December 2022 / January 2023

Liz Carter of Scripps

Informed. Inspired. Involved.

Movers &Makers

Dec. 2022/Jan. 2023

Publishers’ Letter 4

Arts/Culture 5

MoversMakers.org

Give the gift of Cincinnati reading | By Hillary Copsey 6

To classical music world, reaching out is critical

| By David Lyman 8

The A/C List 10

The Datebook 18

Social calendar with a spotlight on the movers and makers behind Greater Cincinnati’s fundraisers, friend-raisers and community events.

FOCUS ON:

Nonprofits Serving the Sector 20

Liz Carter of Scripps: The hard work of smart giving | By By John O. Faherty 20

Exploring ways to support nonprofits plus a breakdown of nonprofits serving the sector 22 Notables in Fundraising 27

Names in the News 30

Gifts/Grants 32

Snapshots 33

StartupCincy Week leads to key connections 33

SCORE hosts first small-business conference 34

Construction gala benefits career programs 34

CAC marks opening of new center 35

Rotary engages 200 volunteers in Do Days 36

LADD recognizes clients, supporters 37

LTA holds final 30th anniversary event 38

New nonprofit Genesis at Work raises $323K 39

Ales to Zinfandels raises $82K for Bethany House 40

Stepping Stones nets over $101K at clays event 41

School board training agency celebrates strengths 42

Children’s advocacy center raises $255K 43

Beech Acres says farewell to Anderson Twp. 45

Jewish Bicentennial marks milestones 47

The Last Word 50

Polly Campbell: Cherishing our traditions with a flip to something new

EDITOR’S LETTER

Thom and Elizabeth Mariner invited me to write this month’s publisher note, which regular readers know is their opportunity to give an insider view to how the contents of a particular issue came together.

This edition – the coda to 2022 but also carrying us into 2023 – is an important one as it contains what the three of us hope will be just the beginning of even more discussion about whether and how this community supports organizations who are #helpingthehelpers.

That frequently used social media hashtag embodies the mission of Cincinnati Cares and Movers & Makers, the two organizations getting most of my waking hours in 2022.

But the hashtag also fits four other organizations in our community – Toolbank, Leadership Council of Nonprofits, OneSource and Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio – who like us do our work without the power dynamic created by giving away money. (There are other well-intentioned nonprofits who serve nonprofits – many who do grant money – and we list and feature some of them, helping this community understand the complicated nonprofit ecosystem map.)

The six organizations came together recently for a conversation. We recorded it, and are printing it, largely unedited, for you to see. We hope it sparks you to say something to us or do something with us – all in the hope of making this community better.

Our cover story is about a person I have admired for a long time – a former journalist who made a big

difference at an important nonprofit and then moved back to her roots to run the Scripps Howard Foundation.

Need something a little lighter to ease into the holidays and new year? The Mercantile Library provides you with some great Cincinnati-centric gift ideas. Polly Campbell reminds us why traditions are so satisfying.

Our best this season to you and your families. I welcome your feedback at editor@moversmakers.org or doug@cincinnaticares.org.

Doug Bolton, interim editor and M&MP board chair Thom & Elizabeth Mariner, co-publishers

DONATE

Help keep nonprofit news FREE to all in Cincinnati

Support comes in part from:

For their work on this issue, our gratitude to:

• Doug Bolton, interim editor

• Phil Fisher, copy editor

• The volunteers who helped proofread this issue: Tamara Behrens, Cathy Heldman and Shasta Taber

In it, you will find a link to Thom Mariner’s Culture FIX column, posted every Wednesday morning at MoversMakers.org. He outlines the best local arts & culture events for the week ahead, based on more than four decades of experience working in the Cincinnati arts scene. Also in the newsletter – links to our latest posts of local nonprofit news, people on the move, gifts and grants and much more.

moversmakers.org/subscribe

Elizabeth

FEBRUARY

© Copyright 2022 Movers & Makers Publishing

We make every effort to verify information submitted for publication (print and online), but are not responsible for incorrect information or misidentified photos provided to us.

Readers are advised to confirm event dates and other important details and check for last-minute changes with the organizations or advertisers involved.

Publication of this magazine and its website (www.MoversMakers.org) does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of any information contained within, including advertisements and links. Movers & Makers Publishing is a nonprofit with fiscal sponsorship provided by Cincinnati Cares.



Doug Bolton

Arts/Culture

CAC names new director after lengthy search

Some 17 months after the departure of Director Raphaela Platow in July 2021, the Contemporary Arts Center has announced the appointment of Christina Vassallo as the institution’s new Alice & Harris Weston director.

An arts administrator and curator, Vassallo brings more than ten years of executivelevel experience at contemporary arts institutions, currently serving as executive director of Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum. She comes to the CAC with a history of successful leadership in fundraising, education and outreach initiatives, and artistic collaborations of varying scope and size. From 2014 to 2019, she served as executive and artistic director of SPACES in Cleveland, so this is being hailed as her return to the Midwest.

“It was important to the board that we select someone with an understanding of not just contemporary art, but the needs and interests of the region,” said CAC Board President Gale Beckett. “Christina is exceptionally qualified. She has experience collaborating with established and upcoming artists, passion and proven success in expanding outreach, and a strong track record of fundraising and fiscal stability. We are confident that she will help usher in an inspiring new era at the CAC.”

“I’m looking forward to joining the CAC team,” Vassallo said, “and working to chart a new path forward that builds upon the institution’s deep history of supporting artists at the vanguard and nurturing curiosity and creativity in us all.”

Vassallo begins at the CAC in March 2023.  www.contemporaryartscenter.org

Cincinnati Opera announces major works for 2023 Summer Festival

At its recent Operaganza gala, Evans Mirageas, artistic director of Cincinnati Opera, announced preliminary details for the company’s 2023 Summer Festival.

As characterized by Mirageas, the season features four Music Hall productions: “a romantic thriller, a touching and timely premiere, an effervescent comedy, and an innovative new vision of an operatic classic.

• June: “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Gaetano Donizetti

• June-July: “The Knock” by composer Aleksandra Vrebalov and librettist Deborah Brevoort (world stage premiere, recorded to film in November 2021 for Glimmerglass Opera)

• July: “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini

• July: “Madama Butterfly” by Giacomo Puccini, all-Japanese and Japanese American creative team

Specific performance dates for each production will be announced in January 2023.

Subscriptions for Cincinnati Opera’s 2023 Summer Festival start at $106 and are available now. Tickets to individual performances go on sale April 10, 2023.

 www.cincinnatiopera.org

Matinée Musicale offers scholarship competition

Matinée Musicale is accepting applications through Jan. 16, 2023, for the Nancy F. Walker Memorial Scholarships, a competition for high school and college juniors and seniors studying classical vocal or instrumental music. A total of $50,000 in prize money will be awarded, with auditions scheduled for Feb. 11, 2023, at Anderson Hills United Methodist Church.

Nancy Fuldner Walker, memorialized by these scholarships, was a musician, music teacher and strong advocate for all music and arts organizations. She provided leadership to Matinée Musicale for more than four decades before her death in October 2017. Matinée Musicale Cincinnati honors her legacy of support and encouragement of young musicians through these scholarships.

2023 will be the sixth year for these scholarships, which are on par with many national competitions. Winners have gone on to accomplish much. Violinist Christina Nam, the first place high school instrumental winner the first year, was just presented by Matinée Musicale in recital at Memorial Hall. She debuted with the Cincinnati Symphony at age 9 and has appeared in recitals and as soloist with numerous orchestras and at festivals across the globe.

Elena Villalón, first place winner of 2019 college vocal, has a full calendar this year of engagements with the Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the San Antonio Artist Series, Oper Frankfurt and the Atlanta Opera.



Detroit Opera’s 2018 production of “The Barber of Seville,” coming to Cincinnati Opera next summer.

Winners have gone on to study as undergraduates and graduates at CCM, the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton, the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School (three winners are there now) and San Francisco Conservatory. Winners have used their awards for tuition, summer studies or the purchase of new instruments including a trumpet, clarinet, guitar and a Strad model cello made by local luthier Mauricio Aguiar of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

 www.matineemusicalecincinnati.org

Photo by Jessi Melcer

Christina Vassallo

Give the gift of Cincinnati reading

By Hillary Copsey

The Mercantile Library recommends the best books from local authors to give this holiday season. Many of these books celebrate the Queen City, and you can bring some extra cheer to the region by purchasing your gifts from one of Cincinnati’s many local bookstores.

 “Met The End,” Holly Brians Ragusa

When Holly Brians Ragusa was 15, her father, John Powell was killed, the first known victim of American serial killer Donald Harvey, a nurse’s aide who poisoned those in his care. In this thoroughly researched and introspective memoir, Ragusa steers into the tragedy of her family’s past and remembers the life, not just the death, of her father.

 “Drunk Log,” Mark E. Scott

“The Cincinnati Neighborhood Guidebook,” edited by Nick Swartsell



Cincinnati is a literary city, full of talented writers and storytellers. This collection edited by Cincinnati Edition producer Nick Swartsell allows the best of them – former Cincinnati poet laureate Pauletta Hansel, Dani McClain, and more – to create a portrait in essays of the Queen City as it feels right now.

 “Cincinnati Curiosities: Healing Powers of the Wamsley Madstone, Nocturnal Exploits of Old Man Dead, Mazeppa’s Naked Ride & More,” Greg Hand Historian Greg Hand leads readers on a raucous tour of the weirdest, wildest parts of Cincinnati’s past.



“Cincinnati Scavenger,” Kathryn Witt

Cincinnati native Kathryn Witt invites readers on a scavenger hunt over 19 neighborhoods and uncovering more than 300 quirky, historic, beautiful sites across Greater Cincinnati, from the Village of Glendale to Latonia, Ky., and Aurora, Ind.

 “Walking Ancient Ohio,” Buck Niehoff

Along with Hope Taft, the former Ohio first lady, Buck Niehoff walked 160 miles to eight ancient ceremonial Hopewell earthworks. He takes readers along as they explore some of the most beautiful architectural achievements ever created in Ohio. Purchase this at The Mercantile Library.



“Churches of Paris,” Peggy Shannon

Dividing her time among Paris, Cincinnati and Nova Scotia, Peggy Shannon spent six years photographing and researching notable and lesser-known churches in the City of Light. The result is a gorgeous and fascinating book perfect for your most intrepid friends –or the armchair traveler on your list.

Readers will get thrills of recognition as Jack, the hero of this darkly funny Queen City odyssey, takes one last epic bar crawl through downtown Cincinnati.



“Loving The Dead And Gone,” Judith Turner-Yamamoto

In this debut novel earning lots of reader praise, Judith TurnerYamamoto brings readers to North Carolina, where she was raised, to tell the story of two generations of women grappling with love, death, and desire.

 “Stepping Back From The Ledge,” Laura Trujillo

New Yorker Magazine included this heartbreaking and hopeful memoir in its roundup of the best books of 2022. Laura Trujillo, a managing editor for USA Today and a former editor for The Cincinnati Enquirer, uses her reporting skills to tell the story of her mother’s death by suicide as well as analyze the way we handle – or don’t – suicide in America.



“Book Lovers,” Emily Henry

The author, who lives in Greater Cincinnati, writes romances that have dominated the best-seller lists this year. Book Lovers is our favorite. It delivers banter, swoon, a little steam, and a smart, gentle story about family.

Hillary Copsey is the book adviser at The Mercantile Library, where she leads and organizes book discussions, creates personalized book recommendations for members, and tries hard to resist the temptation to spend every day reading in the stacks.

www.mercantilelibrary.com

To classical music world, reaching out is critical to survival

By David Lyman

“R

elevant.”

It’s one of those 21st Century buzzwords that has slithered its way from the world of marketing and into the language of arts organizations everywhere.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra uses the word. Click on the “What We Believe” page at the CSO web site and it’s right there at the top.

“Our vision statement is ‘to be the most relevant orchestra in America,’” said Nate Bachhuber, vice president of artistic planning for the CSO and the May Festival. It’s a grand statement. A laudable one. But to be honest, there is something a little hollow about it, too. Bachhuber seems to understand that. That’s why he follows it quickly with this: “So once we’ve said that, we have to ask ‘What is relevant to you?’”

A half-century ago, that was a question that orchestras – or any other arts groups – rarely asked. It was the era of what Bachhuber refers to as “the expert myth.”

The idea was that the people who ran orchestras were the sole arbiters of what constituted good music. Important music. Essential music. In practical terms, that meant those same people, the experts, were the ones who determined what we – the audience – got to hear.

Bachhuber is one of those experts. He knows music inside out. Ultimately, he and a group of

other orchestra-related people are the ones responsible for cobbling together the programming for entire seasons.

But Bachhuber is one of a new breed of artistic planners.

“When we talk about relevance, we are talking about how we can have an impact on the lives of the people in our community,” he said. “And to accomplish that, we have to be as good at asking questions and listening to the answers as we are at making pronouncements.”

That is a pretty radical concept, especially in the once-hidebound world of classical music. But in the post-pandemic world of 2022, it is increasingly important.

“People get hung up on that word ‘relevance,’” said Jonathan Martin, CSO president and CEO. “It sounds silly to some. But the reality is that we want to be valued by more than 4% of the population.” That 4% figure is one that is often bandied about as the portion of the general public who attend paid orchestra concerts.

“We’re a community service organization,” Martin continues. “Our expertise happens to be music. We use music to serve this community. We have to review what traditional thinking has been. How, for instance, does this orchestra define this community? Not only people who are coming to Music Hall, but also the people who aren’t.”

That is where the evolving nature of artistic planning comes in. People used to liken the job to solving a giant puzzle, trying to make all the many pieces fit together into a single season.

These days, Bachhuber regularly meets with not just the artistic staff, but also with those involved in marketing and outreach and even development. Knowing who is at concerts is only part of the equation. Who should be at concerts is even more important. And who might be there, if only a few pieces of that puzzle were shifted.

“Remember that 4% I mentioned,” Martin says. “Continuing like that is not a path to sustainability. Half of our audience is going to be dead or too old to come to a concert in 10 years. The issues that Nate and others are working on are not just about growing our audience numbers. They are about our very survival. It’s going to be the difference between whether we’re here 25 years from now or not. If you look at the long-term trends, they ought to scare the hell out of you.”

Part of the orchestra’s formula was the March 2021 addition of Harold Brown as the orchestra’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.

“I recall attending a seminar at Harvard 16 years ago where we were discussing innovation in existing organizations,” Brown said. “One of the case studies focused on IBM. At one time, they



Nate Bachhuber (right) with baritone Gustavo Castillo after a 2022 May Festival concert

When we talk about relevance, we are talking about how we can have an impact on the lives of the people in our community. And to accomplish that, we have to be as good at asking questions and listening to the answers as we are at making pronouncements.

– Nate Bachhuber

were known for the mainframes. But the computer world was changing. Suddenly, personal computing devices were seen by some people as the future. IBM survived because it moved into PCs, but it didn’t give up on mainframes. We can learn from that lesson. We need to change and to grow. But it is imperative that we achieve that growth without taking away from what has been so successful down through the years.”

So where do you find that growth? Who isn’t in Music Hall? And how do you get them there? Or, for that matter, is it really essential to get people into the hall.

“Everyone else,” Bachhuber said. “That’s who we want to attract. Everyone else.”

Typically, the type of audience growth you hear about most frequently is the effort to attract “underserved communities.” That’s a code phrase for adding Black and Latinx audience members to the mostly white crowd. But Bachhuber’s effort to grow the audience goes far beyond that.

“In a sense, I’m a futurist,” Bachhuber said. “That allows me to have really productive conversations with guest artists and orchestra members. And with so many colleagues here at the CSO – people in marketing. And with Harold and Jonathan. And Tiffany Cooper (director of community engagement and diversity). With Sam Strater (senior adviser for Cincinnati Pops planning) and Anthony Paggett (director of artistic planning). And so many other people. And Louis

(Langrée, music director), too, of course. They are all eager to share their knowledge of music and audiences and with stories that we need to be telling.

“I’m sure everyone else you’ve talked to has said the same thing. We have to play the long game. There are immediate needs. But we need to continue building toward the goals that we all know are really, really important: diversity, equity and contextualization around the work that we have already been presenting for centuries.”

He reflects on the Cincinnati Pops’ October performance with the rapper/actor/poet Common.

“Performances like that are vital for us,” Bachhuber said. “Not just because we get people into the building who aren’t usually there. But also because we have a chance to meet new people and listen to them and learn from them. On nights like that, I know we’re going to learn something about ourselves. That is what is exciting for me. Yes, the audience is going to learn who the Cincinnati Pops are. But we are also going to learn something about our own community. And together, all of us will learn about this remarkable artist’s story.

“So you want to know how we’re going to bring people back to live performances? This is how. My focus is on people. Obviously, I love music. But to me, the thing I love most in the world is people, and finding artists who are able to tell their stories in an impactful way. That is what is going to bring people back.” 

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Nate Bachhuber hosting a post-concert livestream Q&A in October 2020 with CSO Music

Director Louis Langrée, Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo and principal oboe Dwight Parry.

The A/C List

Cultural Exhibits/Tours

American Legacy Tours | 859-9518560. www.americanlegacytours.com ƒ Historic tours in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

American Sign Museum | Camp Washington. 513-541-6366. www.americansignmuseum.org ƒ Permanent collection

Archaeological Research Institute | Lawrenceburg. 812-290-2966. www.exploreari.org ƒ Hands-on educational experiences

Behringer-Crawford Museum | Devou Park, Covington. 859-491-4003. www.bcmuseum.org ƒ Thru Jan. 2. “Holly Jolly Days”

Cincinnati Fire Museum | Downtown. 513-621-5553. www.cincyfiremuseum.com ƒ Permanent collection

Cincinnati Food Tours | Findlay Market. 513-602-5602. www.cincinnatifoodtours.com

ƒ Tours exploring Queen City food heritage

Cincinnati Museum Center | Queensgate. 513-287-7000. www.cincymuseum.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 2. Holiday Junction ƒ Thru Jan. 15. “Dinosaurs of Antarctica”

Cincinnati Nature Center | Milford. www.cincynature.org

ƒ Dec. 1-Jan. 1, 5:30-9 p.m. “Light in the Forest” holiday lights

Also online at moversmakers.org

Cincinnati Type & Print Museum | Lower Price Hill. www.cincinnatitypeprintmuseum.org

ƒ Permanent collection of equipment, tools and artifacts

Cincinnati Zoo | Avondale. 513-281-4700. www.cincinnatizoo.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 8. PNC Festival of Lights

ƒ Dec. 31, 8 p.m. Happy Zoo Year

Friends of Music Hall | Over-the-Rhine. 513-621-2787. www.friendsofmusichall.org

ƒ Indoor tours of Queen City icon

German Heritage Museum | White Oak. 513-598-5732. www.gacl.org

ƒ Contributions of German-Americans to Cincinnati

Great Parks of Hamilton County | Parky’s Farm, Winton Woods. www.greatparks.org

ƒ Nov. 17-Dec. 23. Holidays on the Farm

Greater Cincinnati Police Museum | Pendleton. 513-300-3664. www.police-museum.org

ƒ Permanent collection

Harriet Beecher Stowe House | Walnut Hills. 513-751-0651. www.stowehousecincy.org

ƒ Celebrating life and works of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” author

Heritage Village Museum | Sharonville. 513-563-9484. www.heritagevillagecincinnati.org

ƒ Wednesdays-Saturdays thru Dec. 9, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 19th Century Holiday Guided Tour

It wouldn't be Christmas in Cincinnati without Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker." Cincinnati Ballet's production headlines, among four other varied offerings.

