Cincinnati nonprofit organizations
Building Nonprofit Capacity Is What SVP Cincinnati Does
In 2007 it may have seemed unimaginable that the run down, abandoned space on Reading Road where a gas station once stood would be transformed into one of the region’s most unique hands-on learning laboratories teaching youth and adults about sustaina
ble practices.
It was to be a dream-come-true for Cincinnati’s Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati. The staff of the Center brought the idea…along with a request for funding and professional leadership support to a group of local philanthropists wanting to build the capacity of area nonprofits.
And soon, the very first grant of Social Venture Partners Cincinnati (SVP) was awarded. By 2009 the innovative Green Learning Station was open, teaching people about environmentally responsible methods for growing gardens – anywhere and everywhere. That includes yards, walls, patios, driveways, parking lots…and even roof tops.
SVP not only granted the Civic Garden Center $74,000 over four years, its partners also gave of their professional expertise and time. They provided guidance and assistance with strategic planning, leadership development, marketing, and fundraising.
That is just the beginning of the SVP story. Since June, 2008 until December, 2011, the organization and its 38 partners have invested over $598,000 collectively including financial contributions and professional service volunteer time to four different Cincinnati area causes. (SVP is in the process of deciding upon its fifth investee.) Those nonprofits include – the Gorman Heritage Farm, Whole Again International, Imago for Earth, and the Civic Garden Center.
Money is good. Capacity is better.
“We had the audacious idea that, instead of just throwing money at a nonprofit to address its needs, we would throw ourselves into the organization, giving of our diverse talents to become a true partner,” SVP Chair Wijdan Jreisat wrote in its report to the community. Wijdan is also an attorney at Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild.
When I spoke first with director Lisa Davis Roberts, director, and then Wijdan, their passion came through loud and clear. If we had had all day together, I know each of them could have spent the entire time talking about their common cause.
How does it work? At the heart of SVP are its partners who each donate a minimum of $6000 annually and volunteer their time. (There are 38 partners in Cincinnati.) They go through a rigorous process in deciding upon the organizations they will support, and then, for the next three years they basically give of their hearts and their minds to further missions that are important to them.
“SVP is hands-down my favorite volunteer experience,” said founding partner Susan Ingmire, president of Ingmire Philanthropy Advisors.
Cincinnati Nonprofits Vying For A Toyota
It is easy to take for granted our ability to hop in our car to travel where ever we want to go. For nonprofits who are working day in and day out to make meaningful impact, that transportation isn’t always easy. Having an organization vehicle can be costly.
Cincinnati is fortunate that we have so many outstanding nonprofits who have stood out above the crowd in vying to win a 
FREE Toyota in the national Toyota 100 Cars for Good project. Already our Cincinnati Zoo and Recycled Doggies have won.
Some others who are finalists still need your votes. Each day only 5 finalists are featured and the one that gets the most Facebook votes wins a vehicle of their choice. Peggy Kreimer of Stepping Stones had this to say about what their win would mean to them…
If we win a wheelchair accessible van, it will transform our adult services program for people who use wheelchairs. Our last accessible van was 17 years old and is no lon
ger road-worthy. When the adult participants go out to restaurants, to the Butterfly show, to sports events and picnics, the people who use wheelchairs just wave good-by. And when the group returns, they listen to the excited tales of adventures and fun that they, once again, missed. Your vote can get them into the community again.
Here is a list of Cincinnati area organizations who are finalists, and dates that you can vote for them.
Easter Seals WRC, July 12
Stepping Stones, July 14
Creek Road Baptist Church in Sharonville, Aug. 7
4C for Children, Aug. 9
Cincysmiles Foundation, Aug. 21
To vote, go to www.100carsforgood.com. You must have a Facebook account to vote and can only vote once per day.
Let’s support our local charities and spread the word!
Voices of Giving Awards Honor Philanthropists
So often I talk about how fortunate I am to be working with and among some of this community’s most generous individuals and organizations making meaningful impact.
The Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council (GCPGC) and its Voices of Giving Awards is one example. This is the fourth year I have helped them with post event coverage. The GCPGC is a professional association of individuals whose life work is to help to ensure the viability of nonprofits. This year at CET, a studio was filled with representatives from some of those charitable organizations as 22 diverse area philanthropists and two financial advisers – all of whom share a common trait of selfless generosity – were honored. Voices of Giving Award recipients have contributed to the long term sustainability of meaningful causes through bequests or planned gifts.
