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Southbank Bridge Co. launches GoFundMe campaign for repainting, maintaining Purple People Bridge


The Newport Southbank Bridge Company (NSBC), the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that owns and operates the Purple People Bridge, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for capital improvements the pedestrian-only bridge between Cincinnati and Newport.

The GoFundMe campaign seeks to obtain financial support from the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky community in connection with NSBC’s capital campaign to raise at least $1 million to repaint and maintain the iconic structure.

“Many people still think that the Purple People Bridge is owned by the state or the city, but it’s not; it’s a privately owned structure and it has been for nearly 20 years,” said Jack Moreland, president of NSBC. “It is crucial that our organization raise the funds needed to repaint, repair, and maintain this important pedestrian link between our communities so that it can remain open to the public.”
 
While NSBC-sponsored fundraising efforts – like the summertime weekly concert series, “Party on the Purple,” and its Labor Day fireworks fundraiser, “Boom on the Bridge” – generate some funding needed to defray everyday maintenance costs, these events do not provide enough money to repaint and maintain the bridge in the future.
 
More than $1 million is needed to simply repaint the now-faded purple bridge, which was last painted in 2003, and the nonprofit bridge company is looking to raise these funds through partnerships and sponsorships with corporate citizens, foundations, and philanthropic-minded individuals.
 
“We launched the GoFundMe to encourage the public to support the Purple People Bridge, especially those people who regularly use the bridge for their commute, for leisure, or for fun,” Moreland said. “The Purple People Bridge is such a unique and meaningful landmark in our region, but we need to paint it and maintain it to keep it that way.”
 
To donate to the GoFundMe account, click here.
 
Every month an average of 71,000 people run, walk, bike and skate across the Purple People Bridge. The bridge is owned and operated by the Newport Southbank Bridge Company, a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates and maintains the bridge. The bridge can be rented out for private events, weddings, and parties.

To learn more about the fundraising effort, watch this video:


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