The OSU Foundation was created in 1961 for the purpose of securing donations from the private sector for the improvement of OSU. In 1987, the Oklahoma Legislature approved the Higher Education Financial Control Act, which separated the foundation from the university's budgeted operations.

The foundation still operates with the purpose of uniting donor and university passions and priorities to achieve excellence. The result is often funding for new scholarships, large building projects and even smaller jobs, such as financial support for a student-led effort to provide funding for repair of the library fountain (pictured) that same year.