Author

Becky Johnson

Becky Johnson's Latest Articles

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fosters new, younger volunteers
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Education + Learning
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April 24, 2012

Succession planning -- although thriving corporations understand this well, far fewer philanthropies consider the benefits of a seamless continuity of talent to the overall health and longevity of an organization. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is, as usual, ahead of the curve in recruiting and appreciating new talent. Named every year as one of Forbes Magazine’s most efficient charities, JDRF’s Cincinnati chapter has recently created its Young Leadership Council to find and foster a new generation of volunteers. JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research, with more than 80 percent of its expenditures directly supporting research and research-related education. Given its lean staff, committed volunteers are absolutely essential to local and national fundraising and a myriad of other organizational needs. Cincinnati chapter board president-elect Burke Neville realized the need to create a local young professionals arm, something that’s just beginning in chapters across the nation. He pegged Ryan Klekar, of TruePoint, a wealth management firm, and Marc Luley, of GE Aviation, to lead the effort just six months ago. After his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year, Klekar immediately joined JDRF and now sees his mission as growing a next generation of supporters and volunteers. “Marc and I are challenged with building the group…whether it’s a young family, someone who is a type 1 diabetic or with a family or friend exposure to the disease. There’s some connection with most of our committee members.” This year, JDRF’s Cincinnatian of the Year Gala will honor the legacy of one of those volunteers, Cynthia Marver Marmer, who, with family connections to type 1 diabetes, dedicated many years to ending the disease. The gala’s new after-party is designed to attract younger attendees; perhaps more than a few may choose to pick up the mantel of Marmer’s life work for JDRF. Melissa Newman, executive director of the local chapter, sees great potential in the Young Leadership Council. “Young professionals can raise funds for JDRF in new, innovative ways among a new demographic.” A recent Mardi Gras Crawl in February was a modest fundraiser, but its real success was in enticing 30 new young professionals to join JDRF as members. “These are people who might someday join our board of directors,” says Newman. Do Good: • Attend: the annual Cincinnatian of the Year Gala May 12 at the Duke Energy Convention Center,  • Learn: about the many fundraisers and events JDRF Cincinnati hosts all year to educate and increase awareness about this disease and how close the world is to a cure.  By Becky Johnson

Emery Theatre welcomes Waddie
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Arts + Culture
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April 17, 2012

Once, there lived an old man, disabled and alone in the world, languishing in a nursing facility far from his home. Yet, this silent, marginalized man rallied a community of supporters to help him find a loving home in his beloved town of Savannah, Ga., where he spent his final years. "Welcome Home: The Waddie Welcome Story" is a new play about Waddie and the diverse community who grew to love and help him. Showing at the Emery Theatre for one day, May 12, it is also the story of young woman who has risen above her own disabilities to bring this story to the stage. Nikki Booker was a student at Starfire U when she first read the book Waddie Welcome and the Beloved Community. Starfire U, a post-secondary program designed for people with disabilities to explore and discover their talents, assigns a capstone project to its students. Booker decided to bring Waddie and his story to life as her capstone. She traveled to Savannah, Waddie Welcome’s hometown, to gather research and meet the people who had known him. Shecommissioned a playwright to adapt the story, and by this February, she had completed fundraising for the project. Just as in Waddie’s tale, the Cincinnati community began to rally around Booker’s dream of producing her play. Partnering with the Requiem Project and Starfire U, the Emery Theatre graciously offered free use of its facilities for two Saturday performances. Starfire U students will participate in the production, some as actors and others as crew. Aaron Kent of DIY Printing, which works closely with artists in its open printing studio, is printing all of the posters for the production, as well as teaching Booker how to screenprint. Along with designer Jeni Jenkins, playwright Catie O’Keefe has worked closely with Booker to adapt the book into a script. Says O’Keefe of Booker, “She has been great to work with; she has a very clear vision of what she wants the production to be.” If that vision is to show how much good people can bring to their communities, Booker has succeeded before the curtains even rise. Do Good: • Attend: a performance of "Welcome Home: The Waddie Welcome Story" at the Emery Theatre. • Read: about the play, Nikki Booker, and the partners who have made this production a reality. By Becky Johnson

CityLink looks to change statistics on poverty
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Education + Learning
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April 10, 2012

