About the Foundation
Open Letter from the Executive Director:
The Over-the-Rhine Foundation is a philanthropic organization that has been working to improve Cincinnati's historic Over-the-Rhine since 1992. While there are a number of organizations serving complimentary roles to rebuild OTR, our unique role is defined by our holistic philosophy and commitment to a sustainable community. We believe that OTR is more than just a historic neighborhood. It is the heart of Cincinnati. OTR also holds the potential to redefine our city, to give it a physical and cultural sense of place that can make Cincinnati the destination of choice for professionals, businesses, and travelers. While our focus begins with Over-the-Rhine, our mission is not strictly limited by physical boundaries. Building communities goes far beyond bricks and mortar redevelopment of vacant and deteriorating buildings. Done properly, this requires exploring how a place interacts with people, and how people in-turn interact with each other. This includes making OTR physically appealing and preserving its nineteenth century European sense of place. It includes building a community that serves a broad range of people and uses; but it can go far beyond.
Places as defined by community can have powerful effects on people who may never physically visit them. A friend of mine tells a story about conducting business in Germany shortly after the 2001 riots. At the time, he lived in and ran a company in one of our northern suburbs. As German friends and colleagues expressed their sympathy and concern for the turmoil in his home city, his initial response was, "that’s in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine, not where I live and work." Upon reflection, he realized that it was impossible to extricate himself from Cincinnati with his international friends and colleagues. Regardless of what address is placed on business letterhead, people outside of the greater Cincinnati region -- business clients, international corporations planning American headquarters, young professionals entering the job market, convention organizers, tourists and travelers, musicians, authors, and entertainers considering venues -- all view the desirability of the Cincinnati region by the outsider's view of "Cincinnati." This view will always be shaped nationally and globally far more by the health of our historic downtown (i.e. Over-the-Rhine) than by the nuances of local neighborhood or municipal boundaries.
Over-the-Rhine holds the potential to help reinvigorate and redefine both the reality and future of the City of Cincinnati. We believe that appreciating and understanding our history is the key to a better future and an ecologically sustainable urban community. One of the ways in which we can make Over-the-Rhine a source of regional pride is to make it America's "greenest" historic neighborhood. Much of what we think of today as "green" or "new urban" planning is an attempt to recreate the dense, walkable, mixed-use nineteenth century neighborhood that OTR typifies. Traditionally, people have thought of green design in regard to new construction, and frequently think of historic buildings as energy inefficient. The Over-the-Rhine Foundation is working to change this perception and to illustrate that redevelopment of historic properties and historic neighborhoods can become a critical step toward a more ecologically responsible world. For a number of reasons, we believe that OTR is uniquely situated to become a leader in green urban redevelopment. We also believe that the lessons learned in OTR can help transform neighborhoods across Cincinnati and beyond.
The "OTR Green-Historic Study" is the first, critical aspect in our urban environmental work. Even as we complete this project, we are planning follow-up studies. We are also developing plans to physically make OTR a national leader in urban environmentalism. We are retooling our "Miracle Mile" program to become part of the Rhinegarten Initiative. The previous program strove to plant a mile of self-watering flower boxes. Flowerbox Rhinegarten will resume this goal but take it green by harvesting rainwater and feeding it to boxes to reduce OTR's impact on the stormwater system. We are also interested in encouraging green roofs and urban gardening. The Rooftop Rhinegarten vision begins by working to ensure that a green roof is built on Rothenberg School, followed by encouraging green-technology learning opportunities for Rothenberg's students.
The "foundation" in Over-the-Rhine Foundation is somewhat misleading. We are a properly registered 501(c)3 non-profit that engages in philanthropic work. However, while foundations typically use endowments, corporate, and large-scale funding sources to finance other organizations' projects, we are not a source of grant funding. Rather than funding projects conceived and implemented by others, we typically begin with an idea and seek funding and partnerships to make them reality. We do not have an endowment or significant funders. We are a grassroots organization that is completely dependent on donations of individuals and grants that are specific to particular projects. Our daily operations are 100% dependent on special events, private donations, and volunteers. As a result, we run on a very frugal budget. OTR Foundation staff consists of myself and a Ru benesque cat named Jones. If you are interested in our work, please watch for our events on this home page and become an OTR Foundation Investor.
Thank you for your support!
Michael D. Morgan, J.D.
Executive Director.