Community Contributes $11 Million to Annual Campaign for Arts

Julie Janson, Chair of the 2010 Annual Community Campaign for the Fine Arts Fund and President of Duke Energy Ohio & Kentucky, announced that donors in our community gave $11 million for the arts in the annual campaign -- an amount equal to 100 percent of the contributions in 2009 and more than any other such campaign in the nation.

Ms. Janson noted that in February she had announced a goal of exactly that amount, saying: "We decided that we had to set an ambitious goal in order to ensure that people continue to share the benefits of the arts that make our community such a vibrant and appealing place. And this year, setting a goal equal to last year's donations was very ambitious."

“This is an extraordinary sign of community support for the arts and the benefits they bring to the entire area” noted Lee Carter, Chair of the Fine Arts Fund Board of Trustees. “People recognize that our dance, theatre, museums, music, art centers, and so forth make communities more vital and bring people together throughout the region. We set a very aggressive goal and people really communicated how much they value the arts with their donations.

In addition to their support of the Annual Community Campaign, several foundations  -- including the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation -- made additional contributions in special initiative funding. Ms. Janson noted that the contributions from the Campaign and these investments total $12.3 million for the community in 2010.

Ms. Janson said, “There are many amazing stories about the breadth and growth of contributors this year.” Noting that campaign contributors come from all across the region and most give less than $150, she described the efforts of "people who work in small non-profits, medium-sized service agencies, regional restaurant chains, and global companies where employees expanded their giving over last year."

“This would not have been possible without the efforts of hundreds of volunteers. During the campaign, we focused on the fun of the arts by working with people from all across the region to perform a surprise public dance to local music and we created pop-up galleries and shows on buses to kickoff the campaign. We've heard from all corners of the region: the arts make our community a great place to live and visit,” she concluded.

Ms. Janson announced the lead volunteer of next year’s community campaign for the arts, Edgar Smith, CEO of World Pac Paper.

**It is with your support that we were able to reach our goal and we THANK YOU!