“Our honorees have been touched in diverse ways by area non-profits and their passion runs deep. Their choice to create a lasting legacy through causes so close to their hearts will impact lives now and in the future,” said GCPGC Voices of Giving Awards Co-Chair Carol Stevie.
2011 Voices of Giving Honorees
Heidi Jark and Steve Kenat on behalf of the American Cancer Society
Pauline Strayhorne on behalf of CET
Chuck Goering on behalf of Children, Inc.
The Honorable Julia A. Stautberg (posthumously) on behalf of the Cincinnati
Bar Association
Andrew MacAoidh Jergens on behalf of Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park
Dan and Irene Randolph on behalf of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Jack and Peggy Bunker on behalf of CISE Foundation
Harry Kangis and Julia Hawgood on behalf of Episcopal Retirement Homes
Anne Heldman on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Oakley and Eva Farris on behalf of Northern Kentucky University
William and Phyllis Augspurger on behalf of People Working Cooperatively
Barbara M. Stern on behalf of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati
John F. and Susan C. Hoerner on behalf of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati
John D. and Ruth Erhardt on behalf of The Wellness Community of Greater Cincinnati
and Northern Kentucky
Professional advisors honored:
Robert Brant on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Timothy E. Johnson, Ph.D., on behalf of GCPGC
To view video interviews with the honorees on CET Connect, please click here.
For more information on the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council, please visit www.gcpgc.org.
Local Philanthropists Honored For Leaving Their Legacy
They are role models of selfless giving for younger generations whose gifts are helping to ensure diverse causes will be viable for the future. Collectively they have committed to giving millions, but more importantly, they’ve committed to leaving their legacy. This is the common thread of the 21 honorees from this year’s Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council’s Voices of Giving Awards. They were all nominated by area non-profit organizations impacted by their selflessness, generosity and foresight.
“Greater Cincinnati is a generous, caring community and non-profit organizations are an especially important aspect of our lives,” Andrea Herzig, president of GCPGC told the audience at the Awards event. “Our Voices of Giving honorees have all taken the time for purposeful giving; planning their gift for generations they will never meet. This is the true meaning of altruistic philanthropy.”
Presenting sponsor for the GCPGC Voices of Giving Awards was the Josephine Schell Russell Chairtable Trust, PNC Bank, Trustee. The event was hosted by CET.
It was a real honor for me to be a part of the event for the second year, helping GCPGC share information about the honorees with the community.
(FOX19’s Dan Carroll, emcee, and Steve Hegge, event chair)2009 Voices of Giving Award recipients:
(Note: one honoree chose to not be recognized publically)
William (posthumously) and LaVerne Stautberg, nominated by Santa Maria
Community Services
Mary Beth and Jim Foxworthy, nominated by the Deupree House
Dr. Corning and Mrs. Carol Benton, nominated by the Marjorie P. Lee Retirement
Community
Nancy A. Creaghead Ph.D., nominated by the University of Cincinnati Foundation
George H. Musekamp, nominated by the American Cancer Society
Wilma K. McGrath (posthumously), nominated by the Catholic Inner-City Schools Education Fund
Ruth Upson, nominated by the Children’s Home of Cincinnati
Dr. and Mrs. Ira Abrahamson, nominated by the Cincinnati Art Museum
Dorothy Whitley Lang, nominated by the Wyoming School Foundation
Eva Jane Romaine Coombe (posthumously), nominated by Seven Hills School
Alice Sparks, nominated by Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation CET
Marge Gallagher, nominated by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati
Paul Keidel, nominated by Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Henry ‘Bud’ Pogue IV (posthumously) and Betty Maupin Pogue, nominated by Northern Kentucky University
Robert Kanter, nominated by Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Susanne Ernst Geier and Philip O. Geier Jr. (posthumously), nominated by United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Judy and Roger Short, nominated by The Wellness Community of Greater
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
Margaret Berning Wais, nominated by St. Rita School for the Deaf
Rev. Thomas Bokenkotter, nominated by The Athenaum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