Steel-gray slabs rising several stories high mark the emerging shape of the main building’s entrance. Ductwork awaiting installation rests in row after row of silver stacks. Construction work has begun in earnest on the CityLink Center, a five-acre campus on Bank Street that aims to change the game in fighting poverty by giving hope and help to people who want to make positive life changes. Despite years of effort and expertise from non-profit ministries and governmental agencies, nearly 1 in 4 Cincinnatians remains in poverty today. CityLink, initiated by a group of social service agencies and drawing support from a host of faith-based organizations, is a radical effort to change that statistic for the better.   Its approach is based on “bundling” social services, much like the Centers for Working Families (CWF) model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Often, those who are impoverished do not find the programs that might help them, either through lack of awareness, embarrassment, transportation barriers or scheduling conflicts. By amassing these programs under one roof, CWF has tripled and sometimes quadrupled its success rates and is now creating centers in Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago and New York. If there can be success elsewhere, why not here? CityLink plans to offer easy-to-navigate programs and services under one roof, managed by professionals, trained volunteers and mentors--people who will provide comprehensive care and continue those connections throughout clients’ lives. CityLink has already built support from faith-based programs and is continuing to strengthen its foundation with support from corporations, foundations and individuals. On April 13, its sixth annual Party for a Purpose will keep raising funds, offering dinner by the bite at the Manor House in Mason and music by Soul Pocket. Over-the-Rhine’s Memorial Hall will host another fundraiser April 28, when 30 business professionals, who have all auditioned, will share their rock-star alter-egos on the stage to keep funding CityLink and what may be the most thoughtful and comprehensive approach Cincinnati has seen in alleviating poverty and its hardships.   Do Good: • Attend a CityLink fundraiser: Here is more information on the April 13 Party for a Purpose and the Memorial Hall Rock This Town. • Support: Help Cincinnati Works, CityLink’s partner, raise up to $10,000 this week through GE’s What Works Project by going to celebratewhatworks.com and click to donate $1 once or daily to the cause.   By Becky Johnson 

MY Cincinnati teaches classical music to kids
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Arts + Culture
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April 3, 2012

Despite an occasional glance at the videographer, the children focus intently on their music. With a good tempo and an intermittent squeak, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy flows from young hands holding the bows of violas, cellos and violins. Price Hill’s newest orchestra is bringing classics to kids in a way that may build a whole new outlook and vision for the community’s future. Music for Youth in Cincinnati (MYCincinnati) is the reason these Price Hill children gather daily after school to study a musical instrument and play in an orchestra. Led by classically-trained cellist Laura Jekel, the program follows the model of El Sistema, an internationally renowned system of building youth orchestras to transform the lives of underserved children through music. Three elements define the El Sistema program. “First, it’s free and located in an area that may have access barriers in studying classical music,” says Jekel. It is also a great commitment of time and energy. Children study two hours a day under both Jekel and musician Eddy Kwon. Finally, the orchestra is at the core of the students’ learning development. Following the students’ first day, which was an introduction to the instruments, “the second day was in orchestra,” Jekel says, and it has been that way ever since. Why offer an orchestra experience over the usual private lessons and individual practicing? “Musically, it creates a different kind of musician, one that is not focused just on themselves but on the group,” says Jekel. “Although all ages [7- 13-year-olds] are playing together, all at different levels, the levels are still all progressing ,and the group sound gives the kids confidence.” That focus on the group dynamic is why a community development organization like Price Hill Will was interested in supporting this youth music program. “The community wanted us to work with youth,” says Matt Strauss, director of marketing and neighborhood promotion at Price Hill Will, but “our goal isn’t just to teach kids to play classical instruments. The program is vigorous and kids have to work as a team and be dedicated.” Despite a wide mix of racial and economic backgrounds, “these kids work together beautifully.” Do Good: • Watch: a performance of youth orchestra. • Participate: Do you know a child who may be interested in this program? Would you like to volunteer or make an in-kind donate ? Contact Laura Jekel, 513-251-3800 (106). • Find out: about other programs Price Hill Will supports. By Becky Johnson

edSpark brings educational support to Brandery
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Architecture + Design
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April 3, 2012

If a startup accelerator can bring success to consumer-focused and brand-driven companies, could it also help for-profit educational practices? This is a question that the Greater Cincinnati Foundation asked the Brandery, Cincinnati’s startup accelerator with a top 10 rating from the Kellogg School of Management/Kauffman Fellows/TechCocktail rankings and a member of the Global Accelerator Network. The Brandery has graduated 14 companies in its first two classes, providing each with $20,000 in seed money, training sessions with other entrepreneurs, networking with mentors matched to each company’s needs and the opportunity to pitch ideas to angel investors, venture capitalists, marketers and the media. edSpark may be the answer. Funded by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, this aspect of the Brandery’s accelerator program will support startups focused on educational innovation. Once accepted, a startup with an educational focus will receive special help through education-oriented mentors, in addition to the other benefits of a regular Brandery startup. Says Mike Bott, Brandery general manager, “When we look at an applicant, we need to make sure we can offer them the skills to meet their needs through mentorship.” That is where the Strive Partnership comes in. Recruiting appropriate mentors will require close attention to the make-up of a company’s team and its vision. With opportunities for educational innovation ranging across the spectrum of life, from infancy to post-college, the Strive Partnership will be looking for a variety of content experts to assist companies with specific needs. Strive Partnership director Greg Landsman sees great outcomes by providing good mentors and business community support for an education-focused startup. “Not all education innovation and for-profit education companies are leveraging data effectively to ensure that what they are doing is working," he says. "Our involvement is as a screener, and if an education startup is selected, we’re highly confident that they will use data to ensure that they are supporting child and student development and growth.” Do Good: • Investigate: the Brandery and what it has been doing in Cincinnati and across the world to nurture young businesses. • Apply: for inclusion in the Brandery’s 2012 class via its website. Applications are due May 15, with early-admission decisions made May 1. The class of 10 companies will be announced on June 1. • See: what the Strive Partnership and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation are doing to promote good educational models and practices. By Becky Johnson