"Holiday Junction" returns to Cincinnati Museum Center through Jan. 2, featuring the 76th year of the Duke Energy Holiday Trains.

ƒ Dec. 10-11, noon-4 p.m. Holly Days

ƒ Dec. 15-23, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Train Days

Holocaust & Humanity Center | Cincinnati Museum Center, Queensgate. 513-487-3055. www.holocaustandhumanity.org

ƒ Media, artifacts, art and interactive exhibitions reflecting the Holocaust

Krohn Conservatory | Eden Park. 513421-4086. www.cincinnatiparks.com/krohn ƒ Nov. 5-Jan. 7. “Celestial Holiday”

Lloyd Library and Museum | Downtown. 513-721-3707. www.lloydlibrary.org

ƒ Permanent exhibit. George Rieveschl Jr.: History of Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Milford Historical Society | Milford. 513-248-0324. www.milfordhistory.net ƒ Permanent exhibit. Historical displays of art, artifacts and more.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center | The Banks, downtown. 513-333-7500. www.freedomcenter.org

ƒ Permanent collection exploring themes of individual freedom

National VOA Museum of Broadcasting | West Chester. 513-777-0027. www.voamuseum.org ƒ History of Voice of America program

Rookwood Pottery | Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-2510. www.rookwood.com

ƒ Select Fridays & Saturdays. behindthe-scenes tours

Skirball Museum | Hebrew Union College, Clifton. 513-221-1875. https://csm.huc.edu

ƒ Permanent exhibit: “An Eternal People: The Jewish Experience”

Valley View Nature Preserve | Milford. www.valleyviewcampus.org

ƒ Dec. 7, 5:30 p.m. Full Moon Hike (ugly Christmas sweaters requested)

White Water Shaker Village | Harrison. www.whitewatervillage.org

ƒ Shaker buildings and artifacts

Dance

Cincinnati Ballet | Music Hall, Over-theRhine. 513-621-5219. www.cballet.org

ƒ Dec. 15-24. Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker”

College-Conservatory of Music | Corbett Theater, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. https://ccm.uc.edu

ƒ Dec. 1-4. Dance Works

De la Dance Center | Kennedy Heights. 513-871-0914. www.deladancecompany.org

ƒ Nov. 25-Dec. 11. “The Nutcracker Jazzed Up”

Miami Valley Ballet Theatre | Fairfield. www.mvbtdance.org

ƒ Dec. 2-11. Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker”

Mutual Dance Theatre | Mutual Arts Center, Hartwell. 513-494-6526. www.mutualdance.org

ƒ Dec. 2-3, 7:30 p.m. World premieres: “Rojo” and “Nightcap”

Revolution Dance Theatre | JarsonKaplan Theater, Aronoff Center, downtown. www.revodance.com

ƒ Dec. 9-10. “Hot Chocolate”

School for Creative & Performing Arts | Over-the-Rhine. 513-363-8100. https://scpa.cps-k12.org

ƒ Dec. 1-4. Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker”

Shen Yun | Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center. 877-818-8029. www.shenyun.com/cincinnati

ƒ Jan. 28-29. Chinese classical music and dance

Taft Theatre | Downtown. www.tafttheatre.org

ƒ Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. “Hip Hop Nutcracker”

Fairs/Festivals/Markets

City Flea | Washington Park, Over-theRhine. www.thecityflea.com

ƒ Dec. 17, 4-9 p.m. Evening Holiday Market (Early Bird Mini Market Starts at 11 a.m.)

ƒ Dec. 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Daylight Holiday Market

Contemporary Arts Center | Downtown. 513-345-8400. www.contemporaryartscenter.org

ƒ Dec. 3, 6-10 p.m. Market Bleu Winter Quarter, handcrafted products, fine arts

Findlay Market | Over-the-Rhine. www.findlaymarket.org/events

ƒ Dec. 3-4. Holiday Market

Madeira Farmers Market | Madeira Silverwood Presbyterian Church, Madeira. www.madeirafarmersmarket.com

ƒ Thursdays thru Dec. 15, 4-6:30 p.m. Regional produce market

Film

Woodward Theater | Over-the-Rhine. 513-345-7981. www.woodwardtheater.com

ƒ Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. “The Center of Nowhere”

Literary/Lectures

Barnes & Noble | Deerfield Towne Center, Mason. 513-972-5146. https:// stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/3408

ƒ Dec. 5, 7 p.m. Discussion: Louise Penny: “A World of Curiosities” (virtual)

ƒ Dec. 6, 3 p.m. Discussion: Katy Hays: “The Cloisters” (virtual)

ƒ Jan. 4, 7 p.m. Discussion: Holly Black: “The Stolen Heir” (virtual)

Fitton Center | Hamilton. 513-863-8873. www.fittoncenter.org

ƒ Dec. 7, 11:30 a.m. Buckeye Santas: Christmas Lunch

ƒ Jan. 11, 11:30 a.m. Tisha Livingston: 80 Acres Farms

Harriet Beecher Stowe House | Walnut Hills. 513-751-0651. www.stowehousecincy.org

ƒ Dec. 7, 7 p.m. Power of Voice Discussion Series: “Perspectives on Christmas” (virtual)

Joseph-Beth Booksellers | Rookwood Commons, Norwood. 513-396-8960. www.josephbeth.com

ƒ Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Discussion: Mitzi Szereto w/ Lindsey Danis and Janel Comeau: “The Best New True Crime Stories: Unsolved Crimes & Mysteries” (virtual)

ƒ Dec. 3, 2 p.m. Discussion: Brandon T. Snider w/ Ed Steckley and Jennifer George: “The New Switcheroo (Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines #2)” (virtual)

ƒ Dec. 14, 7 p.m. Discussion: Karen Casey: “Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women” (virtual)

ƒ Dec. 28, 7 p.m. Discussion: Courtney

Faye Taylor: “Concentrate”

ƒ Dec. 29, 7 p.m. Discussion: Natalie D. Richards: “Seven Dirty Secrets” ƒ Jan. 17, 7 p.m. Discussion: Stephen Markley: “The Deluge”

Lloyd Library and Museum | Downtown. 513-721-3707. www.lloydlibrary.org ƒ Dec. 1, 5 p.m. Lindsay Wells: “Floral Empires: Plant Hunting and Painting in Victorian Britain”

Music

Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas | St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Terrace Park. 513-831-2052. bachensemble.org ƒ Dec. 11, 7 p.m. Music for Advent and Christmas ƒ Jan. 15, 5 p.m. Bach Vespers for Epiphany

Behringer-Crawford Museum | Covington. 859-491-4003. bcmuseum.org

ƒ Nov. 26, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Hills of Kentucky Dulcimers

Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony | Summit City Church, Montgomery. 513-549-2197. www.bamso.org

ƒ

Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Holiday Concert, Michael Chertock, conductor

Brady Music Center | The Banks, downtown. www.bradymusiccenter.com

ƒ Dec. 2, 8 p.m. Ryan Adams

ƒ Dec. 14, 8 p.m. A Day to Remember

ƒ Dec. 30, 8 p.m. Goose

ƒ SOLD OUT Dec. 31, 9 p.m. Goose

Butler Philharmonic | 513-844-5151. www.butlerphil.org

ƒ Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m. Merry Christmas, BPO Style! (Parrish Auditorium, Hamilton)

ƒ Jan. 22, 3 p.m. Mendelssohn at the SORG (SORG Opera House)

Caffe Vivace | Walnut Hills. 513-601-9897. www.caffevivace.com

ƒ Most evenings, live jazz performances

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption | Covington. 859-431-2060. www.cathedralconcertseries.org

ƒ Dec. 4, 3 p.m. Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols

ƒ Jan. 8, 3 p.m. “An Epiphany Epilogue” LeeAnn Kordenbrock, soprano; Seven Hills Brass; Gregory Schaffer, organ/ synthesizer

featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains

Welcome to a winter wonderland.

ARTS/CULTURE

Chamber Music Cincinnati | 513-342-6870. www.cincychamber.org

ƒ Dec. 4, 4 p.m. Escher String Quartet w/ Terence Wilson (New Prospect Baptist Church)

ƒ Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m. Encore of previous (Memorial Hall)

Christ Church Cathedral | Downtown. 513-621-1817. www.cincinnaticathedral.com

ƒ First Sundays, 5 p.m. Choral Evensong

ƒ Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

ƒ Dec. 31, 5 p.m. 83rd Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival

ƒ Jan. 1, 2:30 p.m. & 5 p.m. 83rd Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival

ƒ Jan. 8, 4:30 p.m. An Epiphany Procession

ƒ Tuesdays, 12:10 p.m. Music Live@Lunch: ƒ Dec. 6. Clark & Jones Trio – Celtic & folk seasonal music

ƒ Dec. 13. Heri et Hodie – Women’s vocal ensemble presenting holiday music ƒ Dec. 20. Cathedral Choir – Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” ƒ Jan. 10. Mika Komuro, piano ƒ Jan. 17. Jimmy Leach Jazztet

ƒ Jan. 24. Michael Delfín, harpsichord ƒ Jan. 31. Phil DeGreg Trio – jazz

Christ Church Glendale | Glendale. 513771-1544. www.christchurchglendale.org

ƒ Dec. 4, 3 p.m. Canterbury Brass presents “Sounds of the Season”

ƒ Dec. 18, 5 p.m. Festival of Lessons & Carols

ƒ Jan. 5, 12:05 p.m. Molly Sanford, piano

Cincinnati Camerata | www.facebook. com

ƒ Dec. 10, 7 p.m. Marian Concert: “Queen of Peace,” Ben Owen, conductor (Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church)

ƒ Dec. 11, 3 p.m. Encore of previous (St. Catharine of Siena Church, Westwood)

Cincinnati Community Orchestra | Church of the Savior United Methodist, Montgomery. 513-317-0300. www.cincinnaticommunityorchestra.org

ƒ Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m. “Symphonic Portraits”

Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra | The Redmoor, Mt. Lookout Square. 513-280-8181. www.cincinnatijazz.org

Big Band Series:

ƒ Dec. 15, 7 p.m. “Jingle Jazz”

ƒ Jan. 26, 7 p.m. “Jazz Royalty: Mandy Gaines Sings Count Basie”

Trevor Kroeger leads The Union Ensemble in Christmas concerts at St. Rose on Riverside Drive and St. Francis de Sales in East Walnut Hills, Dec. 15, 16 & 18.

Cincinnati Men’s Chorus | Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine. 513-542-2626. www.cincinnatimenschorus.org ƒ Dec. 3-4. “Family”

Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra | Seton High School, Price Hill. 513-941-8956. www.gocmo.org ƒ Dec. 4, 3 p.m. Christmas Concert

Cincinnati Song Initiative | www.cincinnatisonginitiative.org ƒ Jan. 14, 7 p.m. “Cincinnati songSLAM” (Liberty Exhibition Hall, Northside) ƒ Jan. 15, 4 p.m. “Narrative of a Slave Woman: Songs of Suffering, Hope, and Freedom” (Location TBA)

Cincinnati Sound Chorus | The Carnegie, Covington. 513-554-2648. www.cincinnatisound.org ƒ Dec. 10, 2 & 7 p.m. “Yuletide Celebration”

Cincinnati Symphony & Pops | Music Hall, Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-3300. www.cincinnatisymphony.org ƒ Dec. 2-3. (CSO) “Gershwin & The Planets,” Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Michelle Cann, piano; Treble Voices of May Festival Chorus, vocalists ƒ Dec. 9-11. (Pops) “Holiday Pops,” Annie Moses Band

ƒ Dec. 29-30. (Pops) “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Keitaro Harada, conductor

ƒ Dec. 31, 8 p.m. (Pops) “New Year’s Eve: Billie Holiday Songbook,” Quiana Lynell, vocalist

ƒ Jan. 6-7. (CSO) “Sibelius Symphony No. 2,” Thomas Søndergård, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin

ƒ

Jan. 13-14. (CSO) “Grieg: Peer Gynt in Concert,” Pekka Kuusisto, violin; Camilla Tilling, May Festival Chorus, vocalists; Concert Theatre Works, performers ƒ Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m. (Chamber Players) “Brahms & Modern Marvels” ƒ Jan, 21-22. (CSO) “Tchaikovsky & Prokofiev,” Randall Goosby, violin ƒ Jan. 25, 8 p.m. CSO Proof: “The Right to be Forgotten,” Gabriel Kahane, composer and vocalist; Nathalie Joachim, Alex Sopp, flute and vocalists; Holcombe Waller, guitar and synth ƒ Jan. 27-29. (Pops) “Tchaikovsky Spectacular: 1812 Overture”

Cincinnati Youth Choir | Corbett Auditorium, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. www.cincinnatichoir.org ƒ Dec. 10, 2 & 5 p.m. “Home for the Holidays”

Classical Revolution | Listing Loon, Northside. 216-407-4194. www.classicalrevolutioncincinnati.com ƒ Second Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Chamber music in casual bar setting

College-Conservatory of Music | University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. https://ccm.uc.edu

ƒ Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. CCM Chamber Concert: Piano (Mary Emery Hall)

ƒ Dec. 3-4, 2 & 5 p.m. Feast of Carols (Corbett Auditorium)

ƒ Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. UC Symphony Orchestra (Corbett Auditorium)

ƒ Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. UC Bearcat Bands (Corbett Auditorium)

Collegium Cincinnati | Christ Church Cathedral, downtown.

www.collegiumcincinnati.org

ƒ Dec. 4, 4 p.m. Handel: “Messiah,” Matthew Phelps, conductor

Concert:nova | Woodward Theater, Over-the-Rhine. www.concertnova.com

ƒ Jan. 14-15. “Binging Brahms”

Fitton Center for Creative Arts | Hamilton. 513-863-8873. www.fittoncenter.org

ƒ Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. “A Motown Christmas” ƒ Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. “An Evening of Dave Brubeck: Take Five”

Forest-Aires Women’s Chorus | Anderson Hills United Methodist Church. 513-232-4736. www.theforestaires.com

ƒ Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m. Christmas Concert

Friends of Music Hall | Music Hall Ballroom, Over-the-Rhine. 513-621-2787. www.friendsofmusichall.org/events

ƒ Dec. 9, 7 p.m. “Happy Holidays with the Mighty Wurlitzer”

Hard Rock Casino | Downtown. www.hardrockcasinocincinnati.com

ƒ Dec. 3, 8 p.m. Styx

ƒ Dec. 17, 8 p.m. A Boy Band Christmas

Heritage Bank Center | Downtown. www.heritagebankcenter.com

ƒ Jan. 20, 6 p.m. Winter Jam 2023

Kentucky Symphony Orchestra | Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University. 859-431-6216. www.kyso.org

ƒ Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. “Happy Feet,” dance music by Copland, Still and de Falla, James R. Cassidy, conductor

Knox Church | Hyde Park. 513-321-2573. knox.org/music

ƒ Dec. 18, 5 p.m. Mendelssohn: “Vom Himmel hoch”, Vaughan Williams: “Hodie,” Earl Rivers, conductor

Linton Chamber Music | 513-381-6868. www.lintonmusic.org

ƒ Jan. 8, 4 p.m. “Augustin Hadelich Returns” Ran Dank, piano; Augustin Hadelich, violin; Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello (First Unitarian Church)

ƒ Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m. Encore of previous (Congregation Beth Adam)

ƒ Jan. 29, 4 p.m. “Quintessential Clarinet” Anthony McGill, clarinet; Jaime Laredo, violin; James Thompson, violin; Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt, viola; Sharon Robinson, cello (First Unitarian Church)

ƒ Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. Encore of previous (Congregation Beth Adam)

www.queencitycabaretcincy.com

Ludlow Garage | Clifton. www.ludlowgaragecincinnati.com

ƒ

Dec. 2, 8:30 p.m. Ruben Studdard ƒ Dec. 3, 8:30 p.m. Lotus Land – A Tribute to Rush

ƒ Dec. 8, 8:30 p.m. Tusk – Fleetwood Mac Tribute

ƒ

Dec. 9, 8:30 p.m. Al Jardine

ƒ Dec. 10, 8:30 p.m. Mindi Abair’s “I Can’t Wait for Christmas”

ƒ Dec. 15, 8:30 p.m. Nefesh Mountain ƒ Dec. 16, 8:30 p.m. “An Olde English Christmas” Herman's Hermits feat. Peter Noone

ƒ Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. (Warsaw Federal Incline Theater)

Northern Kentucky Community Chorus | Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Lakeside Park. www.nkychorus.org

ƒ Dec. 10, 7 p.m. “Tidings of Joy” w/ Cincinnati Collaborative Ringing Project, Stephanie Nash, conductor ƒ Dec. 11, 3 p.m. Encore of previous

Northern Kentucky University | Greaves Concert Hall. 859-572-5464. https://music.nku.edu

No

Promises Vocal Band presents a series of concerts in December, showcasing original arrangements of a cappella pop and jazz, Dec. 14-21.

ƒ Dec. 1, 7 p.m. Concert Band and Symphonic Winds

ƒ Dec. 3, 3 p.m. Woodwind and Brass Chamber Recital

ƒ Dec. 4, 5 p.m. Choirs (St. Thomas Church, Ft. Thomas)

ƒ Dec. 5, 7 p.m. Steel Band and Percussion Ensemble

ƒ Dec. 7, 7 p.m. Philharmonic Orchestra

ƒ Dec. 8, 7 p.m. Jazz Ensemble & Vocal Jazz

Queen City Cabaret | Liberty Exhibition Hall, Northside.

