posted by Hillary Copsey ON
May 17, 2016
Procter & Gamble has earned national recognition as a BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America honoree for 2016 by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.
Presented every year by the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, the BCA 10 awards honor 10 U.S. companies for their exceptional commitment to the arts through grants, local partnerships, volunteer programs, matching gifts, sponsorships and board membership.
P&G has shown a longtime commitment to sustaining Cincinnati’s thriving arts community, encouraging employees and other companies to enjoy and give to the arts, and developing innovative approaches to creating support for the arts. In 1949, P&G first contributed to ArtsWave, then known as the Fine Arts Fund, with a gift of $5,000. The company’s donations have grown along with ArtsWave and the vibrant and varied arts community in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metro region. This year, P&G’s generous $2.1 million contribution represented 17 percent of the record-breaking $12,450,000 total raised by the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the oldest and largest public arts fund in the country. Gifts to the annual ArtsWave Community Campaign support more than 100 arts organizations making an impact in Greater Cincinnati.
The company’s significant gifts to ArtsWave make P&G the largest corporate contributor to a united arts fund in the country. Even so, P&G’s thoughtful, engaged approach to giving might be an even more significant contribution to the arts community in Greater Cincinnati. Thanks to a widespread, well-planned and lively campaign each year, more than half of all P&G employees contribute to ArtsWave, and P&G’s corporate campaign typically kicks off and sets the pace for the overall ArtsWave fundraising drive. Many P&G executives have served – and continue to serve – in volunteer leadership roles for ArtsWave, including Melanie Healey, former P&G group president of North America. Over the years, P&G executives have stepped up to lead many of the region’s arts organizations, and currently, the ArtsWave Board of Trustees is led by Lisa Sauer, P&G vice president product supply, global home care, P&G professional & external manufacturing.
“P&G knows the arts have the power to connect people and communities and help to build a vibrant economy,” ArtsWave President & CEO Alecia Kintner said. “Greater Cincinnati is incredibly lucky to have P&G here, setting the standard for excellence and serving as a role model by its exceptional involvement with and support of arts that make our region special.”
The BCA 10 Awards will be presented by Americans for the Arts on Oct. 5, 2016, at a black-tie gala at the Central Park Boathouse in New York City.
The 2016 honorees are:
Austin Energy (Austin, TX)
Badger Meter (Milwaukee, WI)
CopperPoint Insurance Companies (Phoenix, AZ)
Dealer.com (Burlington, VT)
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, DE)
Dunlap Codding (Oklahoma City, OK)
Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, NJ)
M Powered Strategies, Inc. (Washington, DC)
Northern Trust (Chicago, IL)
Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, OH)
"We are grateful to honor these businesses for their exceptional involvement in ensuring that the arts thrive in their communities," said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. "These businesses provide the arts with significant financial and in-kind support, and they incorporate meaningful arts-related programs into their employee, customer, and community relations activities. They enrich the lives of millions of Americans and truly set a standard for other businesses to follow."
Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at AmericansForTheArts.org.
Founded in 1967 by David Rockefeller, the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, encourages, inspires, and stimulates businesses to support the arts in the workplace, in education, and in the community. The Business Committee for the Arts merged with Americans for the Arts’ in 2008.