ArtsWave kicks off its Annual Community Campaign for the Arts with a call to be the largest ever

Story contributed by Game Day Communications 

CINCINNATI, OH -- At a press conference in Music Hall’s Wilks Studio today, leaders kicked off the 2024 ArtsWave Community Campaign — the primary way the Cincinnati region funds its arts, and the largest such community campaign in the nation.

2024 ArtsWave Campaign Co-Chairs Jon Moeller (Chairman, President & CEO of P&G) and Lisa Sauer (retired P&G executive) announced a community-wide goal to surpass the campaign’s high-water mark of $12,449,053, reached in 2017. “We need to set our sights high so that the arts continue to thrive and deliver the same value to the region over the next decade as they have over the last one, and so that our investments keep pace with inflation,” explains Moeller. “The arts are not a luxury; arts are integral to making the region a compelling location for employees and visitors.”

The co-chairs announced that dozens of individuals, businesses and foundations have created early momentum through gifts to the Chairpersons’ Kickstarter. These donors helped exceed an initial $1 million goal. These contributions will support four ArtsWave programs designed to increase connection of lesser and underserved communities to consistent arts engagement; provide 50,000 kids with arts field trips; bring more local residents together through ArtsWave’s affinity groups; and partner with top executives to invest in a more vibrant economy through the arts. More than 60 local CEOs agreed to make early gifts of $5,000 or more as part of this challenge.

The campaign’s 2024 theme, “Stronger Arts for a Stronger Region,” builds on the recently released Economic Impact of the Arts & Culture in the Cincinnati Region report by the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, which revealed that the local arts sector had a $1.6 billion impact from 2019 to 2022, and this impact is projected to rise to $2.8 billion over the next four years.

ArtsWave President & CEO Alecia Kintner told business leaders, donors, government officials and arts professionals that this economic news is actually a clarion call for continued investment in the region, “Ever since Charles and Anna Sinton Taft’s original 1927 public challenge to secure the future of the arts, our community has come together each year to build a stronger region through the arts. This history has produced a strong return on investment: for every $1 invested through the ArtsWave Community Campaign, our arts partners leverage more dollars and generate nearly $43 in economic value for greater Cincinnati. Our arts drive our region forward in a quantifiable way.”

Moeller and Sauer have assembled a cabinet of 43 volunteer leaders from an array of business sectors [list follows]. Sauer is excited to work with these leaders around a common goal, remarking, “Our cabinet comes from across the business and philanthropic community, and what we all have in common is our desire to see our region attract and retain the best talent, connect through shared experiences, and fuel creativity and learning. The arts are key to accomplishing this.”

Today’s event also featured a tribute to and comments by departing Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée as he wraps up his final season in his current role and transitions to Music Director Laureate.

ArtsWave Campaign dollars will be invested in 150+ arts organizations, projects and artists. Special events, workplace giving campaigns in some 200 regional companies and requests to the community through mail and media will support the fundraising effort. ArtsWave is partnering with the Cincinnati Reds and FC Cincinnati to provide tickets and special experiences as thank-you gifts to donors. The workplace battle of the bands experience, CincyJams, will return to the Hard Rock Café on May 10.

The 2024 ArtsWave Community Campaign runs through May 23. Donate at www.artswave.org/give.

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