Immigrants fuel innovative plans for revival on Short Vine
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General
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March 27, 2012

Terry Chan came to Cincinnati via Hong Kong and Carnegie Mellon. His plans for the Short Vine Innovation District reflect an international perspective on successful neighborhood redevelopment. With long-term and new investors, he's helping create a technological hub of early-stage, vibrant businesses that's built to last.

New Talbert House program turns unused items into monetary donations
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For Good
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March 13, 2012

One person’s junk is another’s treasure.   With a nod to that adage, Talbert House is launching a new fundraising effort that it hopes will translate treasure into needed funds for its many programs that bring health and productivity to Cincinnati citizens.   Donations2Dollars, a business that helps non-profits organize and capitalize on a donated items drive, is partnering with Talbert House to raise money for the organization. “The concept is so simple,” says Paula Boggs Muething, Talbert House board member. “Individuals can donate items of value that they are no longer using. These items will be purchased by someone else, resulting in a financial contribution to a great cause.”   Donations2Dollars sets up a process of receiving and managing private donations for an organization. Then it uses online auctions like eBay to sell the inventory. “We don’t get hired to raise money,” says Marc Fisher, founder of Donations2Dollars. “Our goal is to help [a nonprofit] raise money--to take things that are sitting around a house or old business inventory and find value in them that can help support an organization.”   Instead of hitting donors’ pocketbooks, an organization is offering supporters another option: donate an item instead. Talbert House donations managed by Donations2Dollars will support the agency’s Fatherhood Project, which helps strengthen a dad’s involvement with his children. Talbert House is committed to this project for at least a year, says Muething. “The Fatherhood Project received a grant through the Talbert House Foundation to fund a position designated to the Donations2Dollars program for one year, using a volunteer from the Church of the Brethren. “ Fisher, a Cincinnati businessman and philanthropist, sees the value of this new fundraising concept in a changing economy. These days, “nonprofits need to be more creative in finding opportunities to fund their programs.” Talbert House agrees and sees this kind of fundraising as a complement to its other social enterprises that help fund its programs, including House Café and Catering, the Talbert House Drug Lab  and the Institute for Training and Development.  Do Good: • Learn: about Donations2Dollars and this new concept of turning donated items into funds for your nonprofit, at www.donations2dollars.com • Support: the Talbert House, a community-wide nonprofit network of social services with 36 community corrections, mental health and substance abuse programs focusing on prevention, assessment, treatment and social reintegration of men, women and children.  By Becky Johnson

Small grants make big differences at Greater Cincinnati Foundation
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Diversity
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March 6, 2012

Small but mighty. That is how the Greater Cincinnati Foundation describes its Grants for Kids program and the astounding impact just a few dollars can make in the lives of children and their teachers. For two decades, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation has offered Cincinnati schools and non-profit organizations grants of up to $1,000 for special projects. “What the foundation was learning 20 years ago was that teachers were paying for material out of their own pockets,” says Beth Reiter Benson of the GCF. "Seven hundred and fifty dollars is just a drop in the bucket for some of the larger projects we fund, but for a teacher who has to pay for a learning experience out of his or her own pocket or for a district where the parents or children can’t afford a field trip, it makes a big difference.” These grants were meant to fill that gap. Learning Links and Summertime Kids are two programs that benefit thousands of children in Greater Cincinnati each year. With $1,000 from Summertime Kids, Lincoln Heights Elementary School provided its students transportation for summertime trips to Coney Island, the Cincinnati Zoo and a riverboat ride – places these kids would not get to on their own. Children with disabilities sport new uniforms on game days for their growing baseball league in Butler County. For only $561, the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Northern Kentucky provided fun outings for the homeless children in its church shelters last summer. Learning Links grants allowed the Lower School at the Children’s Home of Cincinnati to produce a theater project for children with behavioral or emotional problems. Campbell Ridge Elementary School in Alexandria, Kentucky, provided its students with a service learning project about children in Haiti, all the while spreading GCF dollars not just across state lines but around the world. Do Good: • Spread the word: to educators or summer programs that may benefit from these grants. • Make a contribution: Every dollar contributed means more grants can be made. By Becky Johnson

