May was gala season, and the money was flowing along with the champagne. Despite the prevailing environment of political and financial turmoil — or perhaps, in part, because of it — people donned tuxes and gowns and once again gathered to feast and fundraise for their favorite charities. As with the old saw that frothy plays fill Broadway theaters during anxious times, galas are providing a welcome break during a moment when people need escapism more than ever — all for a good cause, of course.
Nonprofits should take these mega parties seriously. Galas don’t just raise funds; they also increase awareness and raise enthusiasm for a nonprofit’s mission. They spark and solidify connections among donors and would-be donors, grantee partners and social, cultural and political leaders. And they continue to generate donations long after the clean-up crew has cleared away the leftover cake.
A gala also can be an unlikely ally in the effort to democratize philanthropy. As Zachary Fabri, an artist and Rome Prize fellow, told me last fall at the American Academy in Rome’s annual gala, he has attended as a guest and occasionally as a donor — including after he won a $20,000 grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.
Going as a donor expanded his understanding of who can be a philanthropist. “I always thought it was like the Ford Foundation and people like that,” he said. “But that year, I started to look more closely at fundraising mailers and to think about them. I was like, ‘Oh, philanthropy starts at any level.’ I could pay for the gala that year, and it felt good to do it.”
Moving more people into the donor class is a good thing for nonprofits, obviously. And it pushes back against the “contraction of agency” we’ve written about here.
Still, raising money through passed hors d’oeuvres and big-ticket performers might seem like a clunky, tone-deaf relic from the past, particularly given the ease of finding like-minded supporters online today. But bringing people together IRL also pushes back against the divisiveness of the moment. Special-occasion celebrations generate excitement and optimism — both of which can feel in short supply today, yet are needed to power creative solutions. We are a nation being clobbered by stressors, as my colleague Mark Scutari reported in November, when covering the David Lynch Foundation’s promotion of meditation for mental health. As counterintuitive as it may seem, these over-the-top parties with their Instagram afterlives can feel, in a small way, like being part of the resistance.
This year’s gala season was notable for record-breaking hauls, newish parties and a lot of “White Lotus.” Fundraising galas happened across the country: In Virginia, for Children’s Inn at NIH; in Minnesota, for Opportunity Partners; in Kansas City, the Wayside Waif’s Mardi Paws Fur Ball Gala. But the biggest events happened on the coasts. Here’s a look at some of May’s parties-for-a-purpose from the world of the arts, mental health, aging and economic empowerment.
High up in the hills with the Asia Society of Southern California
The one gala I attended in May, held by the Asia Society of Southern California at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles on May 4, was designed to “recognize outstanding leaders who epitomize ASSC’s mission of cross-cultural understanding,” as the gala invite put it. Asia Society SoCal is one of more than a dozen outposts of the Asia Society, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III. With an original mission to promote greater knowledge of Asia in the U.S., its mission has evolved somewhat. It now “aims to enhance peace, prosperity, freedom, equality and sustainability across Asia and the world.” It does this through art exhibitions, cultural programs, language courses, panel discussions, film screenings, author conversations and more.
The dinner portion of the evening kicked off with a thrilling, pounding percussion performance by the Taiko Center of Los Angeles. The event’s Social Justice Visionary award winner Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, spoke about her organization’s work. (Joe has been in the news recently, speaking out about the ICE raids in L.A. and detention of Asian Americans.) Rep. Ted Lieu presented the Medical Tech Visionary award to Joe Kiani, founder of Willow Laboratories and Masimo. Later, members of the cast and crew of “The White Lotus” season 3, set in Thailand, took the stage to accept the Cultural Visionary award. Thai dancers wearing sparkly, traditional pink dress performed throughout, all of which made me (a) want to go to Thailand, or (b) watch more TV.
There was also a moving video and in-person tribute to first responders and aid organizations that helped Angelenos during the January wildfires. The evening concluded with a silent-auction fundraising competition; the table donating the most won a bottle of spirits for each member. I watched over the shoulder as one gala honoree sitting at the next table clicked “donate now” on his smartphone. A few minutes later, gala organizers announced a $10,000 donation that had just popped up — clinching the competition for that table. Technology is facilitating giving today, something we’ve been covering. But this is true, as it turns out, even in an old-school, in-person gathering.
