KEEP CINCINNATI

2013-14 aNNUAL REPORT

BEAUTIFUL

TABLE OF CONTENTSPA G E S 1 - 4 :

Staff & BoardLetter from the Cha irmanThe Year at a Glance

PA G E S 5 - 6 :

The Great American Cleanup

PA G E S 7 - 1 0 :

Urban Revita l izat ion

PA G E S 1 1 - 1 4 :

Donors & SponsorsF inanc ia l Statement

PA G E s 1 5 - 1 6 :

Environmental Educat ion

PA G E S 1 7 - 1 8 :

Susta inabi l i ty

PA G E 1 9 - 2 0 :

Publ ic Awareness

PA G E S 2 1 - 2 2 :

Community Recognit ion & Resources

PA G E S 2 3 - 2 4 :

Specia l Thanks

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BOARD

STAFFLinda Holterhoff..................................................................

KEEP CINCINNATI BEAUTIFUL (KCB) is an award-winning nonprofit organization that reduces litter and blight, promotes sustainability, and cultivates community pride through education and beautification. We provide innovative programs and resources, leverage partnerships, and organize volunteer events throughout the Greater Cincinnati region in order to maintain clean, safe, and strong neighborhoods.

Our Mission Statement: To educate and encourage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

Development & Communications Director

Arts Program Manager

Environmental Educator & Grant Manager

Quality of Life Program Manager

Arts Program Manager

Vacant Lot Stabilization Program Manager

Public Awareness & Volunteer Coordinator

Event Coordinator

Bookkeeper

Environmental Education Program Manager

A. Bradford Lindner ....................................................Abbot Thayer .......................................................................Chip Dennig ...........................................................................Michael Kaplan .....................................................................

Thomas Ackermann Dave Askam Chip Dennig David Fox Ed HatfieldRick Holmes, Jr. Amy LutzSandra Meyer

Chairman

Vice Chairman

Treasurer

Secretary

Dolores Moorman BrownChristine SchoonoverEliza Tassian GanttMark SimsEd TaylorMichael TombragelHeather Zaring VecellioMichelle Zulli

Executive Director

STAFF & BOARD

Denise Brodsky ...................................................................Claire Bryson ........................................................................Marissa Burroughs .............................................................Adam Curry ...........................................................................Katie Davis ..............................................................................Drew Goebel .......................................................................Brooke Lehenbauer ........................................................Liz McEwan ...........................................................................Nancy Stockhauser ..........................................................Barb Wriston-Ruddy .....................................................

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A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. Visit www.KAB.org to learn more about the national organization!

Dear Friends,

For the past 36 years, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful has worked to bring positive change to our communities – change that United Dairy Farmers has been a part of for most of those 36 years. Why? Because we believe in KCB’s mission that it is only through the individual that true, sustainable change can take place. And because we hate to see our malt cups along the highway.

Whether it’s a Glad trash bag, a 20 cubic yard dumpster from Public Services, or a coveted litter pickup stick, KCB’s staff and board make sure volunteers have the tools they need to make that change happen. More importantly, KCB links volunteers directly to the hard work it takes to improve our community.

This past year, volunteers from corporations and the communities collected a record 1.3 million pounds of litter and debris. Much of what was collected came from illegal dumpsites as we mounted a full-scale assault against dumping using education, cleanup, surveillance and enforcement.

Right now, we are working on creating a united approach to address blight, and we’re calling it our Urban Revitalization Initiative. Our first step is to split our Future Blooms program into two distinct but equally powerful programs. The Arts Program will continue to enhance vacant buildings with our trademark doors and windows. The Vacant Lot Stabilization Program will continue to clean and green vacant lots across the city. Together with our Graffiti and Illegal Dumping Abatement programs, we can continue to eliminate blight and reduce crime in Cincinnati.

That said, the future of KCB’s programs lies in diversifying our funding stream. Toward that end, we are making a concerted effort in our 2015 program year to increase the individual giving piece of our funding pie. Once you take a look at the results we have been able to achieve in the neighborhoods, we know you will want to join us as a Friend of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

Thanks for being our partner.