ƒ Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. “A Merry Little Christmas Cabaret”

St. Peter in Chains Cathedral | Downtown. 513-421-5354. www.stpeterinchainscathedral.org

ƒ Jan. 28, 7:30 p.m. Cincinnati Brass Band

Schwartz’s Point | Over-the-Rhine. www.thepoint.club

ƒ Most Thursdays, every Friday & Saturday. Live Jazz

Sycamore Community Singers | Sycamore Presbyterian Church. www.sycamorecommunitysingers.com

ƒ Dec. 8-9, 7:30 p.m. Sounds of December

Taft Museum of Art | Lytle Park, downtown. 513-241-0343. www.taftmuseum.org

ƒ Sundays, Dec. 4, 11 & 18, 2:30 p.m. Holiday Music Series

Taft Theatre | Downtown. www.tafttheatre.org

ƒ Dec. 29, 7:30 p.m. Old Crow Medicine Show

ƒ Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. Diamond Rio

Dec. 17, 8:30 p.m. Pam Tillis Christmas ƒ Dec. 23, 8:30 p.m. Jonathan Butler's "O Holy Night" with Grace Kelly

ƒ

ƒ

Jan. 7, 9:30 p.m. The Flex Crew

ƒ Jan. 13, 8:30 p.m. Chris Barron ƒ Jan. 14, 8:30 p.m. Najee

ƒ Jan. 21, 8:30 p.m. John McEuen & The Circle Band

ƒ Jan. 28, 8:30 p.m. The 5th Dimension

MegaCorp Pavilion at Ovation | Newport. www.promowestlive.com

ƒ Dec. 2, 7 p.m. Granger Smith, Earl Dibbles Jr.

ƒ Dec. 16, 6 p.m. The 1975

Memorial Hall | Over-the-Rhine. www.memorialhallotr.com

ƒ

Dec. 16-17, 8 p.m. “An Acoustic Christmas with Over The Rhine”

ƒ Dec. 18, 4 p.m. “An Acoustic Christmas with Over The Rhine”

ƒ Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Rhiannon Giddens with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi

ƒ

Jan. 27, 8 p.m. Neko Case

No Promises Vocal Band | www.nopromisesvocalband.com

“Christmas with No Promises”:

ƒ Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m. (The Carnegie)

ƒ Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m. (Community of the Good Shepherd)

ƒ Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. (St. Columban Parish)

ARTS/CULTURE | The List

TempleLive at River Front Live | East End. www.riverfrontlivecincy.com

ƒ Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. Tropidelic

The Union Ensemble | www.strosecincinnati.org/tickets

ƒ Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m. St. Rose Christmas Concert; free but tickets required (St. Rose Church, East End)

ƒ Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. St. Rose Christmas Concert (St. Francis de Sales Church, East Walnut Hills)

ƒ Dec. 18, 3:00 p.m. St. Rose Christmas Concert (St. Rose Church, East End)

Urban Artifact | 1660 Blue Rock Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45223. artifactbeer.com

ƒ Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Flight 88 weekly piano performances

Vocal Arts Ensemble | Christ Church Cathedral, downtown. 513-381-3300. www.vaecinci.com

ƒ Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. Joby Talbot: “Path of Miracles,” Craig Hella Johnson, conductor

Westwood First Presbyterian | Westwood. 513-661-6846. www.wfpc.org/music

ƒ Dec. 4, 2:30 p.m. James Bunte Jazz Trio w/ Emily Jordan, vocalist

Xavier Music Series | Gallagher Center Theater, Xavier University. 513-745-3161. www.xavier.edu/musicseries

ƒ Jan. 28, 8 p.m. Mambo Combo

Young Professionals Choral Collective | Christ Church Cathedral, downtown. 513-601-8699. ypccsing.org

ƒ Dec. 14, 4 p.m. “Fa’s and La’s”

ƒ Dec. 17, 4 p.m. “Silver & Gold”

Theater

American Legacy Theatre | Various locations. 513-443-5429. americanlegacytheatre.org

ƒ Dec. 9-18. “12 Dates of Christmas”

Broadway Across America | Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center, downtown. 513-721-3344. https://cincinnati.broadway.com

ƒ Dec. 6-18. Lloyd Webber: “Jesus Christ Superstar”

ƒ Jan. 3-15. Flaherty: “Anastasia”

The Carnegie | Covington. 859-491-2030. www.thecarnegie.com

ƒ Jan. 28-Feb. 12. “Singin’ in the Rain”

CenterStage Players | Lockland High School. 513-558-4910. www.centerstageplayersinc.com ƒ Jan. 27-Feb. 5. Shakespeare: “Macbeth”

Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati | Taft Theatre, downtown. 513-569-8080. www.thechildrenstheatre.com ƒ Dec. 10-19. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer JR.”

Cincinnati Arts Association | Aronoff Center, downtown. 513-621-2787. www.cincinnatiarts.org

ƒ Dec. 2-4. Cirque Dreams Holidaze ƒ Dec. 2-4. “C.S. Lewis on Stage: Further Up & Further In”

ƒ Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. Million Dollar Quartet Christmas

Cincinnati Black Theatre | Word of Deliverance Church, Forest Park. 513-241-6060. www.cincinnatiblacktheatre.org

ƒ Dec. 3 & 9-10. “Black Nativity: God Is Still In Control”

Cincinnati Landmark Productions | Covedale Center, Price Hill. 513-241-6550. www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com

ƒ Dec. 1-23. “A Christmas Carol”

ƒ Jan. 26-Feb. 19. “Boeing, Boeing”

Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative | Fifth Third Bank Theater, Aronoff Center, downtown. 513-621-ARTS. www.cincyplaywrights.org

ƒ Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. David Hughes: “The Cost of Living”

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company | Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-2273. www.cincyshakes.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 3. “Little Women”

ƒ Dec. 8-31. “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)”

ƒ Jan. 27-Feb. 18. “The Rewards of Being Frank”

Drama Workshop | Cheviot. 513-5988303. www.thedramaworkshop.org

ƒ Dec. 2-18. “Sanders Family Christmas”

ƒ Jan. 20-23. “Home View Theatre VI”

Ensemble Theatre | Over-the-Rhine. 513-421-3555. www.ensemblecincinnati.org

ƒ Thru Dec. 30. “The Dancing Princesses”

ƒ Jan. 14-Feb. 5. “Grand Horizons”

Fairfield Community Arts Center | Fairfield. 513-867-5348. www.fairfield-city.org

ƒ Jan. 27, 8 p.m. “The Boomer Boys Musical”

Falcon Theatre | Newport. 513-479-6783. www.falcontheater.net

ƒ Nov. 18-Dec. 3. “Betrayal”

ƒ Jan. 27-Feb. 11. “The Lifespan of a Fact”

Fitton Center for Creative Arts | Hamilton. 513-863-8873. www.fittoncenter.org

ƒ Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati: “A Seussified Christmas Carol” ƒ Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m. “Tricky Max Abri-KIDazzle Show”

Footlighters | Stained Glass Theatre, Newport. 859-291-7464. www.footlighters.org ƒ Dec. 1-18. “Next to Normal”

INNOVAtheatre | Sorg Opera House, Middletown. www.innovatheatre.com ƒ Dec. 15-18. “Miracle of 34th Street: The Musical” ƒ Jan. 19-22. “Of Men and Cars”

Inspiring Arts | Parrish Auditorium, Miami University, Hamilton. www.inspiringartsproductions.com ƒ Dec. 8-11. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical”

Kincaid Regional Theatre | Falmouth. 859-654-2636. www.krtshows.com ƒ Dec. 9-18. “A Country Christmas Carol”

Lebanon Theatre Company | Lebanon. 513-932-8300. www.ltcplays.com ƒ Dec. 8-11. “A Plaid Christmas”

Mariemont Players | Mariemont. 513-684-1236. www.mariemontplayers.com ƒ Jan. 12-29. “Dearly Departed”

Middletown Lyric Theatre | Finkelman Auditorium, Middletown. 513-425-7140. www.middletownlyric.org

Caza Sikes Gallery in Oakley shines a light on “The Latta Collection of Rookwood Pottery." Opening reception is Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m. Runs through Jan. 7.

ƒ Dec. 9-17. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” holiday Cabaret

Northern Kentucky University | Corbett Theatre. 859-572-5464. https://theatre.nku.edu

ƒ Dec. 2-11. “Peter & The Starcatcher”

Playhouse in the Park | 513-421-3888. www.cincyplay.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 4. “The Lion”

(Warsaw Federal Incline Theater)

ƒ Dec. 14-18. Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig’s Holiday Party (The Phoenix)

Queen City Vaudevillians | www.queencityvaudevillians.com

ƒ Dec. 3, 7 p.m. (Artsville)

ƒ Dec. 17, 7 p.m. (Falcon Theatre)

The Story Collective | Fitton Center, Hamilton. www.thestorycollective.org

ƒ Dec. 17. “Christmas with TSC”

Sunset Players | Art Center at Dunham, Price Hill. 513-588-4988. www.sunsetplayers.org

ƒ Dec. 2-11. “Miracle at the Bayou Bowl”

Taft Theatre | Downtown. www.tafttheatre.org

ƒ Dec. 3, 8 p.m. Rupi Kaur

Tri-County Players | Bell Tower Arts Pavilion, Evendale. 513-471-2030. www.facebook.com

ƒ Dec. 2-11. “The Dining Room”

True Theatre | Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine. www.memorialhallotr.com

ƒ Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m. “trueFRIEND”

Village Players | Ft. Thomas. 859-392-0500. www.villageplayers.org

ƒ Dec. 2-10. “Holidazed”

Visual Art

21c Museum Hotel | Downtown. 513-578-6600. www.21cmuseumhotels.com/cincinnati

ƒ Thru August . “Refuge: Needing, Seeking, Creating Shelter”

The Angelico Project | St. Francis Xavier Undercroft. www.angelicoproject.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 12. Annual Greater Cincinnati Catholic Art Juried Exhibition

The Annex Gallery | Pendleton. www.facebook.com

ƒ Thru Jan. 27. “Bending the Arc,” works by artists V.L. Cox and Stephen Mangum

Art Academy of Cincinnati | Over-the-Rhine. 513-562-6262. www.artacademy.edu

ƒ Thru Dec. 9. FotoFocus – Ian Strange: “Disturbed Home” & “Annex” • “Digital Realities” • “Driven”

Art Design Consultants | West End. https://adcfineart.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 30. “Art Comes Alive” 2022

ARTclectic Gallery | Silverton. 513-822-5200. artclecticgallery.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 23. “Crazy 8's Art Exhibit”

Arts Alliance | Sinclair College, Mason. 513-309-8585. www.the-arts-alliance.org

ƒ Thru Dec. 30. Rick H. Jones: “New Works”

ArtWorks | V² Gallery, Walnut Hills. 513333-0388. www.artworkscincinnati.org

ƒ Thru Dec. 31. FotoFocus – “Perspectives”

ƒ Thru Dec. 17. FotoFocus – “As We Bloom,” Asa Featherstone IV and youth artists, multimedia stories

Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center | Covington. 859-431-0020. www.bakerhunt.org

ƒ Thru March 4. Baker Hunt DBL

The Barn | Mariemont. 513-272-3700. www.artatthebarn.org

ƒ Dec. 3-4. Showcase of Arts Annual Art Sale

ƒ Dec. 10-18. Elmer A. Ruff: “Surrealist Constructions” Reception: Dec. 10, 1-4 p.m.

The Carnegie | Covington. 859-491-2030. www.thecarnegie.com

ƒ Thru Jan. 28. FotoFocus – “These Things Are Connected”

Caza Sikes | Oakley. 513-290-3127. www.cazasikes.com

ƒ Dec. 2-Jan. 7. “The Latta Collection of Rookwood Pottery” Reception Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m.

Cincinnati Art Museum | Eden Park. 513-721-2787. www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 15. FotoFocus – “Natural World”

ƒ Thru Jan. 1. “Galloping through Dynasties”

ƒ Thru Feb. 5. “Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art”

Cincinnati Museum Center | Queensgate. 513-287-7000. www.cincymuseum.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 8. Michael Scott: “America’s Epic Treasures featuring Preternatural”

Clay Alliance | Clifton Recreation Center. www.clayalliance.org

ƒ Dec. 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Holiday Pottery Fair

Clifton Cultural Arts Center | Short Vine, Corryville. 513-497-2860. www.cliftonculturalarts.org

ƒ Nov. 4-Dec. 2. “The Golden Ticket” juried exhibition

Contemporary Arts Center | Downtown. 513-345-8400. www.contemporaryartscenter.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 15. FotoFocus – “On The Line: Documents of Risk and Faith”

ƒ Thru Feb. 12. FotoFocus – Baseera Khan: “Weight of History” • “Images on Which to Build, 1970-90” • Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven”

Essex Studios | Walnut Hills. 513-4762170. www.essexstudioscincinnati.com

ƒ Dec. 2-3. 6-10 p.m. Art Walk

Eva G. Farris Gallery | Thomas More University, Crestview Hills. 859-344-3300. www.thomasmore.edu

ƒ Thru Dec. 2. 2022 Juried High School Exhibition

Fitton Center | Hamilton. 513-863-8873. www.fittoncenter.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 6. FotoFocus – “The Land and That Which Lives on It: Contemporary Photography and the Curious Nature of Our Planet” • FotoFocus – “Unusual Character: Portraits and the Modern Eye”

Glendale Heritage Preservation | Glendale. 513-771-8722. www.glendaleheritage.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 28, Thursdays & Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. “The Merchants of Glendale”

Indian Hill Gallery | Indian Hill. 513984-6024. www.indianhillgallery.com

ƒ Thru Jan. 7. Lyric Morris-Latchaw: “Sister Honeysuckle,” new paintings ƒ Jan. 27-Feb. 19. Ellina Chetverikova: “Cincinnati Through the Years”

Iris BookCafe and Gallery | Over-the-Rhine. 513-260-8434. www.irisbookcafeotr.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 31. FotoFocus – “PhotOH2: Other Photographers from the Heartland”

Kennedy Heights Arts Center | Kennedy Heights. 513-631-4278. www.kennedyarts.org

ƒ Thru Dec. 31. Local Talent 2022: Community Art Exhibition (Lindner Gallery)

ƒ Thru Jan. 14. Kennedy Collective Exhibition (Kennedy Gallery)

Manifest Gallery | East Walnut Hills. 513-861-3638. www.manifestgallery.org ƒ Thru Dec. 9. “Arch” works exploring made space • “Fourth Wall” art that

challenges the frame • “Balance” exploring composition

ƒ Dec. 16-Jan. 13. “13th Annual Tapped” artists with their current or former teachers • “Imprint 2022” contemporary printmaking • “Book Club” narrative works, art about books, language, or literature • “One 13” The $5,000 Manifest Prize. Reception: Dec. 16, 6-9 p.m. ƒ Jan. 27-Feb. 23. Five-Themes Project: “Mirror” • “Table” • “Window” • “Bed” • “Stairs” Reception: Jan. 27, 6-9 p.m.

Miami University Art Museum | Oxford. 513-529-2232. www.miamioh.edu/cca/art-museum ƒ Thru Dec. 10. “Miami Interconnected: Land | Identity | Community” • “Lens for Freedom: Civil Rights Photography by Steve Schapiro” • “PhotOH: Photographers of the Heartland” ƒ Jan. 23-June 13. “Art and Devotion: An Art and Architecture History Capstone Exhibition” • “Current Forms: Ohio

Figurative Ceramics”

Middletown Arts Center | Middletown. 513-424-2417. www.middletownartscenter.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 14. Area Art Exhibition

ARTS/CULTURE

The Mohawk Gallery | Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-5116. www.robinimaging.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 3. FotoFocus – “Glacial Melt Before Our Very Eyes”

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center | The Banks, downtown. 513-333-7500. www.freedomcenter.org

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Thru Nov. 27. “Beyond Guilt”: visually tells stories of those impacted by oversentencing and over-punishment

ƒ Thru March 6. FotoFocus – “Free as they want to be”: Artists Committed to Memory

Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights. 859-572-5148. https://nku.edu/gallery

ƒ Thru Dec. 9. BFA Senior Exhibitions.

Reception: Dec. 1, 5-7 p.m.

ƒ Jan. 26-Feb. 16. Juried Student Exhibition

Off Ludlow Gallery | Clifton. 513-201-7153. www.facebook.com

ƒ Thru Dec. 23. Gallery Gifts IV

PAR-Projects | Northside. www.parprojects.com

ƒ Thru March 31. FotoFocus – Susan Ferrari Rowley: “Alterations in Dystopia” • FotoFocus – Billy Colbert: “Lessons are Learned”

Pendleton Art Center | Pendleton. 513421-4339. www.pendletonartcenter.com

ƒ Final Fridays, 5-9 p.m., open studios

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum | Hamilton. 513-868-1234.

www.pyramidhill.org

ƒ Thru Jan. 1. “Journey Borealis” ƒ Dec. 11-Feb. 12. “Here and Now”

Skirball Museum | Hebrew Union College, Clifton. https://csm.huc.edu

ƒ Thru Jan. 29. J. Miles Wolf: “Jewish Cincinnati: A Photographic Record”

Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery | Mount St. Joseph University, Delhi. www.msj.edu

ƒ Thru Dec. 9. “Parallel Visions”

ƒ Jan. 17-Feb. 17. MSJ Art & Design Alumni Invitational

Summit Hotel | Madisonville. 513-527-9900. www.thesummithotel.com/about-us/art ƒ Thru Dec. 31. FotoFocus –“Better Close Than Never”

Taft Museum of Art | Lytle Park, downtown. 513-241-0343. www.taftmuseum.org ƒ Thru Jan. 15. FotoFocus – “Craft and

Mary Jo Bole's "Family White Elephants" is one of three diverse exhibits at the Aronoff's Weston Art Gallery on display through Jan. 15.

Camera: The Art of Nancy Ford Cones” ƒ Thru Feb. 5. “Fakes, Forgeries and Followers in the Taft Collection” ƒ Thru Jan. 8. Dining Room and Duncanson foyer installations

University of Cincinnati Clermont College | Park National Bank Art Gallery, Clermont College, Batavia. 513-558-2787. www.ucclermont.edu

ƒ Thru Dec. 15. FotoFocus – Virginia Kistler: “Illuminated Landscapes”

Visionaries & Voices | Northside. 513-861-4333. visionariesandvoices.com ƒ Dec. 2, 5-8 p.m. “Holly Dazed”

Warren County Historical Museum | Lebanon. www.wchsmuseum.org

ƒ Thru Dec. 31. The Paintings of Quaker artist Marcus Mote

Wave Pool Gallery and The Welcome Project | Camp Washington. www.wavepoolgallery.org ƒ Thru Dec. 10. 2022 “Welcome (M)Art,” Art/Food Residency: Ngoc Nguyen: “Room For Two Table For Ten” ƒ Thru Feb. 25. “The Gift”

Weston Art Gallery | Aronoff Center, downtown. 513-977-4165. www.cincinnatiarts.org/weston-art-gallery ƒ Thru Jan. 15. Candace Black: “Accoutrements” • Steven Thurston: “Lost in Translation – Deception and Desire” • Mary Jo Bole: “Family White Elephants”

ƒ Jan. 20-March 5. Joshua Penrose: “Shadow Works” • Emil Robinson: “Evidence” • Katherine Colborn: “Sheltering in Smoke”

Xavier University Art Gallery | A. B. Cohen Center, Xavier University www.xavier.edu/art-department/art-gallery ƒ Thru Dec. 10. FotoFocus – P. J. Sturdevant: “A Record of Disuse” 

2022 will be a monumental year of progress for the Sharonville Convention Center and the Northern Lights District. With our upcoming $21 million expansion set to begin this year, the City of Sharonville continues to grow our amenities. The new Todd Portune Hall will accommodate up to 2,000 people for our large galas while our Northern Lights Ballroom will continue to accommodate events up to 700. With the new Delta by Marriott Hotel, our connected Hyatt Place hotel and the award winning Third Eye Brewery all just steps away, your guests will truly enjoy a one-of-a kind experience.

