PUBLISHERS LETTER | 4-5

The changes we embrace

With all the closures due COVID-19 leaving so few physical locations available for delivering our magazine this month, and few people circulating to pick one up, we made the unprecedented decision not to print physical copies. Thankfully, we can still serve our nonprofit partners through the digital realm, but we do ask you to share our articles and photos even more than usual. We have created an “article story” for each page in this digital edition to facilitate your sharing via email and social media.

If you know someone who is a print-only reader, please share this news with them.

Although the coming weeks are wiped out in terms of events, you can still access our online Arts Calendar and Fundraisers Datebook via tabs on www.moversmakers.org. They stretch months ahead, including rescheduled events, even into 2021. Also, in light of the turmoil of the last couple of weeks, we have decided to hold back the results of our 2019 Movers & Makers Awards and announce the winners in a special, digital edition next Wednesday, April 1.

If you would like to reach out to our readership with any advertisement in that awards edition, email Thom as soon as possible. As a small business greatly affected by this pandemic, we would be greatful for any support.

Looking forward

We will continue to circulate nonprofit news through email newsletters, website posts and social media. If you work for a nonprofit agency, think about ways we can serve your communications needs.

We will reach out to as many people as possible through social media, but in a viral medium (no pun intended) we need your help to expand our audience. Facebook posts do not naturally spread as easily as coronavirus.

• Follow M&M on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

• Share our posts and Digital Edition on these platforms; tag people you know who may be interested so they can share as well.

• Encourage your friends, colleagues and constituents to sign up for our weekly emails and Digital Edition.

• If you are in a position to do so, please consider purchasing digital advertising from us: on our weekly email blast, via dedicated emails, or on our website. It’s surprisingly affordable!

To continue to share the important work of the nonprofit sector we must have enough revenue to hire writers and editors and pay our bills. If you value M&M, please invest in us.

What’s in this issue?

Fourthwall is a grassroots program designed to provide high school students a creative outlet for visual storytelling through film. Julie Coppens spent time with these kids recently and gives us a peek behind the camera. See page 8.

Kent Wellington is usually visible as a blur, on his way somewhere, doing something valuable for our region. Whether serving legal clients, mentoring kids, growing his family foundation or competing in a triathlon, the man never seems to stop. Shauna Steigerwald provides insight into what keeps his motor running, on page 12.

From what we’ve been told, Cincinnati may be the only major city in the United States with three African American conductors leading prominent non-Afrocentric musical organizations. While we certainly want to celebrate that fact, the real story is the strength and talent of these three gifted artists. David Lyman shares their unique perspectives in our cover story on page 10.

Please contact us with any questions, concerns, suggestions. Don’t hesitate to call or email.

We thank you and wish you health and patience! Please be as generous as you are able in supporting nonprofit services and the creative organizations that bring you joy.

Wishing you all safety and good health,

Thom and Elizabeth Mariner Co-publishers