The Mother of All Galas, a.k.a. the Met Gala
The annual Met Gala, held this year on May 5 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, raises money to support the Met’s Costume Institute, dedicated to fashion. This year’s theme, “Tailored for You,” was based on the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The gala drew a roster of high-wattage celebrity attendees — Anna Wintour, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton, and Colman Domingo were hosts; guests, who paid $75,000 each for a seat, included Selena Gomez, Shikira, Rihanna, Emma Chamberlain, Simone Biles and Zendaya, among other big names. But the party really stood out for garnering $31 million, the biggest haul in the event’s 77-year history.
Of course, that $31 million gross is before taking into account the seven-figure cost of the party. This is one of the complaints of the glitzy gala approach to philanthropy: It uses up a lot of staff time and organizational money to pull off. But for many, the party is the purpose. The Met Gala “carries cultural cachet far beyond a mere benefit,” as the New York Times put it. It’s like the “Super Bowl of fashion” or the Oscars. “It’s not necessarily the cause that everyone’s coming for; it’s to be a part of the event,” Rachel Feinberg, a consultant who has worked on galas in New York City, has said, pointing to endorsements, celebrities and spectacle.
Glitzy giving for hard-working Americans
Also in New York City the first week in May, some 400 people headed downtown for another tony night on the town: the King’s Trust gala at Casa Cipriani. The gala raised $2.5 million for the charity’s work. This was the fourth major fundraising gala thrown by the charity, begun by King Charles III when he was still Prince of Wales, to help youth and young adults develop viable careers. This year’s gala was part of a celebration of 10 years working outside the U.K. The gala raised money through tickets and a silent auction that included experiences such as a private helicopter ski trip in Aspen and a private viewing of Monet at the Musée de l’Orangerie.
As King Charles said in a recorded message played at the event, “Where some see insurmountable obstacles, we see boundless opportunity. We see a generation of potential. A generation aligned with energy, ambition, and determination. With the right support, young people can transform their own lives, as well as reshaping the future of our world.”
Robin Hood Foundation rallies political, athletic and philanthropic stars for the fight against poverty
OK, maybe this isn’t glitzy, exactly, but on May 12, the Robin Hood Foundation held a sports-themed, mass-attendee gala at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, a party designed to feel like a sporting event, complete with a cheerleading squad, marching band (and foosball tables for guests). Founded in 1988, Robin Hood is the largest antipoverty organization in New York City. Its gala was also huge, drawing some 3,500 bankers, hedge fund managers, political leaders and sports celebrities, and raising $72 million, a 6% increase from last year. Unlike other galas, 100% of this take will go toward food, housing, education and job training for millions of New Yorkers living below the poverty line, according to the foundation.
Country music singer Keith Urban performed, as did The Weeknd. Magician Oz Pearlman performed tricks that earned him a standing ovation while also drumming up donations after each feat. QR codes at each table led to a donation portal, another example of a tech tool harnessed for in-person, real-time giving. Attendees included New York Governor Kathy Hochul, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams and her husband, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who is a Robin Hood board member, and Mike Bezos, a cofounder of the Bezos family foundation, and Robin Hood board member Mark Bezos. The benefit was co-chaired by Lauran and Justin Tuck, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New York Giants co-owner Laurie M. Tisch. Guests paid a minimum of $3,000 for an individual ticket, or between $30,000 and $250,000 for a table for 10.
While $3,000 is still a pretty hefty base-level entry fee for one evening, it’s less than the Met Gala. The relative affordability and huge haul points to the wisdom of a larger, more inclusive event, from a fundraising perspective. The invitation kept the mission front and center by sharing the value of the donation with patrons. Under the box to check for a table at $30,000, it said, “Your table purchase could help train and place three New Yorkers in a commercial driving job.” $100,000: “Your table purchase could provide one night of safe shelter for 500 families.”
Grammy Hall of Fame Gala celebrates new inductees
Later that same week, on the other side of the country, the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum hosted the second annual Grammy Hall of Fame Gala, another cultural event-of-the-season-cum-fundraiser. Held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, this upstart cultural staple celebrated the induction of new recordings into the Grammy Hall of Fame while raising money for the Grammy Museum’s educational and community programs.
This year marks the 51st class of Grammy Hall of Fame inductees. There were 13, including Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt,” Santana’s “Supernatural,” Cat Stevens’ “Tea for the Tillerman,” Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much” and works by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, Big Star, Fela Kuti & Afrika 70, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Linda Martell and Geeshie Wiley. (See the full list here.) Many inductees attended the gala; some performed, including Emmylou Harris and Eddie Floyd. To those not invited but Instagram-attending, the event looked and sounded like an awesome concert.