Get Inspired. To learn more contact us at 513.771.7744 or at sccinfo@cityofsharonville.com sharonvilleconventioncenter.com

The Datebook

DEC. 2, FRIDAY

Friends of Music Hall, Holiday Fete | 5-8 p.m. Krohn Conservatory. DETAILS: Unveiling of botanical model of Music Hall and holiday kickoff. Open bar, dinner by-the-bite, tour of Krohn exhibit "A Celestial Holiday." Music by Cheryl Renee. Tickets: $100 or $150 for patron level. Funds benefit Music Hall education programs.  www.friendsofmusichall.org

DEC. 3, SATURDAY

Crayons to Computers, Keep Our Kids Warm Drive | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Kenwood Towne Center. DETAILS: Seeking donations of cold-weather gear for area elementary school students. Four ways to donate: Nov. 1-Dec. 3, drop off handmade or store-bought hats, scarves and/or mittens in designated donation bins at inside mall entrances at Macy’s; the main entrance (next to The Cheesecake Factory) on Dec. 3, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., or use curbside drop-off.  www.crayons2computers.org

HealthCare Connection, 55th Anniversary Celebration | 6-9:30 p.m. Sharonville Convention Center. DETAILS: Cocktail reception, dinner, live music. Keynote: Karen Bankston, professor emerita, College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati and president and CEO of KDB and Associated Consulting Services, LLC. Attire: cocktail.  www.healthcare-connection.org/ events

Irish Heritage Center, Annual IHC Green Tie Affair | 5-10 p.m. ColumbiaTusculum. DETAILS: Green-tie affair, dinner, live & silent auctions, tours, Irish dignitaries, music, songs, humor. Tickets $150 members; $165 guests.  www.simpletix.com/e/13th-annual-ihcgreen-tie-affair-tickets-119111

DEC. 4, SUNDAY

Cincinnati Preservation Association, Annual Meeting and Preservation Awards | 4-6 p.m. ARCO, 3301 Price Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45205. DETAILS: Awards to be presented for Preservation Leadership, Education, Restoration,

With a Spotlight on the Movers and Makers behind Greater Cincinnati’s Fundraisers, Friend-Raisers and Community Events

Rehabilitation, Adaptive Reuse and Sustainability.  www.cincinnatipreservation.org/ annual-preservation-awards

DEC. 7, WEDNESDAY

Perspectives on Christmas | Virtual. Power of Voice discussion presented by Harriet Beecher Stowe House.  www.eventbrite.com

DEC. 10, SATURDAY

My Nose Turns Red, Circ-A-Thon | 12:30-2:30 p.m. Fairview-Clifton German Language School. DETAILS: My Nose Turns Red’s circus students pick a circus skill to learn. Also, circus demonstrations by advanced students and coaches in jump roping, unicycle and gym wheels, plus auction and raffle.  www.mynoseturnsred.org/circ-a-thon

JAN. 16, MONDAY

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, King Legacy Celebration | 8 a.m. 50 East Freedom Way, The Banksx. DETAILS: Virtual option available. Continental breakfast, performances, keynote by Brittany Packnett Cunningham. Tickets: $50.  freedomcenter.org/voice/event/klc23

JAN. 20, FRIDAY

School for Creative & Performing Arts, Future of the Arts Gala  scpa.cps-k12.org

FEB. 4, SATURDAY

American Heart Association, Greater Cincinnati Heart Ball | Hyatt Regency Cincinnati. DETAILS: Chair: Beverly A. Grant. Honorees: Kay and Jack Geiger and Dr. Creighton B. Wright. VIP reception, silent auction, dinner, live auction,after party, late night bites. Tickets $500.

 heart.org/en/affiliates/ohio/cincinnati

The Good Samaritans, Annual Gala "All That Glitters" | 6-11 p.m. Music Hall Ballroom. DETAILS: Beneficiary is Good Samaritan Hospital’s Master Facility Project, along with annual support of the Good Samaritan Free Health

Center and Medical Education Research Fund.  www.gshfoundation.com/gala

FEB. 7, TUESDAY

Stepping Stones, Annual Open Your Heart | Eddie Merlot’s & At Home. DETAILS: Cocktail hour, premier raffle, artwork created by Stepping Stones’ participants, take & bake meals and more. Tickets $185.  cincyopenyourheart.org

FEB. 11, SATURDAY

The Victorian @ Riverside, Gala Dinner-Dance | Time: TBA. The Cincinnati Woman’s Club, Clifton. DETAILS: Ellen Batelle Dietrich Awards plus live and silent auctions.  www.victorianatriverside.org

FEB. 23, THURSDAY

Queen City Book Bank, Gala for Literacy: One for the Books | 5 p.m. Hard Rock Casino. DETAILS: Auctions, raffles, food and networking opportunities. Tickets $125.  lngc.ejoinme.org/GalaforLiteracy2022

FEB. 25, SATURDAY

Clovernook Center, Vision Over Sight | 6-10 p.m. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. DETAILS: Honoring visionaries and advocates for the blind and visually impaired

community. Dinner, awards celebration, live and silent auctions.  e.givesmart.com/events/se3

MARCH 14, TUESDAY

Perspectives on Christmas, a Power of Voice discussion series, will share the holiday spirit Dec. 7, with three ways of looking at Christmas: a poem by Black author-activist Howard Thurman and two Jewish perspectives. Discussion leaders are Dr. John Getz and Dr. Norman Finkelstein, professors emeritus in the Department of English, Xavier University. More Datebook at MoversMakers.org

Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, Women of Distinction "Girls Change the World" | Queen City Club. DETAILS: Emcee: Sheila Gray, WKRC-TV news anchor.  gswo.org/en/donate/ women-of-distinction

Mariner: tmariner@moversmakers.org for digital and print options. *See Page 4 for print deadlines. Events must meet our editorial standards. Print content is chosen at the discretion of editorial staff and featured as space allows.

My Nose Turns Red, the clowning and circus troupe and school, holds its annual fundraiser, Circ-a-Thon, Dec. 10, at Fairview-Clifton German Language School.

The American Heart Association will celebrate its 30th Greater Cincinnati Heart Ball on Feb. 4 at a new location, the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati. Kay and Jack Geiger will be honored with the Heart of the City Award. Dr. Creighton B. Wright will receive the Healthcare Leadership Impact Award, an inaugural recognition that will be named for Dr. Wright. Beverly A. Grant is campaign chair.

MARCH 19, SUNDAY

American Heart Association, Heart Mini-Marathon & Walk | 7:30 a.m. Downtown Cincinnati, corner of 5th & Lawrence. DETAILS: TBA  www2.heart.org

APRIL 23, SUNDAY

American Lung Association, Fight for Air | 8 a.m. Great American Ballpark. DETAILS: Stair climbing event designed for every type of climber, from beginners to competitive climbers. Race to the top or take it at your own speed. For best climb experience, form team of friends and family, coworkers or neighbors. Registration: Until Jan. 1, $25. Day of: $40.  www.fightforairclimb.org/Cincinnati

JUNE 3, SATURDAY

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, REVEL Gala | 5 p.m. Otto M. Budig Theater. DETAILS: Reception with cocktails and dinner by the bite, awards celebration, option to add on closing night performance of Trouble in Mind. Tickets start at $250.  https://cincyshakes.com 

By John O. Faherty

Liz Carter of Scripps: The hard work of smart giving

Giving away money can seem like such a delightful thing to do. If somebody is needy, you give them some money, they feel better, and you feel better. The world smiles upon everybody involved.

But the thing of it is, being magnanimous comes with responsibilities. You want to listen to your heart, but you need to make sure you are giving in the right places, in the right ways, to the right people. It is harder than it looks.

And sometimes, to do it even better, a charitable organization like the Scripps Howard Foundation decides to make it a little bit harder.

This year, 60 years after its founding, the Scripps Howard Foundation reimagined itself. The foundation remains, but it is now a sister organization to the Scripps Howard Fund. The foundation has always been a private organization. The new fund is a public charity. It is the newly formed fund that will be giving away the vast majority of money.

And Liz Carter is thrilled about it. Carter is the CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund and the Scripps Howard Foundation. She has been with the foundation since 2015, coming from St. Vincent de Paul, where she served as executive director.

In 15 years at the helm of St. Vincent, Carter increased the budget from $1.5 million to $15 million, and increased the number of people served from 50,000 annually to 120,000.

She also helped change Ohio laws to permit charitable pharmacies and then created Ohio’s first, the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy.

Along the way, she learned that giving away money strategically is what makes charity resonate. “You have to be smart about it. You have to be considerate and empathetic, but you need to be smart.”

And Scripps gives away a lot of money. In 2021 more than $6 million. That money, not surprisingly, went largely into three buckets that have been the core pillars of Scripps giving: childhood literacy, journalism, and whatever urgent needs emerge at a particular time.

So last year, approximately $1 million went to childhood literacy, $3.1 million went to journalism and First Amendment causes, and the remaining $2 million went to nonprofits nationwide that were recommended by Scripps

television stations and their audiences.

COVID was the cause of a lot of giving the last few years. And last year wildfire devastation in the West earned a lot of attention. This year, relief in Florida after Hurricane Ida has caused Scripps to help.

To be considered a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service, at least 33 percent of an organization’s money has to come from public support. That did not used to be the case, but now the Scripps Howard Fund is well over that percentage. Today, only 40 percent of the money given away by Scripps comes from the endowment.

Carter said the change to being a public charity will allow both the fund and the foundation to do better work. “We have a growing pool of donors who live across the country and know their local areas. They are the experts, they know where the needs are.”

Scripps is the country’s fourth-largest local TV broadcaster, with 61 stations in 41 markets, including WCPO 9 in Cincinnati. The people

who work at those stations live in those communities. And they hear from viewers who also know the community. This allows for targeted giving to organizations that are sometimes pivotal to the health of a community but may have a low profile.

“The national organizations that come in after a disaster are very important and do amazing work,” Carter said. “But because of our local knowledge, we are able to help the organizations that have been in a community for a long time and will remain there when everybody else has left. It matters.”

It does make sense that a company in the news and information business would rely on all the people in those local communities to help The Scripps Howard Fund learn what the needs are, and the best way to help.

As important, the viewers of those local stations are also able to give directly to Scripps, knowing that the money will stay in their local communities and help their friends and neighbors. Even the act of giving can help Scripps

You have to be smart about it. You have to be considerate and empathetic, but you need to be smart.

– Liz Carter, on philanthropic investing

Liz Carter

Photo by a M y sPasoff for M overs & Makers

decide where money should be given. When a significant amount of people are giving to help others in their area, Scripps can take notice and direct resources accordingly.

The E.W. Scripps Company is television stations now, but it started as a newspaper company and held a lot of newspapers for more than a century. So literacy is a natural fit. One of the overarching goals of the Scripps Fund and Foundation is to make sure all children have access to books. This school year, Scripps will give away its one millionth book to a child.

Locally, a lot of those books are distributed with the Queen City Book Bank. Scripps helped this organization get off the ground, and has partnered with it ever since.

“We would not have gotten here without Scripps,” said Michelle Otten Guenther, the CEO. “Scripps has always been a champion for us. We came to them with only an idea.”

The idea was to work with teachers in Title 1 schools – schools with high poverty rates – and to give each student at the school one book a month.

“We need to enhance book access,” Guenther said. “There are a lot of communities where there is only one age-appropriate book per 300 children.”

Has she seen any differences with Scripps since the foundation was joined by the fund? “It has been seamless. They are generous but they give real feedback. They are such generous partners.”

The Scripps Fund is also in local schools. Students at Lincoln Heights Elementary School, Oyler School, Lincoln Elementary, John G. Carlisle Elementary, John P Parker, Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, and Glenn O. Swing will have book fairs for

the children, where students will be able to choose the books they want, all courtesy of Scripps. A child forming their own library, for their own home, is pivotal for keeping a child interested in learning.

This is the prototype of the new organization. Local knowledge about needs, combined with money from the Scripps Fund and Foundation. Informed giving has the most impact.

“This change represents an engaged approach to philanthropy that aligns with the company’s commitment to giving back and focus on measurable community impact,” Carter said when announcing the organizational changes.

Of course, Scripps gives a lot of its money to journalism, focusing a lot of its efforts on recruiting young, smart, diverse people to choose journalism as a profession. “Our goal is to attract the very best and brightest, and then to turn them loose,” Carter said.

An area of concentration this year is fact-checking and accuracy. At a time when people can yell “Fake news” any time they do not like the content of a story, Scripps knows that journalists have to have their facts nailed down. Their processes have to be beyond reproach. That starts when they are young.

Scripps says that thousands of journalism students, including people from the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University, will receive additional training on topics such as fact-checking and verification.

And yes, that is the same Howard named in the Scripps Howard Fund.   www.scripps.com/fund

What distinguishes a private foundation from a public charity?

Private foundations, because they are so closely held and typically have fewer sources of income – usually very wealthy individuals or families – are under more scrutiny from the IRS.

Being a public charity will allow the Scripps Howard Fund to give in more ways to more people. But it will also require that more of the public is involved in giving to the fund. This leads to greater responsibility and accountability.

The Internal Revenue Service helps to explain the differences between the two types of charities:

“Every section 501(c)(3) organization is classified as either a private foundation or a public charity. Private foundations and public charities are distinguished primarily by the level of public involvement in their activities.

“Public charities generally receive a greater portion of their financial support from the general public or governmental units, and have greater interaction with the public. A private foundation, on the other hand, is typically controlled by members of a family or by a small group of individuals, and derives much of its support from a small number of sources and from investment income. Because they are less open to public scrutiny, private foundations are subject to various operating restrictions and to excise taxes for failure to comply with those restrictions.”

Helping the helpers

A search for ways to improve nonprofit support

Movers & Makers gathered six organizations for a conversation about Greater Cincinnati nonprofits whose mission is to help other nonprofits. Moderator Doug Bolton – CEO of Cincinnati Cares, M&M’s interim editor and chair of M&M’s board – led a discussion that included M&M co-publisher Thom Mariner; Leadership Council for Nonprofits Executive Director Beth Benson ; OneSource for Nonprofit Excellence CEO Christie Brown ; Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio Executive Director Erin Childs; and Cincinnati Toolbank Executive Director Kat Pepmeyer. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation:

Doug: How could we be working together more?

Christie: Certainly, in capacity building, we have been talking about what we can do together. Beth (Benson) and I took a field trip to meet with the Miami Valley Nonprofit Collaborative in Dayton to get ideas. So then (Beth and I) started a conversation with Erin (Childs) and AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) around training, mostly. We are all doing training, and we’re not necessarily tripping over each other, but not necessarily coordinating as well as we could. We have agreed to do four quarterly things as a collaborative ourselves.

Beth: This is a trust-building exercise for her and I. We didn’t know each other before this. Our boards didn’t get together and talk about it, but it’s a sheer force of will that we wanted to get together and pursue this. I don’t want to speak for you, Christie, but does that reflect what we’re thinking?

Christie: Yes, I keep throwing out fishing lines, ideas for things. I have suggested to several partners coming out of our strategic planning that we should do something around (joint) memberships. There are so many membership organizations. Nonprofits can do Toolbank, Leadership Council, OneSource, Human Services Chamber, AFP. This is a hard nut to crack because everyone relies on their membership revenue and there are different tiers. It would certainly be easier if a nice funder would come along and we could bridge that gap and bring us all together so that no one suffers if we try to do something together. As everyone knows, it’s always harder to do things with more players vs. just keeping things as they are and marching forward.

Beth: For us, membership revenue is a third of our budget, so it is a substantial part of what makes our programming possible. Something like joint memberships or membership discounts is an intriguing idea and we are committed to continuing the conversation, but it’s complicated by various business models.

Thom: We have tossed around the idea of a membership model for years. For us, it’s about creating a higher level of

engagement with the organizations we serve. It always comes down to “How do we do this without becoming overly complex about it?” We certainly would welcome input on how to do this, especially now that we’re operating as a nonprofit.

Erin: Going back to Doug’s original question about how we can help each other and how Movers & Makers can help us, getting the word out in the way you are doing by putting us all together and saying, “This is what each organization does” … is very helpful. Some are very clear about what they do and who they are, like Christie ’s consulting program and Beth’s BOLD (Board Orientation Leadership Development) training. But I think for all of us in the nonprofit sector to be able to wrap our heads around who does what, and where there is overlap, is very helpful. If you are looking to rent tools, you know exactly where to go. If you are looking for legal services, here’s where you go. Some of us are siloed. But we talk to nonprofits who don’t know about Toolbank, but likewise we’re able to tell them you can rent tables and AV equipment from them in addition to tools. So just getting the word out about nonprofits who serve nonprofits is really important.

Kat: Maybe it’s each of us having a page on our website –the same page for each of us – directing people to the right place?

Beth: Doug and Thom, you also have the platform to talk about the bigger issues. I have been noodling on this both before and after Suzanne Smith’s talk at our Nonprofit Leadership Summit last week – that the nonprofit sector is an important industry, an important economic driver. Thinking about, for example, the biggest problem is talent acquisition, the great resignation, quiet quitting … all those things affect this sector as well. Is anybody in high school and college learning that this (working in the nonprofit sector) is a true career pathway? How does the community at large, the business community and community leadership, think about this sector? We do a lot of things to drive economic development and incentives. Suzanne used the calculation that 13 percent of our region’s economy is the nonprofit sector. Even if people in our region think about the nonprofit sector as a force for good and have warm and fuzzy feelings about what we do, they may not think about it as an economic driver. But what I want the larger community to realize is that this is a profession you can go into. It’s an economic driver, it’s a career path, in addition to the impact that individual organizations are making. I want people to look at us with a different lens.

