When Lynne Friedlander saw her family’s original pledge cards, one detail stopped her: her grandmother was only 20 when she and Lynne’s grandfather made their gift in 1928.
Other relatives had contributed too. The cards made a family tradition visible in handwriting and numbers.
Lynne had grown up surrounded by that tradition. Her family attended performances, supported museums and served on boards. Her great-grandmother was an artist, and Lynne later built her own career in history museums. Enjoying the arts and helping sustain them were part of the same way of life.
After years away, she returned to Cincinnati in 2021. Following her mother’s death, she felt a renewed responsibility to carry forward the family’s connection to the city.
She chose to make a personal legacy gift to ArtsWave, separate from the family’s charitable fund. It gives her a way to ensure that her own support continues as future generations make their own decisions about giving.
For Lynne, that commitment also looks ahead to wider access. She wants more people to experience theater, music and museums. The family history inspires her, but the gift is her own expression of what she loves and hopes to share.