Sincerely,Brad LindnerPresident of United Dairy Farmers

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THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

482TONS OF LITTERCOLLECTED

10,001 volunteers

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159GRAFFITI TAGSREMOVED

11,526trees, flowers, & shrubs planted

29,221students EDUCATED

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THE GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP

The Great American Cleanup (GAC) is a national cleanup campaign that takes place March-November. Here in Cincinnati, we facilitate dozens of these events by providing cleanup supplies, recruiting volunteers, arranging trash removal, and offering strategic resources during monthly planning meetings. Community councils, corporate groups, schools, and other community organizations participate in the GAC by leading projects, donating supplies, and providing volunteers. Projects include picking up litter, cleaning illegal dumpsites, removing graffiti, landscaping, planting trees and flowers, painting blighted property, and more!

7,807 awesomevolunteers

188 CLEANUP EVENTS

385TONS OF LITTErpicked up

2,380TIRES COLLECTED

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Twice a year, we get to help out with the Neighborhood Enhancement Program as part of the GAC. The Neighborhood

Enhancement Program, or NEP for short, is a program led by the City of Cincinnati. Once in the spring and once in the fall, the City uses data to select a neighborhood with increasing instances of litter, blight, and/or crime. To address those issues, KCB collaborates with City departments, businesses, and community stakeholders over 90 days, in targeted areas of the selected neighborhood, to plan and execute cleanup and beautification projects. Many residents volunteer to help, but most of our volunteer work force comes from the University of Cincinnati. Over 500 students volunteered for NEP projects this year!

We have many generous sponsors, both locally and nationally (through Keep America Beautiful), that support our cleanup efforts. Glad provided thousands of trash bags, PepsiCo donated water and Gatorade, Netherland Rubber Company donated first aid kits and disposable gloves for our volunteers, and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group contributed soft drinks. United Dairy Farmers is a long-standing title sponsor of the GAC, and this year, we also received a grant from The Ohio EPA for additional cleanup supplies, t-shirts, and advertising.

None of this would be possible without the endless support of the City of Cincinnati’s Department of Public Services. They provided over 70 dumpsters for our events (free of charge) and collected additional trash, tires, and yard waste from worksites in the City without access to dumpsters.

Additional dumpsters were donated this year by Rumpke, and Hamilton County Recycling & Solid Waste District provided a grant to cover the cost of collecting illegally dumped tires. And boy do we find A LOT of tires!

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URBAN REVITALIZATION

We work year-round to systematically reduce graffiti vandalism in the City. Our Graffiti Abatement Program helps Public Services cover up graffiti quickly by providing information and access to best practices and the latest graffiti removal technology. We also maintain a database that aids Police with investigations, and we’ve set up cameras to monitor hot spots and collect evidence for City prosecutors. In the last year, 14 graffiti vandals were arrested and five have been prosecuted so far, resulting in over $8,000 in restitution.

In a similar fashion, our Illegal Dumping Abatement Program helps neighborhoods clean up chronic illegal dumpsites by providing dumpsters, cleanup supplies and tools, bobcat rentals, monitoring equipment, and Police assistance. Thanks to a grant from the Ohio EPA, in the last year we were able to assist nine neighborhoods and organize 14 cleanups. If you can believe it, at these sites we collected over 60 tons of trash and removed 2,245 illegally dumped tires! We are now working with the Cincinnati Police to increase patrols and put up barriers at secluded sites to deter future dumping.

GRAFFITI ABATEMENT

ILLEGAL DUMPING ABATEMENT

Did You Know? Throughout the year, we monitor the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Work Detail. Hundreds of community service workers are deployed each year to clean up neighborhoods across the county. During the 2013-14 program year, crews collected an additional 181 tons of litter, recycled another 18.5 tons of litter, removed 637 graffiti tags, and collected 2,681 illegally dumped tires!

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65 VACANT LOTS STABILIZED

176TREES & sHRUBSPLANTED

Meet our Vacant Lot Stabilization Program partners! Building Value and Building Ability, both extensions of Easter Seals TriState, provide on-the-job training for disabled and disadvantaged adults. Together, they clean up our vacant lots, construct and install the fences, and plant grass and trees. Lawn Life, a nonprofit that provides at-risk youth with work experience, helps us mow, weed, and maintain our vacant lots.