Thom: I do think people gravitate to this sector a little later in their career. I was at the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum, where they are teaching people how to work in the

Doug Bolton

Thom Mariner

Beth Benson

Christie Brown

Erin Childs

Kat Pepmeyer

printing industry. I wonder if there are ways we can do that for the nonprofit sector?

Beth: Some of us have been doing this since we were 22. The second career is what people hear about. But this is my chosen career. People should know what this sector represents. There’s a new institute starting at the University of Cincinnati around leadership in the community (https://business.uc.edu/centers-partnerships/ warren-bennis-leadership.html). Their leaders and I were talking about boards, co-ops, internships and I got on my soapbox about this being an industry and a career path and I think there are some real opportunities with UC and other local institutions.

Thom: I think this speaks to redefining the whole conversation around how things are funded in an institutional way, about having all the resources you need to do your job. On my first day as an executive director for another organization in 2012, I neither had furniture nor a computer, I was supposed to go raise money to get those. I have been a big proponent of changing that dynamic for a long, long time. Working by starvation isn’t good.

Kat: That’s as bad as some people asking me, “You work at a nonprofit, do you get paid?” Yes, I tell them, but not a lot!

Beth: And if you do get paid well, you have investigative reporters coming after you. It’s a misunderstanding. We need everything a business needs. We need HR, marketing, sales, logistics. I think everybody thinks everybody in a nonprofit is a social worker. We need the same committed professionals as any other line of work.

Christie: Even though you at M&M are a nonprofit now, you are media. To have a trusted media outlet that’s saying these things, that we can refer to and post and use in our grant requests – the impact we have in our community, not just the struggles, but what good we’re doing in the community, jobs being created – that resonates more with funders.

Thom: A conservative voice asked me once, “If nonprofits are so important, why is the world such a mess?” And my response was, “Could you imagine what it would be like if we went away?”

Erin: 100 percent agree, Thom, and to piggyback on what Beth was saying, I think that line of thought also goes to why our capacity-building organizations are so important. If a for-profit business goes out of business, the owners and the workers and the suppliers, they all are going

to lose. All of the organizations that we serve, they are working every day to try to make sure they have strong foundations so they can focus on their missions. If they were to go away, it’s not just the individuals that work or volunteer with the organizations that would be impacted. It’s our whole community. And I think part of the importance of this issue is telling that story about why it’s important that nonprofits have strong foundations, that they have consultants who can help them with strategic plans, and that they have a good legal foundation. What we’re doing is even more important than a lot of for-profit businesses. If we went away, what would happen?

Christie: I said that at our recent fundraiser. I asked the crowd to take a moment and think about our community without the homeless shelters, the soup kitchens, the arts. Think about our community without all of that. It seems so obvious to us, but the greater community takes us for granted.

Doug: Don’t want to cut off our conversation, but I do want to ask what you all wish you had known “then” that you know now.

Beth: To take more business classes. Because you need that. I have a journalism degree, and I thought I would do something related to that. But either at the high levels of a big organization – I was at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation for 16 years – or like I am here where I cover all the bases, you don’t have the luxury of saying, “I am not a finance person.” I wish I had a little more grounding of that all through my career.

Erin: Business for sure. But I did not realize just how amazing the nonprofit community is. To really connect and get to know the individuals who are leading the charge and dedicating their lives to leading our community. They are the smartest, most dedicated, creative, big thinkers, who are not afraid of tackling huge issues. And that is so inspiring. While the rest of the world is quiet-quitting or leaving their jobs, I see people in our sector leaning in and working harder than ever before and welcoming those who have not been part of the nonprofit community to come and join us and bring your ideas. The spirit of collaboration. We’ve done more mergers at Pro Bono Partnership recently and we’re talking about more. For whatever reason the new generation of leaders are partnering. It gives me great hope.

Christie: My greatest learning is how long it takes to do things. In industry, you’re supposed to be nimble and actionable. Here, you just have to build a lot of runways.

Where nonprofits can go for help

 ProBono Partnership of Ohio

Founded: 2015 | Annual revenue: $682,237 | Assets: $1.12 million

Powered by attorney volunteers, PBPO strengthens Greater Cincinnati by providing free business legal services and education to nonprofits in Cincinnati and Dayton. PBPO recruits, connects and supports attorney volunteers to donate their time and expertise on behalf of its nonprofit clients. Its 300+ nonprofit clients then have access to high-quality legal services and can focus their limited resources on their mission. It envisions a just and equitable community enhanced by thriving nonprofits and engaged attorney volunteers. To date, 800+ attorney volunteers and its own internal legal staff have provided an estimated value of legal services and education for nonprofits at over $8 million.

Erin Childs, executive director, erin@pbpohio.org; 513-977-0304; www.pbpohio.org

 Leadership Council for Nonprofits

Founded: 1977 | Annual revenue: $312,606 | Assets: $239,558

Leadership Council for Nonprofits is a group of local nonprofit agencies that wish to build capacity, connect, collaborate with and learn from each other in order to meet the needs of the community. Its network of nonprofit agencies, with more than 250 nonprofit members, represents more than 17,000 employees, and provides an economic impact of over $1.3 billion to the community. Leadership Council supports the nonprofit community by offering leadership development programs, training, cost savings (including retirement plans at no cost and group purchasing) and networking opportunities for its members.

Elizabeth Reiter Benson, executive director, bbenson@leadershipcouncil.us; 513-554-3060; www.leadershipcouncil.us

FOCUS ON: Nonprofits Serving the Sector

Kat: And a lot of different ones. I wish I had known that it would take so long – and probably it’s good I didn’t know – to convince people that we need more staff. When I started, my board signed onto the idea that this would be a one-man show. It became clear to me early on that it wouldn’t be. It’s hard to get things done, convincing my 20 bosses what we need to grow the organization. They are looking at it through a different lens.

Beth: We hit hard on that in BOLD training. We don’t want them storming in and saying you shouldn’t be spending money. They need to understand the environment the staff is working in, listen and have some compassion and context. A lot of people who are reading this will never be staff members at a nonprofit, but they are likely on a board or are a donor. Helping them understand this ecosystem is a public service.

Christie: I still like my idea of having a Dear Abby column for nonprofit executives.

Thom: Yes, we’d get lots of questions, like “What do I do with this board member?”

Christie: What about you, Doug?

Doug: Inspiring Service was started in 2017, and Cincinnati Cares got its start in 2018. I wish I would have known that, here we are now five years into this, that we would have been interrupted by a pandemic nearly three years ago. Right before the pandemic, we were ready to take our board-connecting platform national, and of course with the pandemic that didn’t happen. We had begun working with businesses on their volunteer engagement, and that ended during the pandemic and is only now beginning to return but we’re really starting over. The pandemic helped us expand our core volunteer-connecting platform to other markets, which was amazing. But we’re only now beginning to test again the national expansion of the board platform, because there remains nothing like it in the national marketplace. Don’t we all wish we had known the pandemic was coming?

Kat: If we would have known the pandemic was lurking, we would have never bought this building, and that decision remains the best choice we have ever made. And I am really glad I negotiated a fantastic deal with the Port. We were thinking we can raise this money in 18 months, but just in case, can we make that first balloon payment $50,000 instead of $100,000? I don’t know where we would be if that hadn’t happened. So, I am glad I didn’t know the pandemic was coming.

Thom: For me, I wish I had come to the realization sooner that our publication is more likely much more important to the development department than it is to those who want to sell tickets to events. It doesn’t mean advertising in our magazine won’t help sell tickets to an event. But it’s really what we can do as a public forum to help build awareness of sponsorships through brand identities, through donor names, etc. This is what this magazine was founded on in 1995. If I had the realization earlier that my real customer is the development department, not PR and marketing, this may have been easier. 

 OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence

Founded: 1994 | Annual revenue: $788,713 | Assets: $506,796

OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence is our area’s nonprofit resource center providing services, products and connections to strengthen the impact of nonprofits serving the Greater Cincinnati community. OneSource Center has a volunteer core with over 125 professionals who provide a wide range of expert consulting services to support nonprofit operations. Additionally, coaching services, a strong leadership development and training program and a warehouse that redistributes donated furniture and retail products provides support and cost savings available to the entire nonprofit community.

Christie Brown, CEO, cbrown@onesourcectr.org; 513-554-4944; http://onesourcecenter.org

 Cincinnati Cares

Founded: 2018 | Annual revenue: $242,045 | Assets: $38,490

The mission of Cincinnati Cares is to connect people in Greater Cincinnati to the ways they want to help. Its vision is making Greater Cincinnati the best volunteer ecosystem in the world. Created in the wake of data showing Greater Cincinnati’s volunteer rates declining at twice the national rate, founders Craig and Michal Young launched technology platforms using modern and innovative approaches to volunteer matching and engagement. Cincinnati Cares is the Greater Cincinnati region’s only volunteer hub, serving as a resource for individuals, organizations and companies to connect with 700 regional nonprofits who actively engage volunteers.

Doug Bolton, CEO, doug@cincinnaticares.org; 513-910-2584; www.cincinnaticares.org

 Movers & Makers

Founded: 1995 | Annual revenue: $265,000 | Assets: $42,787

Founded as Express Cincinnati in 1995, Movers & Makers was rebranded and upgraded in 2016. In 2021, a nonprofit was formed under the name of Movers and Makers Publishing which merged with Cincinnati Cares. Together, the organizations seek to inform, inspire and involve Greater Cincinnati’s 2.3 million residents in community engagement that makes the region a better place to live, work and play. Movers & Makers is a free print and digital publication, with 10,000 copies distributed 11 times each year. An email each Wednesday to 10,000 subscribers provides breaking news about the nonprofit sector.

Thom and Elizabeth Mariner, co-publishers, tmariner@moversmakers.org, emariner@moversmakers.org; 513-543-0890; www.moversmakers.org

 Cincinnati Community ToolBank

Founded: 2012 | Annual revenue: $306,533 | Assets: $1,061,337

ToolBank serves community-based organizations by providing tools, equipment and expertise to empower their most ambitious goals.Whether providing tables for a volunteer check-in, trash grabbers for a neighborhood litter cleanup, generators for a neighborhood association's Christmas tree lighting ceremony or shovels to help convert a vacant lot into a community garden, Toolbank exists to enable community work at all levels.

Kat Pepmeyer, executive director, Kat.Pepmeyer@toolbank.org; 513-246-0015; www.cincinnatitoolbank.org

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Megan Iverson of Refugee

Connect, Social Venture Partners

Lynn Ryan, Roy Kulick and Christopher Chen and Refugee Connect executive director Kristin Burgoyne. Ryan, Kulick and Chen were Refugee Connect’s coaches through the Project XLR8 program. In April, Refugee Connect became the first nonprofit selected for a multiyear investment through Project XLR8.

Spotlight on Funding Nonprofits Serving Nonprofits: Social Venture Partners

SVP supports nonprofits, driving social innovation with Project XLR8

Social Venture Partners Cincinnati has been helping area nonprofits for more than 15 years.

The group of professionals, who donate money and volunteer to provide hands-on, in-depth coaching, training and guidance for nonprofits, pioneered the pitch competition in our region.

Its Fast Pitch program trained more than 150 nonprofits in storytelling and awarded them more than $250,000 over seven years. Its investee program made an even greater impact, with partners working alongside nonprofits such as Changing Gears, Mortar, and Women Helping

Women in multiyear collaborations to improve the nonprofits’ capacity in human resources, fundraising, communications and more.

All told, SVP has awarded more than $2.5 million to area nonprofits in addition to donating an estimated $2 million in consulting services and in-kind donations.

In 2021, SVP adjusted its operations to drive social innovation more effectively by accelerating bold solutions to our community’s most urgent challenges. The result was Project XLR8, an eight-month program that helps up to 12 nonprofits hone their socially innovative ideas.

Funding nonprofits serving nonprofits*

• Social Venture Partners Cincinnati

• United Way of Greater Cincinnati

• Greater Cincinnati Foundation

• Horizon Community Funds of NKY

• Impact 100

• Flywheel

• Interact for Health

• GreenLight Fund

• Rotary Club of Cincinnati Foundation

• Give Back Cincinnati (Fuel Cincinnati)

• Community Shares

• ArtsWave

*Includes community foundations, but excludes other foundations in the region unless they provide other services, coordinating activities other than funding.

Declaration of Ethical Philanthropy

The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) is excited to present one of its newest initiatives, a Declaration of Ethical Philanthropy.

We pledge to promote and uphold these three values:

Shared growth mindset in the spirit of collaboration and pushing beyond status quo.

Shared informed decision making that is inclusive of all who are impacted.

Shared community-wide responsibility to be transparent and accountable.

We invite the Greater Cincinnati community to mutually pledge this shared commitment to ethical philanthropy.

Have your leadership sign the declaration today! Scan the QR code or visit www.afpcincinnati.org/afp-ethphil/

Spotlight on advocacy, accreditation, other services to nonprofits

Alpaugh Family Economics Center helps nonprofits explain their impact

The Alpaugh Family Economics Center is likely best known for the economic education and financial literacy programs offered to teachers, students and parents.

Its Susan Sargen Student Enterprise Program (StEP) helps teach thousands of elementary and middle school children in the Cincinnati area about budgeting, saving, and philanthropy. Its $martPath program includes a free online learning platform for kids in grades K-8 and an Emmy-winning video series that makes learning about money and finances fun for children across the country.

But the academic programs are only half of what the center does. As part of its mission to do “Work That Matters,” the center conducts research for nonprofit organizations. These clients use the work to increase community awareness of their organizations and services offered, evaluate whether their objectives are being met and secure financing to advance their missions.

A project with ChangingGears provides one example of how the center can help nonprofit partners use data to articulate their impact in the community. ChangingGears is a Cincinnati nonprofit that helps people escape poverty by helping eligible individuals obtain restored and reliable vehicles at half price with a no-interest loan. Empowering individuals through affordable transportation solutions can be life-changing in a place where owning a vehicle is critical

Groups providing advocacy or other services

• Alpaugh Family Economics Center

• Mayerson Academy

• Human Services Chamber

• Covington Business Council

• Area chambers of commerce

• Better Business Bureau

• Green Umbrella

• CityLink

• Junior League

Membership organizations serving nonprofits

 Association of Fundraising Professionals

The chapter's goal is to advance the development profession in the Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky region as well as to serve as a professional resource. 

Cincinnati Association of Volunteer Administrators

CAVA is the leading membershipbased professional organization for Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA) in Greater Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio. 

to getting a job and staying employed.

The center’s evaluation of the program revealed that ChangingGears served the needs of their clients by supplying accessible, affordable and reliable transportation. Overall, Changing Gears helped clients save nearly half a million dollars through February 2021. These savings average approximately $3,000 for each client –money that can be used for housing, groceries, savings and debt reduction.

The center also found that the programming was associated with more people becoming employed, clients earning more money and improved educational outcomes for children of ChangingGears clients.

In addition to ChangingGears, the center has completed research on the economic mobility of Black women for the Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, analyzed Hispanic demographic and economic trends for the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA, measured the impact of Black-owned businesses for the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky African American Chamber, quantified the economic benefits and impact of career technical education in Ohio for the Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents and completed cost-benefit analyses for Dohn Community High School, Lighthouse Youth & Family Services and other organizations that serve the community. 

Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council

Founded in 1992, the council has been the trusted source to increase the quantity and quality of planned gifts in Greater Cincinnati by providing a forum for education, training and networking to members.

•

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•

• SCORE

*Most of these accelerators focus on for-profit business, but also provide assistance to nonprofits.

The Economics Center's work showed how ChangingGears helped its clients improve their economic circumstances and illustrated the additional benefits to the broader community.

NOTABLES: Association of Fundraising Professionals

Notables in Fundraising

The Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals nominated long-standing members for this month’s Notables section.

AndySwallow

Enquirer

Bethesda’s

Kathleen J. DeLaura, managing director, Partners in Change LLC

Kathleen J. DeLaura specializes in working with local, regional and national nonprofits. Some of her clients include the Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Cincinnati BBB, The ROMAC and Caracole. DeLaura served as executive director of the Cincinnati VA’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati Ballet, and as executive director/COO of Speaking of Women’s Health. She received the Leading Women of Cincinnati Award in 2000 and the Enquirer’s Woman of the Year in 2022. DeLaura serves as board chair of Arlington Memorial Gardens and Ensemble Theatre and is past chair of The Women’s Fund’s Leadership Council and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals since 1994. She has a B.S. in education from Western Illinois University and lives in Clifton with her husband, Ron Steinhoff, stepdaughter Sarah and their dogs. 

PamelaGray

Gray’s experience spans universities, veterans affairs

Pamela Gray, national director, personal philanthropy programs, Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

Pamela Gray was named DAV’s national director of personal philanthropy programs in August 2020. She oversees the organization’s planned giving and major gift operations. Gray has worked in philanthropy related fields since 1994 with extensive experience in building strategic donor relationships as well as major, planned and principal gift development. Prior to joining DAV, Gray served four years as senior director of philanthropy and alumni for the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and as Rice University’s director of development for gift planning from 2013 to 2016. In 2009, she received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama for her work with animals. 

Andy Swallow, president & CEO, Bethesda Foundation

Andy Swallow is president & CEO of the Bethesda Foundation, which serves as the philanthropic arm for Bethesda Hospitals, Hospice of Cincinnati and Fernside Center for Grieving Children. With a 33-year career in not-for-profit leadership, Swallow has spent the last 27 years actively serving the Cincinnati region through both professional and volunteer leadership roles in cultural, human services, education, healthcare and government organizations. Prior to joining the Bethesda Foundation in 2011, Swallow served as chief development officer for the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Swallow earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s in organizational leadership from Mount St. Joseph and has held the CFRE professional designation since 1999. 

Schlachter’s favorite volunteer role: chairing a Lazarus tribute

Rosemary Schlachter, fundraising consultant, 25th Hour

Rosemary Schlachter, a Cincinnati native, operates an anti-aging/wellness business and has worked as a fundraising consultant and development officer since 1980. An active community volunteer, she has served dozens of organizations in Greater Cincinnati. Her favorite volunteer role was chairing “To Irma With Love,” a 1987 tribute to Irma Lazarus in which Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Peters and other artists participated. Schlachter has received numerous awards. She lives in western Cincinnati with her husband, Mark, and has four children: Abby, Kurt, Kameron and Max, and grandchildren, Brody, Kalli, Lilah and Charlie. 

recognizes DeLaura as a ‘Woman of the Year’

KathleenJ. DeL a ura

Swallow has worked 33 years for nonprofits

RosemarySchlachter

NOTABLES: Association of Fundraising Professionals

Gordon builds Dolly Parton literacy programs in Ohio

T. Duane Gordon, CEO, Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati CEO of Community Shares since 2019, Duane Gordon halted a decade-long trend of drops in annual workplace campaigns supporting the area’s federation of social justice, environmental and animal welfare charities. Previously, he led the Middletown Community Foundation and worked at Community Foundation for Mississippi. He enjoys time with family (husband Matthew and children Tommy, 9, and Dolly, 4) and operating Dollymania, the longest-running fan website on Dolly Parton. Gordon's work with Parton spurred him in 2008 to create one of the first Ohio affiliates of her Imagination Library literacy program and help dozens of other counties replicate it, laying the foundation for statewide expansion to become the current official Ohio First Lady’s project. 

