ArtsWave announced on May 19 that its 2026 Community Campaign raised $12,112,026 for arts organizations across the Cincinnati region. Campaign chair James Zimmerman shared the results at a finale event held at the newly renovated Emery Theater in Over-the-Rhine, where donors, volunteers, arts organizations and civic leaders gathered.

More than 20,000 individual donors contributed to the campaign. ArtsWave reported growth in its Executive Leaders for the Arts initiative, which comprises business and civic leaders who give $5,000 or more. A matching gift from Western & Southern helped increase participation to 214 Executive Leaders this year. The result comes as ArtsWave approaches its 100th anniversary in 2027.

The campaign also supported several expanded programs. More Arts More Kids, which provides no-cost arts field trips, reached full capacity this year and served nearly 20,000 students, adding Hamilton City Schools and the Fitton Center as partners. ArtsWave expanded its creative placemaking work in Northern Kentucky through its partnership with meetNKY and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, launching the OneNKY Center Gallery and a rotating artist-in-residence program. The ArtsWave App surpassed 22,000 downloads and averaged 450 daily users.

Source: ArtsWave