The Grammy gala was originally conceived as a way to elevate the stature of the annual Hall of Fame inductions, with the fundraising piece something of an add-on, and maybe not a natural one, according to some reports. There’s no reporting on money raised as of yet, and the museum’s own afterparty press release doesn’t even mention the fundraising piece. But with the slashing of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, staff firings, and programs disappearing in real time, even an awkward fundraising interruption for music education is something very good to hear.
Raising money for arts institutions
On May 17, just down the street from me, UCLA’s Hammer Museum held its 20th annual Gala in the Garden, raising $2.4 million to support its exhibitions and public programs. (The museum is free, generally uncrowded and has ample parking, a major gift to arts lovers in L.A.). This was the first gala under new museum director Zoë Ryan. Honorees included Jane Fonda and artist Lauren Halsey, and the event drew celebrities including LeBron and Savannah James, Usher, Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and Molly Shannon. Artists attended, too, including Doug Aitken, Andrea Bowers, Diedrick Brackens, Catherine Opie and Ed Ruscha. Thelma Golden, the director of the Studio Museum in Harlem, paid tribute to Halsey. Danson and Steenburgen celebrated Fonda.
A few days later, on May 20, the Whitney Museum of American Art held its annual spring gala at the museum’s still super-hip Meatpacking District location, raising about $6 million, plus another $1 million that Whitney Trustee Judy Hart Angelo pledged during dinner. More “White Lotus” season 3 stars attended this one, including Leslie Bibb and Michelle Moneghan. Other celebs in attendance included Clair Danes, Andie MacDowell, philanthropists Kathy and Rick Hilton, artist Jeff Koons and one of the evening’s honorees, artist Amy Sherald. The money will support the continuation of a free admissions program for people under 25 and some Fridays and Sundays. Since launching in December, the free program has drawn some 400,000 visitors, as the New York Times reported, helping the museum reach its pre-pandemic level of about 1 million annual people passing through the heavy doors of the glass-and-steel, Renzo-Piano-designed multilevel space located between the Highline and the Hudson River.
The MOCA gala in LA closed out the month of parties for the arts. Held May 31 in partnership with Bulgari, the gala honored Theaster Gates, Frank Gehry and Wendy Schmidt and raised more than $3.1 million for the museum. Some 600 people came. There was more Japanese Taiko drumming, more celebs. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Jane Fonda, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi attended. Guests had a chance to view the Olafur Eliasson: OPEN exhibition. Following the program, Grammy-nominated rapper Tierra Whack performed selections from her critically acclaimed records “World Wide Whack” and “Whack World.”
Fundraising events for Alzheimer’s in D.C. and L.A.
Also in May, the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter hosted its 11th Annual Vision Gala at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. The gala raised more than $10 million for research, support and the promotion of tools to improve brain health, such as the Brain Health Resource Center, hosted on AARP’s website. (Anyone can log on and take a cognitive assessment. If your results are worrisome, you’ll find action steps that might help, including, apparently, flower arranging.) Gala honorees included big names in Alzheimer’s funding (but not in Instagram), such as Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, Amanda Eversole of the American Petroleum Institute, and Sevy Petras, CEO of Priority Life Care.
Two days later, in L.A., some 400 people turned out for The Magic of Music Gala, a glitzier gala for brain health and various research initiatives of the Alzheimer’s Association. Hosted by Camille and Peter Goldstein at Vibiana, a cathedral turned event venue in DTLA, it honored filmmaker Nick Cassavetes for raising awareness about Alzheimer’s through his work — most notably the 2004 movie “The Notebook,” which he directed. There was a purple carpet, hosted by “Entertainment Tonight” personality Cassie DiLaura, and musical performances by multi-Grammy winning composer David Foster and actor/singer/Broadway star Katharine McPhee.
The event also raised awareness about the benefit of music for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. People with Alzheimer’s typically retain their musical memory, and music therapy has been shown to improve mood, reduce depression and anxiety, enhance autobiographical recall, verbal fluency, and cognition.
This focus on music for those living with Alzheimer’s points to another benefit of galas in general: With their speeches and programs, honorees and grantees, they can provide a more nuanced understanding of the issues that nonprofits and philanthropy address. They expose attendees to the range of activities that organizations perform and some of the people behind them. All of this can lead to more — and more enthusiastic — support.