This year, we also partnered with UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning to create Vacant Lots: Occupied, a comprehensive community-based workshop series and toolkit designed to help neighborhood organizations strategically transform vacant lots into socially, culturally, and environmentally responsible community assets. With help from UC’s Horticulture Program, the City’s Community Development department, and Building Value, we published the guidebook and built a website at www.vacantlotsoccupied.com.

If you haven’t noticed already, we are passionate about creating greenspace in the city! Did you know that we planted 10,000 flowers along the highway last fall as part of our Daffodils & Daylilies program?! Our sites welcome visitors and

discourage littering by signaling to commuters that we care about our city.

VACANT LOT STABILIZATION

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ARTS

Our Arts Program, formerly known as Future Blooms, continues to address vacancy, blight, and graffiti by improving the appearance of vacant properties in the City’s urban core. In five years, we’ve enhanced over 800 buildings in 13 Cincinnati neighborhoods in order to reinforce economic development and create a sense of place. Our work not only changes the perception of safety and cleanliness in the City’s urban core, but it also makes the vacant properties more inviting to investors.

116 buildings enhanced

22%under construction

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In addition to painting abandoned buildings, our staff completed three new murals this year. Our murals range from geometric patterns to more detailed paintings of neighborhood buildings and schools. We work in partnership with Safe Routes To School to remove blight and beautify designated routes so parents feel comfortable having their children walk or bike to school. We also partner with community councils to enhance community gateways and neighborhood business districts.

Using reclaimed industrial vinyl, we’ve turned 30,000 square feet of rusty chain link fence into public art by weaving colorful pieces of vinyl through the fence in an eye-catching pattern.

Spotlight event: In partnership with Lowe’s and Groundwork Cincinnati – Mill Creek, we weaved

blue and green vinyl across a quarter mile of chain link fence along the Mill Creek bike path. We worked with Lowe’s Heroes to plant 12 trees and 11 shrubs. We also removed 60 cubic yards of invasive honeysuckle from the pathway.

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DONORS & SPONSORS$1 - $49Karen AbelRose AbiradiPhilip AbrahamVirginia AdamsJoanne AhlersJoan AhlersChristopher AhlquistJanice AmatulliAmeriprise FinancialAlthea AquinoMary ArmorCathleen ArnoldLynne AverbeckAnne BadanesTodd & Ann BaileyLynette BarresiWilliam BeahrDenis BeausejourDonald BeckLindsay BerdingPatricia BertschBruce BestEliza BiedermanSusan BilzElizabeth BinasioCarolyn BloomfieldTherese Bower-HibdonDavid BrashearSusan BrennerMelinda BriskerRobert BrockmanTom & Cindy BroderickMarian BrownLinda BrownJames BruckmannJoanne BuchmanAnn BulgerTimothy BurkeJames BurkeDonald BushmanChristopher CainDiane CarneyRobert CarterMary CaseyCherished MiraclesThe Children’s HomePhyllis ClarkJonna ClaytonClovernook Garden Club

Carole ColemanJames CollinsBarbara Colvin Robin CorrPatricia CulleyPatricia CulpKimberly DeckerMary Ann DotsonBarbra DruffelRebecca DunehewSaralou DurhamDiana DwightDolores DziechRobert EhrsamJerome EichertIrma ElieJune ElwoodMary EspelagePriscilla FauxBarbara FeldmannLouis FenderKaren FitzpatrickDeann FlemingPeggy FrankThomas FullenJoseph GalloKathy GanimJohn GardnerEleanor GatesLouise GaudinJahn GazderJames GibbsSylvia GieseVictoria GilbertJudy GilmanLevana GoetzRichard GrantJames GrayLeanne GreenbergWilliam GrosseJeffrey GrothausRalph & Barbara GruppoAnn GuancialeBlake GustafsonColleen HaasLinda HagemannTerence HamiltonPatricia HarmannTeresa HarveyJoseph Head

