ArtsWave Legacy Giving

You don’t have to be a Taft to leave a legacy. Just a love for the arts and a little planning.

Make the arts — and our vibrant community — your legacy.

The arts make our region an amazing place to live. To ensure the arts were supported in perpetuity, Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. and Anna Sinton Taft founded the organization now known as ArtsWave in 1927. The Tafts believed that Cincinnati could truly distinguish itself through its arts and cultural assets. They offered a $1 million endowment if the community could match it with $2.5 million. The community responded, and the endowment was created.

Now, ArtsWave is the primary source of funding for the region’s arts, as well as the nation’s largest community campaign for arts funding. We invite you to join this group of visionaries and leave a legacy that keeps our arts and community vibrant for the generations that follow.

How to Make a Future Gift

A bequest is an easy, flexible way to leave a lasting impact on ArtsWave. You can name ArtsWave a beneficiary in your will or living trust, designate a gift of a specific amount, donate a particular asset, a percentage of your estate, or the remainder of your estate after other bequests are fulfilled. You maintain complete control of your assets during your life and can save on income, capital gains and estate taxes.

Our legal name: Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts dba ArtsWave
Address: 20 E. Central Pkwy, Ste 200
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Tax ID: 31-0537138

We hope you will let us know if you include ArtsWave in your will, trust, or other future gift arrangement. Please contact Karen Ecker at karen.ecker@artswave.org or 513.632.0106. Thank you for making ArtsWave part of your lasting legacy.

You can make ArtsWave (Tax ID: 31-0537138) the beneficiary of many of your financial resources in a few easy steps. It can be as simple and flexible as naming ArtsWave a full or partial beneficiary of these accounts. In most cases, all you it takes is completing a revised beneficiary designation form with the company holding your assets. These can include:

  • An IRA, 401(k) or other retirement plan
  • Bank accounts
  • Commercial annuities
  • Life insurance policies
  • Donor advised funds

A beneficiary designation to ArtsWave on your retirement accounts can reduce income taxes and possibly estate taxes for your loved ones.

Please contact Karen Ecker at 513.632.0106 or karen.ecker@artswave.org to let us know the goals for your gift so we can ensure it is used as you intend.

If you are 70 1⁄2 or older and have an IRA, you can give to ArtsWave while reducing your tax burden by asking your IRA administrator to make a gift (up to $100,000 per year) directly to ArtsWave. Only traditional and Roth IRAs are eligible for this type of gift. The distribution to ArtsWave also helps to satisfy the required minimum distribution for those 73 and older.

Please direct your administrator to make the gift for
“Cincinnati Institute for Fine Arts DBA ArtsWave” (Tax ID: 31-0537138)

Sample Request from IRA Owner to IRA Administrator
Sample Letter from Donor Informing ArtsWave of IRA Distribution

Your gift can produce benefits for you and ArtsWave at the same time. With a life income gift, ArtsWave agrees to provide you a fixed payment for life. What remains upon your passing then benefits ArtsWave. This method often reduces your tax burden while increasing your spendable income, all while providing a substantial future impact for the region’s arts.

For more information, contact Karen Ecker at 513.632.0106 or karen.ecker@artswave.org.

    Want to Know More?

    Please contact Karen M. Ecker, JD, Director, Gift Planning, at karen.ecker@artswave.org or 513.632.0106. We can discuss the easiest way to give and answer your questions about giving a variety of other assets, such as real estate, life insurance or personal property.

    Notify us

    If you have included ArtsWave in your will, trust, or as a beneficiary of a specific asset or retirement account, please let us know. We would like to make sure the purpose of your gift is understood, thank you for your generosity and recognize you as a legacy donor in our annual Community Report. Please contact Karen M. Ecker, JD at karen.ecker@artswave.org or 513.632.0106 for more information.

    Information for estate attorneys and administrators

    Our legal name is Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts dba ArtsWave.

    Please note, if you are updating older documents, we are also formerly known as the Fine Arts Fund.

    Our tax ID number is 31-0537138.

    Our address and contact information for estates and trusts is:
    Karen M. Ecker, JD, CAP®
    ArtsWave
    20 East Central Parkway, Suite 200
    Cincinnati, OH 45202
    513.632.0106