Holloway uncovers the ‘aha’ opportunities like ‘It’s elementary’

Renetta Holloway, engagement team leader (consultant), Dunleavy & Associates

Approaching her work like a detective, Renetta Holloway gets the facts and uncovers the “aha” opportunities. She works with clients and teams on those opportunities to reach their goals. And as her favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, would say, “It’s elementary!” Holloway has over 30 years of fundraising and resource development experience. She has led teams at United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Pendle Hill and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). She works to elevate and focus development departments by recruiting and growing strong talent, creating mission-driven development strategies with a pathway to success and building an organization-wide culture of stewardship. When not at work, Holloway enjoys traveling with her husband and volunteering with her social organizations. She also enjoys anything with a musical flair, plays piano and sings. Halloway believes chocolate is the answer – who cares what’s the question. 

JimYunker

Well-traveled Yunker’s hobby, vocation one in same

Jim Yunker, founder & CEO, The Yunker Group, Inc.

After high school teaching (former GCF CEO Kathy Merchant was his star student), Jim Yunker got hooked on fundraising in 1972 at his alma mater. That led to earning his doctorate at Indiana University, researching donor motivation. Yunker’s bride of 36 years, Dawn, says his vocation advising nonprofits and his hobby are one in the same. When asked his greatest achievement, his response isn’t about fundraising, rather his family and their two children. Dawn penned the company’s trademarked slogan which defines Yunker, “Helping Others Make A Difference.” A farm boy at heart, Yunker has been in all 50 states, all 30 Major League Baseball parks, is a fraternity brother of a former late night TV host and is loving his best gig yet – grandfather. His favorite quote: “When it comes to giving, some will stop at nothing.” 

AFP leadership among many credits for Murray

Michael Murray, director of stewardship and mission services, Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington

Michael Murray currently serves as director of stewardship and mission services for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington. Prior to joining the Diocesan Curia staff in 2009, Murray served at Roger Bacon High School as director of advancement. Murray also served as director of major gifts in Cincinnati for the Chicago Province Jesuits; director of major and planned giving for Northern Kentucky University; and director of annual giving for the College of Mount St. Joseph. Murray has served two terms on the AFP Cincinnati Chapter Board of Directors, serving as president in 2000. He also served on the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council Board of Directors, the NKU Friends of Steely Library Board of Directors and the Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory’s Board of Directors. Murray also served two terms as chair of the Kenton County Ethics Commission. 

Sherwood never loses sight of her work’s mission

Heather Sherwood, director of development and major gifts, The Christ Hospital Foundation*

Heather Sherwood credits her fundraising career to an invaluable internship at the Cincinnati Art Museum, where she learned firsthand the inner workings of a world-class nonprofit arts and cultural institution. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and Lindner College of Business Arts Administration program, she earned her MA/MBA degrees before joining the Contemporary Arts Center and the campaign for the internationally acclaimed Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. That experience launched a career at some of Cincinnati’s most noteworthy arts organizations. Sherwood likes fundraising because it requires you to be sharp, strategic, analytical, resourceful and tenacious. Sherwood brings a unique outlook and enthusiasm to her work while never losing sight of the mission. Outside of work, Sherwood is an advocate for the Manual Gearbox Preservation Society when not busy trying to survive her family’s never-ending-renovation of their historic home or outrun her 5-year old. *Heather recently accepted a position with the University of Cincinnati Foundation. 

HeatherSher wood

NOTABLES: Association of Fundraising Professionals

‘Uber Mom’ Wells leveraged Appalachia hospice internship

Tracy Wells, vice president, development and communications, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati

Tracy Wells has been helping donors accomplish their philanthropic goals for over 20 years. Skilled in both the art and science of strategic fundraising, Wells is the bridge between donors’ investments and the needs in the community. She never imagined her college internship with a small hospice in eastern Kentucky would lead to a career in connecting grateful donors with important causes, like Redwood, Talbert House and YWCA of Greater Cincinnati. She feels her greatest accomplishment is teaching her sons, Will and Gabe, the joy of giving. Tracy is now the vice president of development and communications at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati and is thrilled to assist donors with a passion for increasing affordable homeownership in our community. But her sons call her “Uber Mom,” since she spends her free time transporting them to soccer, Scouts, marching band and horseback riding. 

Rosely turns to piano for new perspective

Patty Rosely, consultant

Patty Rosely has dedicated her career to helping nonprofit organizations secure the financial resources needed for growth to reach more clients and patrons. Her superpow ers include the ability to identify and engage donors more deeply with the mission of the agency, and to create special fundraising campaigns celebrating women, agency anniversaries and other milestones. Beyond her passion for helping to change and save lives at work, Rosely loves spending time exploring new places and spaces through travel, attending arts and cultural events with her husband, and experiencing a joy unlike no other watching her grandchildren grow. When life gets challenging and a new perspective is needed, you will find Rosely at her piano, playing anything from a Bach Invention to Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell album. 

Knuppel a webcast host, in-demand speaker

Elizabeth Knuppel, president and CEO, Skystone Partners

Liz Knuppel has more than 20 years of experience leading nonprofits to exceed their fundraising goals. Knuppel is notable in her service to the community and volunteers actively with AFP, Cincinnati Parks Foundation, and CORA. She hosts a monthly webcast, is an in-demand speaker on philanthropy, and has been published in Advancing Philanthropy, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the AFP Weekly Newswire. She also contributed to the Wiley publication “Building Strong Nonprofits: New Strategies for Growth and Sustainability.” Knuppel was awarded the 2015 Cincinnati USA Chamber’s Woman of the Year Entrepreneur. In her leisure time, she most enjoys knitting, caring for her orchids, tearing it up on the ballroom dance floor, and downhill mountain biking and skiing with her family. 

Klinedinst inspired by generosity of donors

Lori Klinedinst, executive director, Indian Hill Foundation

Through strategic and steadfast service to the community – whether for half a million people while promoting downtown Cincinnati through managing Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati and Taste of Cincinnati or one person at a public school who needs a “lift” – Lori Klinedinst has devoted her career to making a difference. Inspired by the vision and generosity of donors, she has served nonprofits where no task is too small and teams function beyond expectations. For the last 14 years as executive director of the Indian Hill Foundation, she has led exponential growth of the foundation to benefit the school community, connecting donors and educators to provide public school students with unique and extraordinary opportunities and resources. Klinedinst uses her vocal performance degree as a member of the Cincinnati Choral Society. 

SusanBerliant

Berliant has raised over $100 million

Susan Berliant, vice president, development and community impact, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio

As a development professional with over 40 years in raising funds for nonprofits in the Cincinnati community, Susan Berliant loves her work. Her background has included: higher education, at the University of Cincinnati as director of development for the business school; healthcare, at the Christ Hospital as director of development; arts, as chief of development at the Contemporary Arts Center. She has been able to support the mission of these organizations by deeply understanding the supporters in Greater Cincinnati and passionately matching their philanthropic interests to the needs of the organization. Berliant has raised over $100 million dollars for Cincinnati initiatives. Teaching and mentoring individuals to grow their skills and become the new leaders in philanthropic fundraising has also been a focus of Berliant’s. When she is not working, she loves the outdoors, art, fashion, books, travel, thrift shops, her family and her beloved dog, Violet. She also loves to hunt fossils. 

PattyRosely

Elizabeth Knuppel

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The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library named poet and essayist Manuel Iris as its 2023 writer-in-residence. Iris is coming off winning the 2022 Ohioana Reader’s Choice Book Award for “The Parting Present / Lo Que Se irá” in July. He was Cincinnati’s second poet laureate (2018-2020). Iris will serve as the library’s ambassador to the local literary arts scene. Iris holds a BA in Latin American literature from the Autonomous University of the Yucatan (Mexico), an MA in Spanish from New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. in Romance languages from the University of Cincinnati.

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The Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED) named David McAleese its research director. McAleese most recently held the position of senior director, area research at Macy’s Inc., where he worked since 2006.

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The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra named Endea Owens as its 2023 MAC Music Innovator. Owens is an award-winning bassist with Jon Batiste’s band Stay Human, house bassist for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and creator of The Community Cookout initiative, which brings hot meals and free music to communities in need. The orchestra’s MAC Music Innovator is a year-long music residency that works to showcase and highlight Black leaders of classical music.

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One of Cincinnati’s most celebrated musicians has been named a professor of piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco conservatory announced the appointment of highly acclaimed musician Awadagin Pratt to the role of professor of piano. Pratt will join SFCM in July 2023 and will accept students into his studio starting next fall.

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One of the region’s largest nonprofits has named a new board chair. Mark Addy has been elected as the 32nd chair of the Talbert House board of trustees. Addy will lead the 48-member board for the next two years, as it oversees and serves the agency. Talbert House also named four new members to the board: Nan Kohnen Cahall, government relations manager with Council on Aging Southwest Ohio; J.R. Foster, president of Robert Louis Group; Sarah Leyshock , partner at Taft Law; and Candace Novak Sabers, vice president of government relations at UC Health.

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4 Paws for Ability named Associate Director Jennifer Lutes as its new executive director. Part of the 4 Paws team for more than 22 years, Lutes started volunteering as a teenager before joining as an employee in the training department. Lutes helped 4 Paws grow from a small agency that placed 15 to 20 dogs a year to an organization of 75+ employees impacting 100+ families every year.

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Sherry Ems has joined Easterseals Redwood as director of military and veteran services. Ems, a Cincinnati native and graduate of Mount St. Joseph University, will provide strategic and operational oversight, ensuring the organization is supporting the needs of military and veterans in our community and serving as a champion for them and their families. Prior to joining Easterseals Redwood, Ems worked in telecommunications and as executive director of the USO of Central and Southern Ohio, during which she opened the Wright-Patterson AFB USO, the Rickenbacker USO and the Louisville Airport USO. She led efforts to merge the USO of Central and Southern Ohio Charter into USO Inc. as part of the overall restructuring plan for the organization for which she also served as executive director.

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Evin Blomberg , a violinist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, has been awarded a Bronze Award from the Singapore International Music Competition, an annual competition organized by the International Performing Arts and Cultural Organization Singapore. She is also founder and director of a new organization, the Soli Music Society, which brings music into the community.

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Suzanne Carr has been promoted to chief financial officer of the Dan Beard Council, Greater Cincinnati’s Scouting council. Carr will continue to oversee the fiscal operations of the council, as well as provide leadership to the operations of the Scouts’ main offices, customer service, fundraising data entry, registration services and the council’s print and mail shop. Carr was named controller for the council in March 2010 and was promoted in 2019 to director of fiscal operations.

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Several civic leaders have been named to the advisory board for EquaSion's A Mighty Stream initiative. The Rev. Dr. John Ivey, pastor of Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, has accepted the position as co-chair. Justin Kirschner, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, and Umama Alam, educator and member of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, have joined the board. The AMS Advisory Board provides overall guidance and leadership to an effort to organize and unite Cincinnati's interfaith community into a moral force in the pursuit of racial justice.

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HER Cincinnati named Kathleen Kennedy, Renee Mehaffey Harris, Shelley Sherman- Greene , Christian Bradley, Casey Duffy and Shelly Espich to its board of directors.

Shelly Espich Casey Duffy Christian Bradley Shelley Sherman-Greene

Renee Mahaffey Harris

Kathleen Kennedy

Umama Alam Justin Kirschner

Rev. Dr. John Ivey

Suzanne Carr Evin Blomberg

Sherry Ems Jennifer Lutes Candace Novak Sabers

Sarah Leyshock

J.R. Foster Nan Kohnen Cahall

Mark Addy Awadagin Pratt

Endea Owens David McAleese Manuel Iris

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Seven Greater Cincinnati business and community leaders have joined the DePaul Cristo Rey High School Board of Directors. Each has been appointed to a three-year term. They are: Tonya F. Carter, vice president of Human Resources for StandardAero; Gretta Heath, Epic Services specialist at Ensemble Health Partners, and parent of a DPCR graduate; Kathleen Hidy, J.D., assistant professor of legal studies at Xavier University; Jack Kortekamp, visiting professor in the Commerce Department at Miami University Regionals; Joe Rohs, retired executive and community volunteer; Julie Ross, community volunteer; George Yund , attorney and member at Frost Brown Todd LLC.

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The Middletown City School District Board of Education announced Verlena Stewart's appointment to fill Michelle Novak’s unexpired board term. A Middletown resident of 53 years, Stewart is assistant executive director at the Community Building Institute in Middletown.

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Chris Hensley has been named an employment specialist at The Point/Arc’s Zembrodt Education Center. She has worked in social services the past 20 years.

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The Cincinnati Art Museum announced the election of eight new trustees who will serve their first terms from 2022–2025: community volunteer Julie Bristow ; University of Cincinnati Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Valerio Ferme; Omega Natural Enterprises owner Samuel P. Huttenbauer III; Cristofoli-Keeling Inc. President Ann Keeling ; Dinsmore Intellectual Property Department Chair Josh Lorentz ; Montgomery Cyclery Inc. President Eric Mueller ; community volunteer Katrina Mundy (not pictured); and University of Cincinnati faculty member Peter Niehoff

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The UC Health board of directors named Cory D. Shaw as the organization’s next president and CEO, beginning Jan. 9, 2023. Shaw comes to UC Health from Nebraska Medicine, where he most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer with accountability for all healthcare operations of the $2.2 billion academic health system. These responsibilities included three clinical campuses, 60+ ambulatory clinic locations and an 800+ member medical group affiliated with UNMC College of Medicine.

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A member of Talbert House’s 10-member executive team will take over the top job at St. Vincent de Paul-Cincinnati. Brad McMonigle , chief clinical officer at Talbert, will become CEO at SVDP-Cincinnati on Nov. 28. McMonigle had been at Talbert House since 2013. As chief clinical officer, he provided strategic leadership over Talbert House programming and staffing. Previously, he served as the organization’s vice president of behavioral health services. He replaces Mike Dunn, who in July announced that he would leave the organization he had led since 2015.

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Girl Scouts of Western Ohio’s board named Aimée Sproles as the next chief executive officer of the council, succeeding Roni Luckenbill, who will retire at the end of December after 44 years with the organization. Sproles is currently the chief operating officer for Girl Scouts of San Jacinto in Houston, Texas. Like Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, the San Jacinto council is one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country. Sproles will join Girl Scouts of Western Ohio in December, working closely with Luckenbill to transition leadership of the council, which includes 30 counties in western Ohio and Dearborn and Ohio counties in Indiana.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed a well-known retired marketing and communications professional to a six-year term on the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College board. Jane Garvey began her term Oct. 7. It will end Aug. 31, 2028. A native of Cincinnati, Garvey earned a bachelor of arts from Williams College, and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.

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The Carnegie named Tyler Gabbard as new director of Carnegie’s Otto M. Budig Theatre. Gabbard comes to The Carnegie from The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, where he was the patron experience manager. Previously, he was the box office and patron communications manager for the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.; the events and publicity manager for the School of the Arts at Northern Kentucky University; and vice president of the League of Cincinnati Theaters. Gabbard has a bachelor of fine arts in drama degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

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Austin Heller has been hired as the new director of membership development for the Clermont Chamber of Commerce. Heller will oversee the chamber’s member recruitment and retention. The chamber also announced the promotion of Andrew McAfee to the role of vice president. McAfee was hired in January 2021 as the chamber’s first director of government affairs.

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Cecelia Tio has been named secretary and communications chair for Tiger Lily Press, which produces, preserves and promotes the art of printmaking in a studio on the grounds of the Dunham Recreation Center. 

Cecelia Tio Andrew McAfee

Austin Heller

Tyler Gabbard

Jane Garvey

Aimee Sproles

Brad McMonigle

Cory Shaw

Peter Niehoff

Eric Mueller Josh Lorentz Ann Keeling

Samuel Huttenbauer III

Valerio Ferme

Julie Bristow

Chris Hensley

Verlena Stewart George Yund

Julie Ross

Joe Rohs

Jack Kortekamp

Kathleen Hidy

Gretta Heath Tonya Carter

Faths’ 2022 giving passes $100M

Xavier University announced a $50 million gift from Harry and Linda Fath – making 2022 the second consecutive year the Faths have donated more than $100 million. The gift is the largest in the university’s 191-year history.

NKY group grants $25K to Point/Arc education center

Whiskey and Wishes – a Northern Kentuckybased collective giving group – has granted $25,000 to The Point/Arc’s Zembrodt Education Center. ZEC Executive Director Brandon Releford said the grant will be used for the center’s social enterprise kitchen. The goal of the kitchen is to provide individuals with intellectual and developmental differences the opportunity to learn how to independently function in a kitchen – starting with grocery shopping and ending with proper clean-up skills after eating a meal. Founded in 2019, Whiskey and Wishes couples a love for great whiskey and giving back to create “cask-strength kindness” throughout Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati region.

Two local nonprofits get $200K each from Bank of America

Two Cincinnati nonprofits have been named among 106 nonprofits nationally to participate in a Bank of America accelerator program – with each getting $200,000 over two years. College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation and Last Mile Food Rescue have been named the 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders for their work addressing economic mobility, food insecurity and workforce development. Besides the money, each organization will receive leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management and strategic storytelling. The groups join a network of peer organizations across the U.S. and can access capital to expand their impact.

PNC grants $25K to Santa Maria

Santa Maria Community Services Inc. announced it will provide school supplies for preschoolers, including Amazon Fire tablets, made possible by a $25,000 grant from the PNC Foundation. In addition to the tablets for new students, preschoolers will also receive PNC Grow Up Great® educational materials, school clothing, books, bookshelves and laundry soap.

Dater foundation provides $25K for North Fairmount children

North Fairmount Community Center received a $25,000 grant from the Charles H. Dater Foundation for its after-school program. NFCC’s program takes place Monday through Friday, and welcomes children of all ages at no cost. The children are provided with academic guidance to support their educational journey during the aftermath of the pandemic, and are led through physical and recreational activities.