Mark HeekinTeresa HeffernanGary HehemannSusan HelblingJames HelmsworthMary HemmAlberta HemsleyMary Hensel Inez HerbertC. HermesJennifer HilbishHill Cottage StaffDiane HoetingJon HoffheimerLynn HoffmanJane HoffmanMarilyn HogueNancy HolterhoffSylvia HoltkampJohn Hopkins & Jeff WestermeyerJane HowardKatherine HowellCatherine HuenefeldKathleen KearnsSusan KenneyMarlene KielyKelley KlahmJanet KlemPatricia KnebelShirley KnipperBarbara KockGail KoizumiWilfried KollnerPamela KorteJohn La CountMatthew LairdPeggy LandesMarlys LanePamela LapeLaRosa’s*Linda LauriantiBrooke LehenbauerBarbara LeveeMark LewisCarrie LippsKimberly LoseffFrances LowensteinLorraine LukensAlice MagginiJulianne Mahlin

Pamela MarksityRuth MartinSandra MateyThomas MattioLinda MaurerGoodwyn McArthurJoellen McCarthyNancy McDonaldMarci McGillLaurie McGrailJames McNair Jeanne MerkhoferTeresa MerzDorothy MonterossoThomas MoormanVirgie MullisDorothy MurdockChristie MurphyBeth NemanDarlene NiemanEdna NorrisTerry OestreicherSharon OrrBarbara OttingNiki PappasPaul PelgenMartha PhelpsChristina PowellCarolyn PriceRose Ann RayburnLynne ReckmanRobert ReherMarian RentropRosemary ReyeringNellie ReynoldsRiverwalk CincinnatiRuth Roberts TrustMarilyn RobinsonIvette RomaniwSusan RosenbergerEarl RossJudith RothGwen RothBruce RoyAlice RuebuschLisa RussellMarjorie RyanDenise SalyersLinda Sarno-SchiellIrene Scarpa

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We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to every one of our donors and sponsors. We sincerely apologize if we mistakenly omitted any contributions or misspelled your name.

Pat SchappacherRoselyn SchlossChristine SchroderGregory SchroederTamara SchwartingLisa SecenReed Shank IIIStephen ShawMatthew ShepherdGreg ShermanChristopher ShinnBrenda ShonfieldJanet SimpkinsonMary Lee SirkinMary SteeleMartha StephensMary StewartKathy StickelNancy StoweGeorge StumpSusan TaffeArthur TallasFumiko TanakaMary TankeMarylyn TateBarbara TedescoAlberta TepeJoyce ThiemanJessica ThompsonHelga TillinghastLinda ToddKatie TowneDavid TroupFrances TurnerUpson & CompanyRichard UrsilloDebora Van GilsRonald VanfleetThomas VaughnJames VolkerMary WagnerAvril WarrenKenneth WattsLindley WeikertNatalie WeisKathryn WekselmanCherilyn WestVicki WheelerChristina WhiteheadLisa WilliamsRobert WillisEna WilsonPhyllis Wintzinger

Jeffrey WohlfromMichelle WrightNancy WrightJoyce YockThomas YorkJoseph ZehrenHorace ZibasLindsay ZierolfJ. Michael ZimmermanElsa Zum Brook

$50 - $249Thomas AckermannDene AldenRenee ArkenDavid AskamMarylou Aufmann Ault Park Garden ClubMichael BaileyJanet BanksAnn BartonDeborah BeckKathleen BenkenKathleen BennettC. W. BercawVirginia BertenElizabeth BinasioJanis BinzerMarie BlerschCarolyn BloomfieldKatrin BohlkeStephen BondurantCarol BornBarb BowerJames BradyGerald BreenTheresa BridgeBristol-Myers Squibb FoundationRandy & Nancy BrunkClaire BrysonCarol BublitzCatherine BurnsRuth Ann BusaldJames Buse Jr.Elizabeth CampbellMarjorie CarletonRuthann CarrEvelyn ClaunchCincinnati Zoo*Terence CodyBarbara CollinsTerrence CosgroveRobin Cotton

