ArtsWave's 2018 "Friendsgiving" staff potluck

As we barrel into 2018’s holiday season, here is my gratitude list. Cheers to you — you’re on it!

• The 1,027 members of our Leadership Giving group. Your generous support keeps our arts sector strong.

• The 1,512 inaugural members of ArtsWave Pride for setting a spectacular record as our fastest growing affinity group. You are unprecedented standard-bearers of inclusivity in our region.

• The 409 formidable women who are members of ArtsWave's Women's Leadership Roundtable.

• The 97 members of our Circle of African American Leaders for the Arts, each committed to creating community in new ways through the arts.

• 3,413 young professionals in ArtsWave YP. Thank you for embracing diverse arts experiences as essential to quality of life.

• ArtsWave's 47 Board members, led by Chair Teresa Tanner, and our 16 Life Trustees. You show up and show you care in infinite ways.

• The 43 business leaders on the 2019 ArtsWave Community Campaign Cabinet, led by Cincinnati Bell CEO Leigh Fox. Thank you for knowing that increased support for the arts is essential to Cincinnati's future.

• The equally committed group of business leaders on Chair Jim Henning's 2018 ArtsWave Campaign Cabinet last spring. Together, you raised more than $12 million for the arts for the fifth consecutive year.

• The 26 members of the BOARDway Bound Class of 2018. We know you are all prepared to become local leaders for arts organizations that welcome your service.

• Elected officials that are carving out support for arts facilities and engagement. You see proof that the arts revitalize neighborhoods and put our kids on productive paths for the future.

• Hundreds of businesses which support ArtsWave because they know the arts are not just nice, but necessary. With your help, the arts attract and retain talent and prepare the next generation for the workforce.

• The 165 individuals who have made, or plan to make, the arts their legacy through planned giving with ArtsWave.

• Charles P. and Anna Sinton Taft, who put up a generous challenge match in 1927 to established the Cincinnati Institute of Arts (now ArtsWave), and the citizens who met that challenge.

• ArtsWave's tens of thousands of donors whose gifts continue to unleash the arts and push our region to new heights.

• The 300 arts and cultural organizations that make up our arts ecosystem and the hundreds of artists and arts professionals whose creative energy distinguishes and enriches Cincinnati.

And last but not least:

• My singular team inside ArtsWave. You are an incredible crew that wholeheartedly, every day, advances our vision of a more vibrant and connected community through the arts.

Happy Thanksgiving from ArtsWave!