Hard Rock Casino's $25K gift sparks ArtsWave

ArtsWave used its annual meeting at Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati to kick-start its 2023 campaign and foreshadow a five-year plan to mark its 100-year anniversary as the oldest endowed local arts agency in the country. Hard Rock Cincinnati’s President George Goldhoff – newly elected to the ArtsWave board – presented a surprise donation from the corporation of $25,000 to jumpstart a new $1 million campaign to fund art field trips for 50,000 school kids. The campaign will kick off in February as it does each year.

Procter & Gamble makes $25K social-justice grant

Procter & Gamble Co. has renewed and increased its support for a Cincinnati-based social-justice incubator. The P&G Fund, the Cincinnati company’s charitable foundation, has granted $25,000 to Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati – a $5,000 increase over the company’s most recent level of annual support for the organization's Social Justice Incubator. Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati is the Tristate region's federation of charities serving the fields of social and economic justice, environmental sustainability and animal welfare.

Redwood gets nearly $1M grant

Easterseals Redwood received a nearly $1 million grant for improving the organization’s long-time Fort Mitchell campus. Easterseals Redwood and the city of Fort Mitchell worked together on a Community Development Block Grant that was awarded to the organizations to rehab the adult services program rooms and cafeteria at Easterseals Redwood’s Fort Mitchell campus. The $910,000 grant was made possible by American Rescue Act funding.

Sule foundation supports 1N5 mental-health nonprofit

1N5, a nonprofit that provides mental health education and suicide prevention for youth in Greater Cincinnati, has received a grant from the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation. It costs 1N5 about $4,000 to provide one year of mental health programming to a school for one year. The foundation grant will help thousands of students receive life-changing and life-saving education.

Girl Scouts closes in on $2M goal

Girl Scouts of Kentucky’s Wilderness Road announced a vision in October 2021 to create the Northern Kentucky Leadership Campus on an 11-acre Erlanger property through a $6 million Challenge a Girl to Change Our World campaign. Phase one of the campaign will create a Leadership Center that will include a command center, retail center and entrepreneurship center. Since then, nearly $1 million has been raised toward the $2 million necessary to complete phase one. In October, leadership gifts from the R.C. Durr Foundation and St. Elizabeth Healthcare were announced. Additional gifts have been received from Furlong Building, Jergens, Seligman Foundation, an anonymous donor, the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, additional community gifts and 100% giving from the council’s board of directors – a strong signal that demonstrates leadership on the organization’s behalf. The Scouts kicked off a volunteer campaign at the future site of the campus, announcing its campaign co-chairs, Meghan Sandfoss, a resident of Covington, and Crescent Springs resident Rhonda Ritzi.

Harry and Linda Fath 

Meghan Sandfoss

Rhonda Ritzi

Snapshots

StartupCincy Week leads to key connections

StartupCincy Week brought together a large number of accelerators, businesses and leaders in the startup ecosystem in a way that could not happen otherwise, attendees said. More than 650 attendees were at StartupCincy Week with approximately 1,000 check-ins.

Attendees and speakers from companies of all sizes traveled here to make connections and catalyze to spark a bright future in Cincinnati. A distinctive aspect of StartupCincy Week is said to be the number of pitch opportunities for aspiring businesses.

This year, Really Good Boxed Wine won the first annual Cincy’s Got Startups pitch contest, and Lucas Williamson and the Cleanup Collective won the Alloy Green Room pitch contest, receiving a $30,000 grant from Main Street Ventures, an ecosystem partner and a sponsor of StartupCincy Week. Williamson created The Cleanup Collective idea at the April Rethink Litter Hack-a-thon in the city.

At the Cintrifuse annual meeting, there were 290 in-person attendees learning about the momentum of the ecosystem. A diverse group of speakers shared key messages on where the ecosystem is, how far it's come and the momentum of the ecosystem for a bright future.

Who, what, where & why

first Cincy’s Got Startups pitch competition.

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Cintrifuse CEO Pete Blackshaw (far left) moderates a panel on Unlikely Partnerships, How Cities will be the Next Innovation Labs, featuring (from left) Liz Keating, David Ponraj, Lauren Tiffan, Ross Klosterman and Eric Denson

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Candice Brackeen, CEO of Lightship Capital, interviewed on the impact of the StartupCincy community after the Cintrifuse annual meeting.

Stephanie Jenkins, vp of strategic partnerships and technology & digital at Kroger, discusses the company’s innovation strategies in the digital space.

Guy Persaud, president of new business/ innovation at P&G and Cintrifuse board chair, kicks off the Cintrifuse annual meeting.

The Cintrifuse team celebrates with Jake Whitman, founder of Really Good Boxed Wine, after he won the

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Mayor Aftab Pureval speaking to a packed house at the Cintrifuse annual meeting

Founders connecting at the Union Hall rooftop happy hour, sponsored by Blue North

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Fifth Third Bank President and CEO Tim Spence addresses the crowds at the Cintrifuse annual meeting.

Photos by r hine Media

Volunteer group SCORE hosts first small-business conference

More than 120 entrepreneurs and their supporters heard from Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and others at the inaugural Confluence event. The conference was presented by SCORE Greater Cincinnati with support from General Electric Credit Union and Key Bank Key4Women.

Attendees were provided information, connections and inspiration for business success. In 2021, SCORE Greater Cincinnati provided free business mentorship to more than 1,000 new clients and helped start 224 small businesses, leading to the creation of 504 new jobs.

Information about requesting a mentor or volunteering and mentoring is available at greatercincinnati.score.org.

Construction gala benefits career programs

More than 950 members of the regional construction industry and its related industries came together for the annual Spirit of Construction Foundation event, honoring distinguished contractors. Proceeds benefit the foundation’s Construction Careers Initiative, which provides college scholarships, career education programs for students and workforce development programs.

Undergraduates in construction programs at Cincinnati State, Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati received scholarships to continue their education. Each year, a portion of the awards are made to military veterans who are enrolled in college.

The 2022 Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Fleet Fangman and Robert Grace. Posthumous awards were given to Thomas Grote Sr. and Nicholas Zimmerman. The 2022 event chair was Mike Huseman, CEO of the Huseman Group. Foundation trustee Scott Sloan was master of ceremonies.

The presenting sponsor for the 26th annual gala was the Paul Hemmer Co., celebrating its 101-year anniversary. The black-tie event included a cocktail reception and silent auction, and a seated dinner and program. An after-party featured the Newbees Band.

Photos by Jim Gormley

Laura Castillo, representing the City of Cincinnati Department of Economic Inclusion, speaks to an attendee.

Economic and Community Development Institute representatives Catherine Lentz and Ella Frye

SCORE volunteers Chloe Voelker, Christina Lindgren and Jan Tribbey

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Luan Blancher, owner of Sculpt & Glo Fitness and a co-presenter at Confluence

Panelists Eric Denson, Cincinnati small businesses team; Nancy Aichholz, Aviatra; Thomas Deere, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Nicole Pickard, SBA; David Siders, Cincinnati Public Library; Laura Castillo, Cincinnati Economic Inclusion

Pam Scott, owner of Breakthrough Lens Photography, speaks to Vickie McMullen, owner of Vmcmullen, LLC. Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Thomas Deere is behind them.

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Melvin Gravely, CEO of Triversity Construction, delivers the invocation.

Tom Grote Jr. and Nancy Grote

Spirit of Construction Foundation trustees Mike Huseman, Michele O’Rourke and Scott Sloan present the lifetime achievement award to Fleet Fangman.

Bob Grace accepts the lifetime achievement award with his family: (from left) Scott Usher, daughter Shannon Usher, wife Christina Grace, Bob, daughter Kathleen Annen and Blake Annen.

CAC marks opening of new center

The Contemporary Arts Center welcomed hundreds of people the weekend of the opening of the new $4.9 million Creativity Center, the renovated sixth floor that expands the beloved Sara M. and Patricia A. Vance UnMuseum and creates space for increased family, youth and community programming.

Guests at a private ribbon-cutting ceremony included board members, long-term patrons and supporters, government advocates and families who had been involved in the early stages of vision work for the renovation. Remarks were shared by CAC staff members, Sara M. Vance Waddell and Ohio Rep. Catherine D. Ingram. Afterward, guests were ushered upstairs to explore the space and speak with the artists about their work.

The Creativity Center opened to the public with a second ribbon cutting by CAC creative learning director Elizabeth Hardin Klink and artist Pam Kravetz. The day was filled with hands-on craft opportunities from the CAC and art reuse partner Indigo Hippo, performances from Q-KIDZ Dance Studio, Poems While You Wait from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, plus a Q&A session with the CAC team, select artists and architects from MIR Collective.

Local artists currently featured in the Creativity Center include Terence Hammonds, Michelle D’Cruz and Christopher Glen, Garrett Goben, Anissa Lewis, Julia Lipovsky, Pam Kravetz and her team Pam & Co., Abby Peitsmeyer and Karen Saunders.

The year-long renovation resulted in 10,000 square feet of space for brand-new interactive installations in the UnMuseum, in addition to a new studio for up to 80 students, a community art gallery, the Kroger Zero Hunger Zero Waste Art Lab for repurposed art, a quiet room and increased natural light.

Shawnee Turner, Julie Petrovsky, Michelle D’Cruz, Abby Peitsmeyer, Elizabeth Hardin-Klink

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Elizabeth Hardin-Klink and Pam Kravetz cut ribbon for the public opening.

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Artist Terence Hammonds showing off his interactive installation at the private ribbon cutting.

Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell

Photos by: c all Me r ideout Photogra Phy; sa M g reenhill

First Step Home opens new family center

First Step Home President Margo Spence and Board Chair Brent Dapper were joined by Mayor Aftab Pureval and other special guests to celebrate the opening of the agency’s Family Unity Center. First Step Home provides substance use disorder treatment for women.

The Family Unity Center advances First Step Home’s integrated services supporting women, children and their families. At the new Family Unity Center, women can rebuild their families as they break the cycle of drug and alcohol addiction.

Others attending the opening included Scotty Johnson, Cincinnati City Council member; Ohio State Sen. Cecil Thomas; Denise Driehaus, Hamilton County commissioner; Hamilton County Judge Jody Luebbers; and Kathryne Gardette, Walnut Hills Area Council.

Rotary engages 200 volunteers in inaugural Do Days

More than 200 volunteers washed windows, served meals to homeless families, cut brush, painted picnic tables and constructed buildings, from storage sheds to doll houses, as they met the needs of nonprofits across the region in the first Cincinnati Rotary Do Days. The two-day service blitz was the first of what the Rotary Club of Cincinnati plans as an annual event, matching volunteers throughout the community with hands-on needs of nonprofits.

Board vice chair Angie Hater, Ohio State Rep. Catherine Ingraham, CEO Margo Spence, board chair Brent Dapper

Daina Dennis, project manager; Rachel Lyon, director of development and communication; Margo Spence, CEO; David Nuscher, director of finance; Naomi Sims-Satterwhite, director of clinical services; DeeAnn Camp, director of regulatory compliance Marjorie Rabenold, advisory board, Margo Spence, co-founder and advisory board member Annie Bennett

Alex Thurner and Ted Parchman prepare sandwiches at La Soupe.

Sherri Campbell and Deanna Sicking chop bell peppers at La Soupe.

Paljeana McPherson spreads mulch at the Christ Child Day Nursery.

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney congratulates Rotary Club President Steve King after Kearney proclaimed Oct. 21 and 22 as Cincinnati Rotary Do Days before a gathering of Do Days volunteers at the St. Francis Seraph Ministries. 

Jodi Stacey, Chelsea Janszen and Marilyn Lebhar painting a hopscotch game at the YMCA’s Christ Child Day Nursery in downtown Cincinnati.

Tania Moussa assembles a doll house at Bethany House Shelter.

LADD recognizes clients, supporters

Coney Island’s Moonlight Pavilion was transformed to pay tribute to LADD’s Taking Flight award winners. Attendees dined, toasted and cheered as they recognized the effort, energy and dedication it takes to achieve great things. LADD’s annual Taking Flight Awards dinner is a celebration of the accomplishments achieved by adults with developmental disabilities and those who have supported them on their journey to independence.

Monet has been living, and thriving, at St. Joseph Home for 12 years. It has become an extension of our family, and makes us feel we’ve done what was best for her. I have peace knowing she is in the best place for her and is receiving the best care possible.

Taft’s David Zimmerman, Taking Flight Above and Beyond Award Winner Laura Johnson and Kristen Saul

Antonio Conley

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Anne Gerhardt, Joslin Martin, Isabel Gantz and Emily Vollmer (pictured here) presented the Legacy Award to LADD’s Forever Home committee members: Vallie Geier, Chip Heidt, Aaron Haslam, Kim Vincent, Jenny McCloy, Betsy Mullin and Mike McGraw.

LADD board member Mike Weber with WLWT's Mike Dardis

Cindy Flatt, Taking Flight Spirit of Independence Winner Susie Prigan, Matt Chaffin and Rev. Owen Thomas of Christ Church Cathedral

Our goal is for those we care for not only to live, but to thrive

Natasha Powell Monet’s mother

St. Joseph Home provides systems of support for children and adults with complex disabilities and medical support needs. Founded in 1873 by the Sisters of Charity and serving people of all faiths.

Learning Through Art holds final 30th anniversary event

Learning Through Art Inc. held its final 30th anniversary celebration at Memorial Hall. CEO and Co-Founder Kathy Wade led a toast to three decades of building resilient communities through art across Cincinnati and beyond during the pre-concert reception.

Guests enjoyed live music and dinner bites and desserts from Chef Paul Sturkey and Kroger's On-the-Rhine Eatery. The special guest of the evening, two-time Grammy-winner Kurt Elling, mingled with the crowd and posed for selfies before hitting the stage in Memorial Hall’s theater with the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Todd Stoll for a 90-minute set. First Financial Bank was the event’s sponsor.

Photos by Mark lyons Emmy Award Winner Regional - Interview/Discussion Program

Kathy Wade and Laura Gentry, producing partner of Jazz Alive!

Karlyn WadeRichardson and Elissa Yancy of A Picture’s Worth

LTA board secretary Kristin McLane and treasurer Kali Boecher with Kurt Elling and Alecia Kintner of ArtsWave

Benjamin Cornist III, vicepresident, First Financial Bank with Kurt Elling

Carissa Ray of GreenCraft Media, Kathy Wade, Rachael Parker, LTA program panager, and Kelly Asbury, LTA operations manager

Guests join Learning Through Art CEO Kathy Wade in toast to LTA’s 30th Anniversary.

New nonprofit Genesis at Work raises $323K

A new foundation aimed at helping people with disabilities find work using faith-based approaches launched with a kickoff fundraiser at the Sharonville Convention Center. The event raised $323,000 from more than 250 attendees. The Genesis at Work Foundation will focus in its first year on the Sycamore and Mariemont school districts. Genesis at Work is working with Greater Cincinnati area companies wanting to gain knowledge and experience in employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Founding businesses that are part of the foundation’s Inclusive Employers Program include Pella Windows and Doors, BGR Packaging Supply Chain Experts, Crest Craft Custom Recognition Awards, Folchi’s Tuxedos and Menswear, Integrated Protection Services, Kaeser & Blair Inc., Kutol Hand Care Specialists and the Rug Gallery.

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Isiaha James, a guest of honor, with former Red Billy Hatcher

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Scott Holland, the inspiration for the Genesis at Work Foundation, with Tom Hume, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher

Hume looks on as Doug Flynn, former Reds infielder, signs a baseball for Connor Fenton, a guest of honor.

Ales to Zinfandels raises $82K for Bethany House

Ales to Zinfandels, the largest fundraiser of the year for Bethany House Services, raised more than $82,000 to support families experiencing homelessness. Bethany House Services is the area’s largest provider of services to homeless families.

More than 150 guests came to the 19th annual event at the Glendale Lyceum for wine and beer tastings, paired appetizers, music, a silent auction and more. Emcee for the evening was Danielle Dindak, reporter for WLWT News 5. Presenting sponsors were the Heidt Family Foundation and the Ed & Joann Hubert Family Foundation. Gold Sponsor was Focus CFO. Silver sponsors were Encore Technologies, Fifth Third Bank, TriVersity Construction and an anonymous donor. The event planning committee was chaired by Megan McCuen and included Gina Bannister, Lucy Crane, Carolyn Fast, Gail Myers, Jackie Schaiper, Peggy Scherzinger, Robie Suggs and David Tramontana.

YPs support Boys Hope Girls Hope

Boys Hope Girls Hope of Cincinnati’s Young Professionals board hosted its third annual fall clay shoot. Title sponsor was Western & Southern Financial Group. YP board members Sam Burchenal and Ike Davidoski coordinated the teams. The high scorer was John Schulcz, who took home an engraved bottle of Woodford Reserve to commemorate the win. All proceeds benefit the BHGH program and mission to nurture and guide motivated young people in need to become well-educated, career-ready men and women for others.

Photos by Mary Dee Donovan

Joaslyn Tolbert shares the moving story about how Bethany House helped her family find stable housing and gave her the courage to find a new career.

Tony Chambliss, BHS board member, and his wife Crystal browse the silent auction.

(Far right) David Tramontana, BHS board member and Ales to Zinfandels committee member

Peg Dierkers, CEO, Bethany House Services, reports on BHS’s recent move to a new, consolidated shelter and services center at 4769 Reading Road.

The Ales to Zinfandels committee: (back) Margaret Stevenson, Kit Brunner, Jackie Schaiper, Daniel Flynn; (front) Gail Myers, Peggy Scherzinger, Gina Bannister, chair Megan McCuen

Sam Burchenal, John Schulcz, Ike Davidoski

Andy Dorger, winner of Split the Pot

Group getting safety talk before the shoot

Sam Burchenal, Ike Davidoski, BHGH Cincinnati Executive Director Missy Hendon Deters

Stepping Stones nets over $101K at clays event

Stepping Stones, a nearly 60-year-old nonprofit serving people with disabilities, hosted its sixth annual sporting clays tournament at the Sycamore Pheasant Club in Loveland. The event netted more than $101,000 to benefit year-round programming for children, teens and adults with disabilities.

Attendees hit the course for a clay shoot featuring 75 targets and a flurry game. Supporters raised money for the organization by participating in a raffle and a live auction with premier packages. Mark Hill, Matthew Hill, Ryan Moeller and Barry Oppelt won the team competition and Mike Haehnle was the winning individual shooter.