Clark CrabillThomas CroftChris CubbisonJanet DaltonMark DaunerKatie DavisPaige DebuysJean DennigSally DessauerJoyce DillMartha DoursonDowntown Property Mgmt.Christine DriscollMyretta EgnerEpipheo*William EschenbacherEthicon*Catherine EvansFindlay Market*Dennis FinneyJustin FlammSally H. FosterJudy FosterCarolyn FovelDavid FoxDennis FoySara FriedrichsmeyerJean FrolicherG. G. GaffneyTodd GailarEliza GanttNeil GartnerKeith GaserGE FoundationAnn GehrumJames GibbsRalph GinocchioJessica GmeinderBeverly GrantJeffrey HaasPriscilla HaffnerKimberly HaleBruce HamiltonSteven HamptonReid HartmannDebra HartsellCarole HaynesDonal HeimbrockCatherine HerringAndrew HersheyMartha HollandLinda HolterhoffThomas Holubeck

Melissa HomanKatherine HowellRuth HubeJenna HudsonJames HulefeldAnn IvancicLinda JergensJohn Barrett FoundationJohn JohnstonLaurie JohnstonMichael KaplanAudrey KasakAnn KeelingEdwin KeenArlene KellerRobert KesslerNicole Kingery Michael KintnerPaul KochChristina KohnenNeil KravitzAlexander KuhnsSusan & Roy KulickKeith LeeBarbara LeveeGeorge LinkJennifer LoggieWilliam MackeyJeffrey MahaffeyJulianne MahlinJames Markley Jr.Morita MarmoMary MaxwellPhyllis McCallumBruce McClungPatrick MichelMilillo & AssociatesEarl MillsDebra MoormanDolores Moorman-BrownNora MousheyLilamae MuellerJohn MurphyRuth MyersShawn NewmanJoy NormanLee OberlagDebra OliverBeverly PalmerBruce PetrieBetsy PharoAndrew PlogstedMargaret Possert

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DONORS & SPONSORS CONTINUEDJoe RetfordSuzanne RichmondKent RogersBarbara RothSylvia RothMarleen RouseAvima RuderJennifer RussellKathleen SandsSAP Matching ProgramDavid SchmalzJohn SenceGreg ShermanMark SimsKaren SmithMadeline SteelCarol SteeleJohn StithElizabeth StonePhilip StoughtonKaren SumpterStefanie SunderlandArthur TallasNorma TassianThe Myers Y. Cooper Co.Sara TiekeUptown Rental PropertiesDerek & Susan VanamerongenThomas VaughnCedric VogelBarbara WaldeckLouise WattsWarren WeberCraig WhistlerSteven WilkenRaymond & Arlene WojcieszakJ. M. Wollman

$250 - $499Jacklyn BrysonCrossroads*Louis DaunerVictoria HoulihanJohn JohnstonErik & Amy LutzLykins CompaniesMesser ConstructionSandra MeyerJan NeumannDouglas & Terry RobinsonRichard & Barb RuddyChristine SchoonoverSherwin-Williams/Keep Ohio Beautiful*Michelle Zulli

$500 - $999Alvin Dennig

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group*GE AviationGive Back CincinnatiLerner Sampson & RothfussMegan Matthews-GillNetherland Rubber*Ellen SoleAbbot ThayerAnne ThomasMichael Tombragel/Hyde Park PaintingMartin & Marilyn WadeAnn Zaring/Cincinnati White Blossom Festival

$1,000 - $4,999ArtsWaveHeather ByerGlad*Great Lakes Brewing Company Heidelberg Distributing CompanyH. J. Benken Florist & Greenhouse*Johnson Charitable Gift FundKaldi’s Catering*Arleene KellerKroger*David LindnerPandora*Pepsi Americas*Perfetti Van Melle**PNC FoundationRumpke**University of Cincinnati*Whole Foods Market**Kate Wilford*Zaring Family FoundationZoup!*

$5,000 - $9,999Brickman*Ed Hatfield/Cincinnati Bulk Terminals, LLCLamar*Robert LindnerOhio Dept of Transportation*River Trading CompanyT. R. Gear Landscaping*Western & Southern Financial Fund

