “The best way to think of our mission is, we build neighborhoods,” she says. Renate Wiggin was instrumental in efforts to revitalize Oklahoma City’s historic Wilson Arts Integration Elementary, a top-performing school whose philosophy of arts-integration education has been nationally recognized.
Among their other philanthropic interests, Charles Wiggin serves as presidential adviser on the board of directors for the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City, and he is treasurer for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s board of trustees. Renate Wiggin is a longtime member of both the OCCF’s Margaret Annis Boys Trust and the Parks and Public Space Initiative committee, which awards grants for public beautification projects.
“Although Chuck and Renate Wiggin are not natives of Oklahoma, they have embraced the history and culture of Oklahoma City with great enthusiasm” says Nancy Anthony, OCCF president. “From the history of the Land Run to the celebration of great music, the Wiggins have helped the community learn and enjoy some of its unique and interesting stories.”