Platinum sponsors from the event included the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation and PLK Communities. Gold sponsors included Johnson Investment Counsel, Seasons Best Landscaping and the Wyler Family Foundation.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Event co-chairs Peter Borchers and Brian Folke

First-place team: Matthew Hill, Mark Hill, Ryan Moeller and Barry Oppelt

Polly Brennaman, Ann Gibson, Kerry Mongelluzzo and Jill Freshley

Gary Moffat, Leo Dalle Molle, Paul Brachle and Nick Koopman

School board member training agency celebrates strengths

School Board School’s Breakfast Benefit brought together district leaders, elected officials, community partners and School Board School members to celebrate School Board School’s impact on Greater Cincinnati.

The more than 100 members of School Board School’s programs are elected leaders and education advocates who are working together from seats across Greater Cincinnati to build more equitable school systems. The event was hosted by community partner Elementz in the new Digital Futures space at the University of Cincinnati.

School Board School highlighted how, in less than five years, the organization has built one of the most diverse and informed networks of education leaders in the country. The Breakfast Benefit raised funds to ensure that School Board School programming remains free of charge, a key value of the organization.

Mayerson JCC celebrates Sukkot

The Mayerson JCC celebrated the Sukkot holiday with its annual Under One Roof celebration. An art reception kicked off the exhibit which was displayed for 10 days in the sukkah, a temporary structure for the holiday. Individual artists and groups came together to create beautiful works of art centered on the theme of continuity. Community members were encouraged to visit the display and take part in a paint night in the sukkah. The JCC’s 20s and 30s community also attended a happy hour called Sippin’ in the Sukkah.

Kiana Trabue, VP of strategic partnerships for bi3, with Damian Hoskins, executive director of Elementz

Carolyn Jones, CPS board member; Erice Kearney, African American Chamber president/CEO; Eve Bolton, CPS board member; Lauren Worley, P&G global newsroom leader

Jamie Markle, AVP of Ignite Philanthropy, with Reggie Harris, chief of staff for Cincinnati City Council Member Reggie Harris

Dani Issacsohn, founder of Cohear; Elisa Hoffman, School Board School founder/executive director; Ben Lindy, CPS board president

Mary Wineberg and Dr. Kareem Moncree Moffett, CPS board members

LaRhonda Thomas, CPS board member, with Iranetta Wright, CPS superintendent

Board member

Alex Kuhns

Bethany Doverspike, Playhouse in the Park development director, with Bernie McKay, Haile Foundation CEO

Members of the Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs view artwork.

Matt Friedman, Scott Sadler and Devra Silverman Sadler at the Sippin’ in the Sukkah Happy Hour.

Lizzie Kibler and Dylan Wallace paint during the Under One Roof paint night event.

Children’s advocacy center raises $255K

The Advocates, a group of supporters of the Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center, hosted the Havana Nights Gala to support the center. They raised over $255,000 to ensure that children who have suffered the unimaginable will continue to find a safe place to begin their journey toward hope and healing.

A live auction raised $39,000. During the live auction, donors received an original painting from students of The Artistry art studio. The advocacy center provides services to children who have been sexually and/or physically abused, trafficked or who have witnessed violent crimes.

Assistance League, Montgomery club help women and children

Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati and Montgomery Woman’s Club partnered to help women and children for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. At two drop-off sites in Oakley and Montgomery, volunteers from both organizations collected new household items for the “New Beginnings” program. Kitchen supplies, linens and other items will be given to women and their children leaving area shelters to establish a safe and peaceful home. The program has assisted 1,877 women and 1,832 children since 2010.

Major funding for the “New Beginnings” program is provided by the Haile Foundation, the Abbihl-Ahrens Cambridge Charitable Foundation, the Dally Foundation and the Spaulding Foundation.

NKCAC Advocate and auctioneer Kristi Nelson and her husband, Jeff Nelson Lelia and Alex Wendel holding artwork from Kids Helping Kids.

Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center board and gala chair Dr. Candyse Jeffries presenting board member Dr. Robert Tagher with Kids Champion Award.

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Group photo of NKCAC Advocates

NKCAC Advocate Diane Kidd and her husband, Tim

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Assistance League volunteers Audrey Stehle, Jane Meranus and Pat Eveslage

Sheakley gift pushes Art Museum above $65M

The Cincinnati Art Museum surpassed $65 million in fundraising to support its A New View campaign. A gift from Larry and Rhonda Sheakley enabled the campaign to surpass the milestone. To honor their generosity, the museum will rename its Cincinnati Wing in the Sheakley's honor. The most ambitious fundraising effort in the museum’s 141-year history, the campaign’s goal is to inspire Cincinnatians and connect communities through the power of art.

Guatemala support organization raises $205K

Cooperative for Education held its fall fundraiser, Fall Fiesta. The nonprofit celebrated 25 years of bringing its mission to life, which is breaking the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education.

The organization held a watch party for CoEd board members, their friends and family. Combined with a live online audience, it helped raise a total of $204,500. The funding will support educational programs across Guatemala, impacting the lives of underserved students and teachers.

Andrew DeWitt, Amy Hanson, Rhonda Sheakley, Larry Sheakley and Murray Sinclaire at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s A New View celebration

Linda Wyler, Cincinnati Art Museum’s Louis and Louise Dieterle Nippert Director Cameron Kitchin and Jeff Wyler

Katrina Mundy, Marilyn Duke and Jim Goetz

Holly Schnapf, Ann Dempsey, Jess Stieritz, Jenn Archila, Abby Gaide and Emily Paver

Nate Workman and Michelle Wollery Hanavan

Jenny Farfsing, Brian Todd, Joe Berninger (holding bottle) and Patrick Farfsing

Nate Workman, Michelle Wollery Hanavan and Abby Gaide

Colleen Kammer, John Berninger and Hugues Bertrand

Beech Acres says farewell to Anderson Twp.

Beech Acres Parenting Center, which has moved its headquarters to near downtown Cincinnati, teamed up with Everything But the House and invited friends to reminisce over a three-day, fond farewell to its Anderson Township home of more than 70 years.

Beech Acres hosted “On the Move: Celebrating 73 Years of Impact at 6881 Beechmont,” welcoming donors, staff and board members, as well as partners and friends of the agency, to its Anderson Township campus for a

special October evening. The celebration brought out walks down memory lane, featuring artifacts, photos and stories from the past.

The final farewell came over the following two days, as EBTH volunteered to help Beech Acres sell a number of historic artifacts from the decades Beech Acres called the property home. Beech

Beech Acres board member Jenn Dougherty, daughter Darby and wife Laura Dougherty

Emcee and Beech Acres

staff Dave Brewer, CEO Laura Mitchell, board member Tracy Stilwell

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Michael Patton, Teri Nau and Beech Acres board members Andy Holzhauser, Rogelle Hackworth and John Webster

Guests Lexi Lausten, Josh Gerth, Dee Stone

Beech Acres CEO Laura Mitchell

Photos by tasha Pinelo Photogra Phy

Springfield Township dedicates Harper public art

Springfield Township, ArtsConnect and Brett Harper dedicated “The Many Sides of Charley Harper” to Harper’s hometown. The sculpture was created by Micah Landers and was installed at one of the most traveled intersections in Hamilton County, Winton and Galbraith roads. A portion of the project was funded through the Ohio Arts Council Artist Resiliency Initiative.

For nearly 50 years, world-renowned modern artist Charley Harper (1922-2007) called Springfield Township home. “The Many Sides of Charley Harper” is a placemaking project, a one-of-a-kind sculpture, designed to welcome residents and visitors to the arts-centered community. It involved the public in its design through a vote of four Harper artworks.

“The Many Sides of Charley Harper,” designed by sculpture artist Micah Landers, is a cubed sculpture featuring four different iconic artworks by Charley Harper. The fawn is shown here. Other sides reveal a cardinal, a ladybug and a tiger.

Islamic Center in Mason hosts open house

Neighbors of all backgrounds attended the Mosque Open House at the Islamic Center of Mason. The purpose of the open house was to address the increase in Islamophobia and provide an opportunity for the neighbors to get acquainted with Muslim neighbors and deepen their understanding of the Islamic faith.

Two Muslim organizations hosted the event: GainPeace and the Islamic Center of Mason. GainPeace is a national Islamic organization that conducts educational forums and provides literature and opportunities for Americans to learn about Islam. Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, GainPeace director, said he hopes the open house creates opportunities to form alliances between Muslim Americans and their neighbors to better the community.

Keynote speaker Dr. Sabeel Ahmed presents Islam 101 and takes questions from the audience.

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Guests listen to a presentation on Islam 101 by the Muslim speaker.

Guests enjoying Mediterranean lunch

ArtsConnect Executive Director Kimberlee Flamm, board member Amy Durbin, board member Rob Roach, Brett Harper, sculpture artist Micah Landers and board member Marlo Thipen

The Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial celebrated the culmination of a year filled with activities, exhibits and events with Legacy: A Concert for Cincinnati at the Andrew J Brady Music Center. Support from numerous sponsors, partners and funders allowed the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati to help organize over 60 events, attended by more than 50,000 people, in celebration of 200 years of Jewish community life in the Queen City.

Graeter’s campaign for cancer research hits $1.6 million

Cincinnati-based Graeter’s Ice Cream completed its annual Cones for the Cure campaign – an 11-day event that offered guests a way to support The Cure Starts Now and pediatric brain cancer research. This record-breaking year, Graeter’s will donate $250,000 as a result of guest support, company donations and ice cream sales of the seasonal favorite, Elena’s Blueberry Pie Ice Cream.

All 55 Graeter’s retail stores participated with many setting individual records. Graeter’s has partnered with The Cure Starts Now for 14 years. In addition to Cones for the Cure, Graeter’s also donates a portion of the proceeds from every pint of their seasonal ice cream flavor, Elena’s Blueberry Pie.

The 2022 campaign also included a special “Warrior Pack” of six flavors selected by Cure Starts Now patients – called warriors. This year’s efforts resulted in the largest annual contributions to date and brought the total Cones For The Cure donations to $1,675,000.

The Cure Starts Now was started in honor of a Cincinnati girl, Elena Desserich, and her battle with cancer. With over 39 chapters worldwide, The Cure Starts Now has gained acclaim as one of the top cancer research charities. It has funded over $26 million in cancer research and support in collaboration with 26 foundations, resulting in over 133 research grants in 17 countries since 2007.

Danielle Minson, CEO, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati; Dr. Gary Zola, executive director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives; Becca Birckhead; Lizzie Birckhead; Whitney Owens, chief learning officer, Cincinnati Museum Center; Marie Krulewitch-Browne, program manager, Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial; David Harris, executive director, Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati; Kim Heiman, co-chair, Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial

Walk the Moon

Eli Maiman of Walk the Moon

Ruff, Tawanna Walker, Keyonte Lowery, Skylar Smith, Cindy Martin, Khristian Williams

toM r

entz

Moms Demand Action founder compares gender and gun violence

Women Helping Women, the leading regional resource for rapid crisis response and the prevention of gender-based violence, presented data trends on increased violence in our community, schools and workplaces. The group’s sixth annual corporate breakfast took place at the Cincinnati Ballet Margaret & Michael Valentine Center for Dance.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, the nation’s largest grassroots effort fighting gun violence, delivered a strong message on fighting for public safety measures that can protect people, workplaces, students and families from gun violence. She discussed how gun violence, like gender-based violence, is preventable and how partnerships with business and community leaders can drive culture shifts to improve safety and vitality in our region.

Angels’ Castle continues drive to build Springfield Twp. facility

Angels’ Castle celebrated its second annual Garden Cocktail Party. Angels’ Castle hopes to build a state-of-the-art therapeutic campus for adults with intellectual disabilities in Springfield Township.

Guests enjoyed a wide selection of delicious heavy hor d’oeuvres, desserts and signature cocktails. Some of Cincinnati’s most talented artists played arrangements on flute, saxophone and accordion with the final music guests being soprano Shannon Cochran of Cincinnati Opera and pianist Elana Kholodova of Cincinnati and Atlanta operas.

Guests also had access to a silent auction with exclusive items from some of Cincinnati’s finest establishments, such as Ohio River Cruises, Paolo Modern Jewelry and New Riff Bourbon.

Big Brothers Big Sisters honors Turner at BIG Breakfast

Nearly 300 community leaders gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to honor Ohio National CEO Barbara Turner for her community leadership and to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati.

The BIG Breakfast fundraising event, in its fourth year, was co-hosted by Delores Hargrove-Young, vice chairwoman of d.e. Foxx and Associates, and raised $218,500 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati. Ben Haenning, vice president at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, served as the chair of the 2022 BIG Breakfast.

The 2023 event will be held in the fall and will feature the theme, “Building Futures” to celebrate leadership in the construction industry.

Ban Haenning, event chair; Kathy List, CEO of BBBS Cincinnati; Delores Hargrove-Young vice chair of d.e.Foxx; Barbara Turner, CEO of Ohio National; Rico Grant, founder of Paloozanoire

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Party guests Nancy Stiefvater, Alissa Sammacro, Lisa Allgood, Alissa and Alina Asmarian, Nancy Haigh

All photography by Le Thompson, Faux Labels Photography.

Kristin Shrimplin, Women Helping Women CEO, with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and Nickol Mora, WHW chief strategy officer

Fireside chat hosted by Rebeca Arbona, featuring Shannon Watts

OneSource raises nearly $33K to help nonprofits

OneSource Center hosted its 2022 partner celebration at the First Financial Club at TQL Stadium, raising $32,500. Guests enjoyed a raffle, a silent auction and a buffet while supporting OneSource, a resource center for nonprofits.

Award winners were: Corporate community partner: FORVIS; nonprofit community partner: The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati; Founder’s award: Dr. Fred Joffe. With Bob Herzog as emcee and Francesca Phillis from Santa Maria Community Services sharing how OneSource Center’s voucher program helps their clients, the guests were able to learn more about OneSource’s work and impact.

Crown celebrates tiara sculpture, $1M donation

The Crown capital campaign, Mayor Aftab Pureval and Cincinnati Parks celebrated completion of the newly constructed tiara bench sculpture in Yeatman’s Cove at the Public Landing. The tiara bench sculpture was designed by artist Jan Brown Checco and constructed by Prus Construction. It features a mosaic by Suzanne Fisher and metal and glass work by Ursula Roma.

The Crown used the celebration as an opportunity to present a $1.12 million donation to the city of Cincinnati for Wasson Way phases 3, 4 and 5, from Madison Road to Old Red Bank Road. The donation is earmarked as a local match contribution for a $6 million federal surface transportation block grant the city was awarded from OKI Regional Council of Governments in 2019 to build 3.2 miles of the Wasson Way multiuse trail. Wasson Way is one of the four regional trails included in the vision for the Crown 34-mile urban trail loop.

OneSource board member Amelia Crutcher, Founder Award winner Fred Joffe, OneSource CEO Christie Brown and OneSource Board Chair Aaron Zboril

The tiara bench sculpture at Yeatman’s Cove

Cherishing our traditions with a flip to something new

There’s a principle about people that their best attributes are the flip side of their worst. Marry the charming, spontaneous man and find out he’s hard to count on. Your mother is supportive, but you wish she weren’t so intrusive.

Perhaps it’s true of cities, too. I think Cincinnati has clear flip sides. We have a charming and commendable loyalty to tradition and continuity. But that flips to stubbornness and resistance to change.

I remember a story about a remodeling going on at Maury’s Tiny Cove, in which someone was quoted as saying they go there because their parents had their prom date there. And I think, jeez, you could maybe try a new place every once in a while. Skyline has one of the highest loyalty ratings of any chain

restaurant in the country, which impresses me. But chili several times a week? When you could have tacos or ramen or sushi or healthy salads…?

A lot of people find it hard to make new friends here because everyone is busy with their extended family or high school friends. Living down the street from your parents and sending your kids to the same Catholic elementary school you went to seems stifling to me. It leads to narrow thinking, like the woman I interviewed for a story about a West Side bar who said, “It’s so diverse here. People come from all the parishes.”

On the other hand, while I was writing a book about Cincinnati food history, I realized that the stubbornness pays off: We have our unique regional menu because the Graeters kept doing things the

old way until the rest of the world caught up with them. Grandmothers and neighborhood butchers never stopped making goetta, though no one made it anywhere else. That’s to be treasured. I would not change one tile on the wall of Scotti’s or suggest that Arnold’s take all that old stuff off the walls.

I’m not from Cincinnati, but I’ve got the same flip sides in my life. My parents assumed their kids would go off on their own. I moved to New York after college and then here. My siblings live all around the country; none can imagine living in our home town; we committed to start fresh.

But how often I wish I lived down the street from my parents, that I could have gone to all my nieces and nephews’ birthday parties, that I could sit with my sister for her cancer treatments. I search for Cincinnati job listings that might lure my daughters home.

And this time of year, I’m for tradition all the way. I love knowing my siblings are all making the exact same coffeecake for Christmas breakfast, that at my sister’s gathering in California they are doing the same dumb peppermint ice cream race after dinner. We sit around the tree and open our Christmas presents one by one with thanks and comments after each one, just as we’ve always done. At Thanksgiving, we make about a pie per person and I make creamed onions. The cranberry sauce is raw relish, not cooked, and we always take a walk.

responsibility I didn’t know I carried lifted. That year, we had a whole grilled salmon and Ecuadorian rice, cooked by the men of the family.

As the Grinch found out: Christmas wasn’t in the roast beast.

This holiday season, my mother does live down the street. At 94, she moved to Cincinnati to be closer to me. For Christmas, she’s going to make the big effort to get up our six stairs and spend it around the tree with us. But for Thanksgiving, we skipped the companionable fuss in the kitchen and forgot the traditional silver-polishing. All that just stresses Mom out, even when she doesn’t have to do any of it. I proposed to her that I would order dinner from a caterer, take it to her assisted living apartment and eat around her little table. I was hesitant since she has a hard time agreeing to anything right away. But when I said her granddaughter would be there, she said “Sally and Raul will come? Oh, yes, let’s do that!” and the immediate reaction and lift in her voice settled that.

“But you’ll make the raw cranberry relish, right?” Oh, yes. It’s delicious. It’s tradition. 

The Baking Journal

But, bring someone new to the family and those comforting traditions might seem stifling. My son-in-law, though he says he didn’t care much about Christmas until he spent it with us, once said he thought the coffeecake was dry. There were genuine gasps of horror before he was thoroughly talked down. But when he asked if we always had to have roast beef and mashed potatoes for dinner, and I started to protest, I thought, well, not really. And the weight of

Polly Campbell covered restaurants and food for the Cincinnati Enquirer from 1996 until 2020. She lives in Pleasant Ridge with her husband, and since retiring does a lot of reading, cooking and gardening, if that’s what you call pulling weeds.

She writes monthly on a variety of topics, and she welcomes your feedback and column suggestions at editor@moversmakers.org.

Polly Campbell

Polly Campbell