$10,000 - $19,999Charles H. Dater FoundationJames M. Cox Foundation/Manheim CincinnatiSafe Routes To SchoolSunny Delight Beverages Co**United Dairy Farmers

$20,000 +3CDCCity of Cincinnati**City GardensGreater Cincinnati Foundation

Hamilton County Recycling & Solid Waste Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank TrusteeLowe’s/Keep America Beautiful**Ohio EPATopic Design*Uptown Consortium

* In-kind** Cash and In-Kind

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTREVENUE 7/1/13 - 6/30/14 Audit Contributions $143,174 Grants $1,103,257 Donated materials, services, office space $470,235 Interest income & miscellaneous $22 TOTAL REVENUE $1,716,688EXPENSES Cleanup & beautification $1,012,876 Education & public awareness $548,661 Fundraising $16,839 Management $74,707 TOTAL EXPENSES $1,653,083 Net assets, beginning of year $112,748 Change in net assets (63,605) Net assets, end of year $176,353

Gifts In Honor Of (Given By)Joan Binzer (Thomas & Janis Binzer)Carmie Boesch (Sandy Engel Matey)Herbert Burlage (Meril & Linda Todd)Shannon Carter (Derek & Susan Vanamerongen)Allison Goodman (Charles & Peggy Landes)Terry Robinson (Stuart & Julianne Mahlin)Michael Tombragel (Robert Ehrsam)

Gifts In Memory Of (Given By)Jane Bailey (Todd & Ann Bailey)Mr. & Mrs. William P. Balbach (Betsy Pharo)Annette Benken (Joanne Buchman)Alice Bingham (John & Catherine Burns)Lotte Bloomfield Klein (Carolyn Bloomfield)Richard Bonner (Irma Elie)Charles Bonner (Irma Elie)Norine Carpenter (Katie Towne)Robin Claunch Stark (Ronald & Evelyn Claunch)William Cosgrove (Betsy Pharo)Brogan Dulle (Levana Goetz)Fritz (Michael & Kathleen Benken)Pam Gibsom (C.W. & Charlotte Bercaw)Susan Grossman (Melissa Homan)The Gunther Family (Teresa Heffernan)Edwina “Winnie” Hammond (Paul Koch)Allen Harmann (Pat Harmann)

Edna Hedgespeth (Goodwyn McArthur)Richard Huenefeld (Thomas & Christine Huenefeld)Helen Johnston (John Johnston)Valerie Jones (James & Susan Gibbs)John P. Kiely (Marlene Kiely)Ester Laforce (Ed & Anne Keen)Betty Lindner (John Johnston)Sherry Linville (Lisa Secen)Edna Long (Martha Holland)Mary Lyons Quill (Heather Byer)Noretta Markley (Janice & Jim Amatulli)Michael Marmo (Morita Marmo)Edward Morrison (Lee Oberlag)Beverly Nordquist (Jessica Thompson)Julia Rammelsberg (Martha Holland)Jon Schmitz (Debora Van Gils)Jerry Schoettelkotte (Matthew Shepherd)Mr. Thompson (Kathy & Bob Bennett)Mary Tilghman (Michael Kaplan)Ruth Tillis (James & Susan Gibbs)William Weis (Paul & Natalie Weis)Elaine Willenborg (Joanne Ahlers)Jim Wojcieszak (Ray & Arlene Wojcieszak)Mark Wood Driscoll (Christine Driscoll)Bob Worpenberg (Chris & Debbie Beck)George Yarnell (Terry & Nancy Oestreicher)

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ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

465CLASSROOMPRESENTATIONS

64ASSEMBLIES

9FIELD TRIPS

29,221STUDENTS IMPACTED

Our staff works year-round to help students understand the global impact and universal benefits of sustainability. We do this by providing free environmental education that emphasizes the importance of energy and water conservation, waste reduction, litter prevention, and more. Our programs are offered to students K-12 in Cincinnati’s public, private, and parochial schools!

