Dianne and David Rosenberg

NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY: Philanthropists of the Year

“That term – ‘philanthropist’ – makes me uncomfortable,” said David Rosenberg. “It’s a little intimidating.”

Like it or not, Rosenberg and his wife, Dianne, were recently named Philanthropists of the Year by the Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. They were nominated by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops, where Dianne recently stepped down after three years as board chair.

“It’s very humbling to be recognized like this,” Dianne said.

Neither one was raised in a home where music or the arts played a major role. David’s parents operated a retail store in downtown Lexington, while Dianne’s primary exposure to music was in classes at Pleasant Ridge School.

“I did not play an instrument,” Dianne said. “And I didn’t have any classical training. But I was always curious and wanted to learn about things.”

She pauses a moment. Notoriously private, she is pondering whether she should share a particular detail about her upbringing.

She had an aunt, Joy Manthey. “She was a teacher at North Avondale School. She was my father’s younger sister. He called her his ‘kid sister.’ When I was 7 or 8, she took me to Music Hall.”

It was a first for Dianne, who was overwhelmed by the glamor of the building, the crowds and the remarkable sounds emanating from the stage.

“I don’t remember what the music was,” she said. “But it had a huge impact on me. I remember being so excited that I kept kicking the back of the seat of the woman in front of us.” The woman, it seems, was greatly displeased and complained to Aunt Joy. “But can you blame me for being excited? Imagine being in Music Hall as a 7-year-old. I never thought there could be a place like that.”

As much as they are being recognized for their support of the CSO, it is not music that drove them into a life of philanthropy. “I’d rather be recognized for being engaged in the community,” David said. 

Involvement that grew

That word, “community,” comes up time and again as they speak. They both talk of how that sense of community was ingrained in them growing up, of the importance of helping and connecting with those around them.

“Getting involved was a gradual thing for me,” Dianne said. “First, I got involved in organizations I felt were making great impact on the people they served. I didn’t have any money at that time. But I had time. And I cared.”

In time, those volunteer involvements grew deeper and, in many cases, led to board leadership positions, including the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, the Mayerson Jewish Community Center and the Isaac M. Wise Temple, where Dianne would become board president. So profound was the impact of her work that in 2015, she was named Volunteer of the Year by the Cincinnati chapter of the AFP.

David arrived at his philanthropic ways along a very different path.

“My family had a very small mom-and-pop business where we sold jewelry and leather goods,” he said. “I grew up behind the counter of that business. In fact, when I was in the seventh grade, I started keeping the books. It was quite an education for someone who wanted a career in finance.”

The store – Rosenberg’s – stayed open until 7 p.m. on Saturday nights. At a time when most retail businesses closed by 5 p.m., it was an unusual decision.

“We stayed open late because of the tobacco market,” David said. “The farmers would come into town and do business. My parents taught me not to judge people by their appearance. Even if someone came in smelling like tobacco, they could be very affluent. It was a good lesson. We live in such stratified and economically segregated communities these days. You’ve got to try to see past that.”

Rather than stay in the family business, he went to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It was intimidating,” recalled David. “I was going to school with people who grew up on Park Avenue in New York City and attended some of the finest prep schools in America, places like Exeter and Deerfield Academy. I thought those were places that only existed in F. Scott Fitzgerald novels.”

A ‘special responsibility’

In time, he would return to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky’s Law School – now named the J. David Rosenberg College of Law. Soon after, he arrived in Cincinnati. “I’m in the same firm that I joined on April 1, 1974,” he said proudly, referring to Keating, Muething & Klekamp.

“You know, I’ve been very lucky in my life. My father emigrated from Lithuania in 1904. He had witnessed pogroms. He came through Ellis Island. Had my father’s parents not made the incredibly bold decision to come to America, had he been living in Poland in 1937-1938, he almost certainly would have died in a concentration camp. Instead, I get to live the American dream.”

To Rosenberg, this is more than a family origin story. It became a blueprint for a life of service, of showing gratitude for the country that provided such a generous and bountiful home to his family.

“As a result of all of that, I have enjoyed some financial success,” David said. “I do believe that it has given me a special responsibility to give back to the communities that are so important to me.”

Certainly he did that with a significant contribution to the UK’s law school. But how about the CSO and Music Hall?

“I didn’t have much of a musical education,” he said. “It’s Dianne who has tried to teach me culture. Now I thoroughly enjoy classical music as well as other aspects.”

He was deeply involved with the renovation of Music Hall and continues to serve on the board of the Music Hall Revitalization Company. In addition, the Rosenbergs underwrote the recording of Cincinnati Opera’s world premiere production of “Blind Injustice,” sponsored a chair in the CSO’s violin section and underwrote the orchestra’s commissioning of Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 6, which premiered in October 2019, a month after the composer’s death.

In October 2024, to honor Dianne’s tenure as board chair, the couple gave the CSO $10 million to establish the Dianne and J. David Rosenberg Innovation Fund, intended to allow the CSO “to experiment, take risks and expand the boundaries of what’s possible in orchestral music.”

“We’re living in a very chaotic time,’ Dianne said. “It’s hard to forecast the future. But we love Cincinnati and the CSO, and we think that remaining innovative is the most critical role for an orchestra at this time. We wanted to make sure there were resources to help make that happen. I think we have achieved that.”

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Association of Fundraising Professionals Cincinnati presents its annual National Philanthropy Day Luncheon, honoring Dianne and David Rosenberg, Barbara Weyand, Scripps Howard Fund, Impact 100, Zach McGinty and Jim Yunker. 

Thursday, Nov. 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Music Hall Ballroom

Movers & Makers is media sponsor.