posted by Rebecca Bromels ON
Jan 28, 2015
Cincinnati, OH – April 22, 2014 - ArtsWave announced the successful completion of the 2014 Annual Community Campaign, with gifts totaling $12,015,031 in support of arts organizations across the region.
“We are thrilled to announce more than $12 million in contributions– the highest amount ever raised by any community campaign for the arts in the country,” said Melanie Healey, Chair of the 2014 campaign and Group President, P&G North America. “We’re at an unprecedented tipping point in Cincinnati: from the Banks to Over the Rhine to our thriving suburbs on both sides of the river, people are participating in the arts like never before. And it’s been inspiring to see how companies, individuals, and new partners have come together to support the arts. I especially want to thank my campaign cabinet and the hundreds of volunteers who worked so hard to achieve these results.”
ArtsWave remains the largest community campaign for the arts in the country both in total contributions and number of donors. Most contributions to the annual campaign are individual gifts in amounts less than $150; $75 is the amount most commonly donated. To date, ArtsWave has added more than 8,208 new donors to the campaign in 2014.
Over 50% of contributions to ArtsWave are made through workplace giving campaigns. Employee campaigns at companies and organizations such as 4MyBenefits, American Red Cross, Bank of Kentucky, American Modern Insurance Group, Fifth Third Bank, FRCH Design Worldwide, EY, Kroger, Cincinnati Bell, PNC Bank, TriHealth, Thompson Hine, Triversity Construction Company, UC/UC Health, and P&G are just a few that exceeded their goals. Thirty-one local businesses ran employee campaigns or made corporate gifts for the first time, including Cutting Edge Selections, 21c Museum Hotel, Belcan, dunnhumby, Horseshoe Casino, Humana, Jones Lang LaSalle, Pomeroy, UC Health, Hoxworth Blood Center, WesBanco, and Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority.
ArtsWave launched several new initiatives to increase awareness, engagement, and contributions in 2014. More than 20 local restaurants supported the campaign by offering two “ArtsWave wines” on their menus and donating $2 from the sale of every glass. The Cincinnati Reds extended their partnership with ArtsWave by creating a special discount on Reds tickets for the month of April. To date, more than 900 tickets have been sold through this promotion.
By far the most exciting addition to the campaign was ArtsWave’s CincySings event. For several years, both P&G and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center have run “sing-off” events as part of their ArtsWave workplace giving campaigns, encouraging employees to create small choral groups and take the stage in support of ArtsWave. This year, Melanie Healey suggested expanding the concept to encourage other top regional companies to run internal competitions and then send their winning choirs to face-off in a friendly showdown. Ten local companies sent their top choirs to CincySings: American Modern Insurance, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Duke Energy, Fifth Third Bank, GE Aviation, Horseshoe Casino, Humana, Kroger, P&G, and TriHealth. The choirs performed in front of an audience of 1,400 at the Aronoff Center on April 9. The high-energy evening hosted by Drew Lachey raised over $20,000 for the ArtsWave campaign.
9 of the 10 companies participating in CincySings increased their total giving to the campaign this year. “CincySings brought our employees together in a new and creative way,” said American Modern Insurance Group President and CEO Manny Rios. “It helped us raise more funds for ArtsWave than ever before and also generated a lot of goodwill and team spirit among the entire company.”
ArtsWave also continued to increase community engagement with the arts through signature programs. More than 10,000 people attended three Macy’s Arts Sampler Saturdays showcasing the area’s arts organizations and the wide variety of experiences they offer. Events included arts from many world cultures including Japanese choral music, African drumming, Russian folk dancing, and creating Indian mandalas with rice flour.
ArtsWave’s 2014 Amazing Arts Race for young professionals expanded in its second year to 123 participants on 35 different teams representing 41 companies, including Fifth Third Bank, Kroger, Macy’s, Key Bank, P&G, and more. Stops along this year’s scavenger hunt course included Kennedy Heights Arts Center, the Taft Museum of Art, Elementz, and Know Theatre.
An increase in leadership giving also contributed to the success of the campaign with 1,000 individuals giving $1,500 or more. With a $250,000 challenge grant from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile/US Bank Foundation and P&G, ArtsWave secured 283 new leadership gifts. ArtsWave also launched the Women’s Leadership Roundtable to encourage investment by women leaders across the community.
“We want to thank all of our donors and volunteers who took action for ArtsWave and our community,” said Mary McCullough-Hudson, CEO of ArtsWave. “The millions of dollars that this campaign invests every year in our local arts organizations create benefits for our entire region.” As is the case every year, the total dollar amount announced includes contributions already received and reported, as well as projections for campaigns that are ongoing. “For those companies and individuals who are still finishing their campaigns, please know that your support is essential.”
ArtsWave hosted a party to celebrate the successful 2014 campaign on April 22, 2014 at the Cincinnati Art Museum. At the event, Melanie Healey introduced next year’s community campaign leader, Tom Williams, Partner, President of North American Properties and Co-Owner of the Cincinnati Reds.
This marks the final campaign for longtime ArtsWave CEO Mary McCullough-Hudson who will retire in August. ArtsWave President and COO Alecia Kintner noted, “During Mary’s 20 years as CEO, this campaign doubled from $6 million to $12 million and the number of organizations supported increased to more than 100. On behalf of everyone in the arts community, we want to thank Mary for her incredible leadership.”