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Our longest running assembly is a play performed by high school students called The Wartville Wizard. We also have a strong partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo, and during the winter, we bring the Wings of Wonder Bird Show to schools so students can learn how litter hurts animals. Go With The Flow gets students involved in understanding the basic concepts of energy and water conservation. And our newest assembly - Ready, Set, RECYCLE - is a pep rally packed full of information about recycling! Our assemblies are sponsored by the Charles H. Dater Foundation and the PNC Foundation.

We offer 12 interactive presentations that discuss topics like water pollution, graffiti, recycling, and energy!

CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS

ASSEMBLIES

Students get a first-hand look at where their trash goes when we take groups to the Rumpke Landfill and Materials Recovery Facility! This year, older students also had the opportunity to tour the Metropolitan Sewer District’s wastewater treatment plant.

FIELD TRIPS

Paper Recycling* Compost Stew* The Wartville Wizard* Jitter, Don’t Litter* How Litter Hurts Animals* Graffiti Debated*

Recycle This* Fred the Fish* Test Your Knowledge of Cinci’s H2O* Eco-Art* The Mystery of Landfills* Understanding Your Carbon Footprint*

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SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION (SIA)Our SIA program is designed to help schools implement sustainable practices that help them meet their recycling and conservation goals. SIA schools receive increased resources and support from our staff and our sponsor, Sunny Delight Beverages Co, in addition to our environmental education programs. We work with teachers, custodians, and administration to introduce and implement green practices (such as recycling and composting). We also help select schools establish student Green Teams that can facilitate recycling and promote energy and water conservation.

One of our proudest achievements was helping Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) successfully implement district-wide recycling during the 2013-2014 school year. Our staff worked one-on-one with custodians and building engineers to deliver recycling bins, carts, bags, and signage to all 55 schools. By November 15, America Recycles Day, every school was equipped with supplies and ready to begin recycling, if they hadn’t started already. Throughout the year, our staff and interns visited schools to assist with waste sorting at lunch time. With our help, CPS diverted over 257 tons of waste from the landfill!

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THE ONE STOP DROPIn 2013, we organized The One Stop Drop at Whole Foods Market, once in August and again in November to coincide with America Recycles Day. Both times, we partnered with 2TRG, a local electronics recycler, and invited Cincinnati residents to participate by bringing hard-to-recycle items like electronic waste, used writing instruments, and No. 5 plastics to one convenient drop off location for free recycling. Representatives from Rumpke Recycling, Hamilton County Recycling & Solid Waste District, and the Office of Environment & Sustainability were also there to promote new recycling initiatives and answer questions about curbside collection. 200 people participated, and we recycled a total of 16,393 pounds of e-waste, 97 pounds of pens and miscellaneous plastic, and 44 cell phones.

Last March we partnered with Public Services and Hamilton County to host our second annual Tire Amnesty Day. Residents

were allowed to bring up to 10 tires at a time for free disposal. Hamilton County Recycling & Solid Waste District received a grant from the Ohio EPA to sponsor the event. Hundreds of people participated including several community leaders who drove around

collecting illegally dumped tires in their neighborhoods. In just one day we collected 2,079 scrap tires for recycling (a 39% increase from last year)! Across all of our programming, we have collected more than 8,500 illegally dumped tires!

482,240POUNDS RECYCLED

31,950POUNDS COMPOSTED

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PUBLIC AWARENESS

This spring, as part of our ongoing fight against litter, we launched an updated version of our time-honored campaign “Don’t Trash The ‘Nati”. “Don’t Trash The ‘Nati” gained popularity back in the ‘90s by relying on a dose of street attitude combined with civic pride in order to challenge attitudes about littering. This time, we wanted to make the message more personal, so we worked with Topic Design, a local creative services agency, to rebrand and introduce the campaign to a new generation. We changed the slogan to “Don’t Trash My ‘Nati” and the campaign took off immediately. Topic Design created a line of billboards and posters showcasing popular Cincinnati destinations, we launched a website for the campaign, and we encouraged residents to post photos around town using the hashtag #MyNati. The site – MyNati.org – had over 4,000 unique visitors in just three months, and we felt a surge in community spirit that lasted into the summer months!

These are the promotional posters we used for this year’s Great American Cleanup:

Cleanup organizers used this space to write in event info!