Flywheel to serve as hub for social enterprise
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Education + Learning
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March 6, 2012

Flywheel: the heavy wheel attached to a rotating shaft to smooth out delivery of power from a motor to a machine (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia). “The Flywheel Effect:” when companies stay focused on their core business with time, energy and all team members pointing in the same direction. Like the flywheel in an engine, the continuous rotation begins to take on a life of its own. Flywheel Cincinnati: a social enterprise “hub,” perhaps the first of its kind in the country, to assist non-profits in generating income through social enterprise - work and products with social value. Social enterprise is nothing new. We see it with every box of Girl Scout cookies we buy or YMCA we’ve joined. In Cincinnati, the Easter Seals Work Resource Center’s Building Value is deconstructing hundreds of buildings, selling used material and providing construction and retail work for many with employment barriers or disabilities. These are the success stories in social entrepreneurship, when an economic venture helps those in need, generates income and follows the mission of the non-profit organization overseeing it. Flywheel plans to be a Cincinnati hub of information and innovation in assisting non-profits in their social entrepreneurship. Four diverse organizations formed this one-of-a-kind start-up for social enterprise: the Leadership Council for Human Services, the Executive Service Corps of Cincinnati, the Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Miami University, and Centric Consulting. A professional team from each organization provides its own experience in business, academia and social enterprise to assist non-profits in both forming and growing economic ventures and fostering networkingpartnerships among social enterprises. “We’re actually a social enterprise ourselves,” says Suzanne Smith, Flywheel executive director. “We went through the same process that we would do for our clients.” A recent $40,000 grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation will provide workshops for potential non-profit clients, organize a local chapter of the Social Enterprise Alliance, and create an online directory for local social enterprise organizations, not only for non-profit networking but for people who want to support social enterprise services and products. Do Good: • Learn: about Flywheel and how it can teach, coach, and advise non-profits at key steps in the formation of social enterprises. • Attend: one of Flywheel’s workshops – Social Enterprise 101 and 201 - to see if social enterprise is the right kind of activity for your non-profit. By Becky Johnson

Harvest Gallery fosters artistic community
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Arts + Culture
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February 28, 2012

The large format photographs are so dimensional, they seem like sculptures. With surfaces cracked and pigments pulled apart by a clear gel applied as thick as spackling, the mixed media pieces cry out to be touched. The photographs themselves – blurred images of funerals, coffins, mourners – evoke vague feelings of faded memories and loss that encourage personal reflection. Local artist Chris Hoeting has filled the spaces of Harvest Art Gallery this month, exhibiting these pieces along with 14 other works. The smaller, mixed media photographs reflect the loss of rural areas and neighborhoods around Cincinnati caused by highways and mass development of the suburban landscape. Hoeting, known for his role as a partner in ParProjects and art shows in recycled, mobile shipping containers, is the kind of innovative, regional artist that Harvest Art hopes to foster and encourage with its new exhibit space. The non-profit Harvest Art Gallery works in a loose partnership with Engine 22 studios, and both are located in the Cincy Glass building on W. 15th Street. Michael Hurst, gallery manager, was a cofounder of Engine 22, which now managed by artist Cedric Michael Cox. For two weeks each month, Harvest Art offers an emerging artist, often local or regional, the opportunity to showcase artwork.  Says Hurst, “You don’t have to have a project idea or be from Over-the-Rhine or incorporate the community into your work. [Artists] email me images of their work and if I like it, I’ll offer them a show.” He encourages anyone to apply, from established artists to students and art instructors. Artists receive 100 percent of the profits from show sales; they, in turn, provide refreshments and any paper-based marketing, like postcards or flyers. Harvest Art promotes the shows online via social media. For the rest of the month, artists who rent from Engine 22 Studios use the gallery space.   In March, Jenny Grotte will display her invitingly tactile pieces made of materials ranging from paper to porcelain. With a new artist showcased every month, Harvest Art Gallery joins a growing effort to foster a strengthening artistic community and outlook in Cincinnati. Do Good: Visit: Harvest Art Gallery, including its newest one featuring the art of Jenny Grotte, which opens the second Friday in March. Submit: Your artwork for an exhibit; contact Michael. Support: The Cincinnati art community and non-profit galleries like Harvest Art with your donations and attendance at exhibits. Contact ArtsWave for information on the growing art community in Cincinnati. By Becky Johnson

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