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Our most effective tools for storytelling are arguably Facebook and Twitter because we can show in real time what we’re doing in the community and engage directly with residents, volunteers, and sponsors! At the end of the program year, we had 2,279 likes (an 18% increase) and 2,776 Twitter followers (a 38% increase). Join our network and help us share your story! Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @CinciBeautiful! (We also have a Pinterest page, a YouTube channel, and an Instagram feed!)

FOLLOW US ON instagram: keepcincinnatibeautiful

Did you know we were featured in the Wall Street Journal this year? The article highlighted the work we are doing to improve the appearance of vacant buildings.

We continue to work with the local press to get our mission out to the masses. This year, the publicity value of our media coverage was $320,800. This includes recording a weekly Green Tip segment that airs on 89.7 WNKU! To check out our Green Tips Blog, go to www.KeepCincinnatiBeautiful.org/blog.

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COMMUNITY RECOGNITION & RESOURCES

THE CLEAN & BEAUTIFUL AWARDSWe thank our volunteers and sponsors every chance we get! But once a year, we roll out the red carpet to celebrate the “best of the best” with The Clean & Beautiful Community Awards. The awards recognize efforts by Tri-State residents, businesses, and organizations that make our neighborhoods more clean and safe. The competition focuses on innovative projects and community events that reduce litter, improve recycling and beautification efforts, or address quality of life and sustainability issues!

2013 winners were recognized during our annual award ceremony and reception, Just Desserts. 280 business leaders, community members, award finalists, and elected officials attended and enjoyed live music, a photo booth, drinks, appetizers, and ice cream sundaes! We presented cash prizes totaling $3,750. Our Five Star Volunteer Award was presented to 7 individuals who were nominated by local organizations. Our Iron Eyes Cody Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by KCB, was awarded to The University of Cincinnati’s Center for Community Engagement for giving us hundreds of UC student volunteers throughout the year to help with cleanups across the city.

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COMMUNITY RECOGNITION & RESOURCES

SAFE & CLEAN GRANTSOne way that we help neighborhoods leverage resources is by administering Safe & Clean Grants on behalf of the City. These are matching grants of up to $10,000 for communities to initiate short-term, high-impact projects. They must be neighborhood driven and aimed at improving safety, eliminating blight, and improving livability in the community. This year, there were a total of 7 community projects in progress including installing trees and planters, starting a litter collection program, and stabilizing a vacant lot and community gateway. Recipients raised an additional $27,457 for their projects! To learn more about how you could receive a Safe & Clean Grant, contact Marissa Burroughs at Marissa@KeepCincinnatiBeautiful.org.

COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTAre you interested in organizing a cleanup event in your neighborhood? We can help you by providing basic cleanup supplies, recruiting volunteers, soliciting donations, and connecting you with other organizers. All of this happens during the Great American Cleanup, specifically during our monthly planning meetings.

Neighborhoods meet with us by police district to get help with planning for upcoming cleanup events. We also invite City representatives to these meetings who can answer bigger questions about how to properly address issues like junk cars, dumping, and negligent property owners. These meetings give community organizers a good idea of what is going on around them and allows us to plan events in a way that augments others’ work. For more information about joining the Great American Cleanup, contact Liz McEwan at Liz@KeepCincinnatiBeautiful.org!

CORPORATE TEAM BUILDING If your office is looking for a unique team building activity, consider working with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful! We will work with your group to plan a fun community improvement project tailored to meet your goals and objectives as well as ours.

Last year, over 580 corporate volunteers worked to cleanup illegal dumpsites and vacant lots, paint buildings, plant flowers, mulch community gateways, and more!

Projects are scheduled March through November. Contact Brooke Lehenbauer at Brooke@KeepCincinnatiBeautiful.org to get started!

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SPECIAL THANKSWe would like to thank the City of Cincinnati for supporting our mission and programs for 36 years. Combined with the support of our generous corporate sponsors, individual donors, and passionate volunteers, we can continue to conquer blight across the city! Thank you for doing your part to keep Cincinnati beautiful!

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Our Annual Report is printed on FSC-certified paper. Please recycle this report when you’re done or pass it on to a friend!

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