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Raising money is a tough job. Here, the brains behind five fabulous fundraising galas share secrets on the essentials of their events and how they keep the funds flowing. By Lisa Hurley

HAVE A HEARTTolo Events has worked on the Pittsburgh Heart Ball, which benefits the American Heart Association, for 11 years. And three things never change, says Tolo Events president Shelly Tolo: The ball is held in February, which is Heart Month; the design fea-

tures the color red; and the menu is heart-healthy. “The American Heart Association publishes a tool-kit called Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage—even with a section on receptions, galas and special events—so we are able to provide guidelines to the chef from the beginning,” Tolo notes.

But Tolo has tweaked other elements of the ball, including the venue, ticket price, room layout and entertainment lineup. “The most significant change over the last two years is really improving the quality of the on-screen media content,” she notes. “Everything is animated and helps to provide guests with an

GROWING YOUR

Night of Discovery: The 2013 Discovery Ball at the California Science Center let guests dine beneath the space shuttle Endeavour. Photo by Nadine Froger Photography.

COVER STORY

Gala

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immersive experience during the program and live auction.”

Change matters, Tolo says. “Change for an established, well-known community gala or ball is essential for keeping it fresh for the guests, continuing to fill the ball-room year after year, and ultimately raising more money,” she says. The changes have paid off, as the Heart Ball raised a record $1.2 million in 2015.Tolo Eventswww.toloevents.com

DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW Although the look of the Discovery Ball, benefiting the California Science Center in Los Angeles, changes every year, the event’s theme does not. The ball “tells a story throughout the evening,” explains Chris Scion, vice president of food and event services.

For example, the 2015 ball cel-ebrated the center’s new exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls by transform-ing the traditional venue—the center itself—into various exciting, exotic settings. The cocktail party took guests back 2,000 years to the caves of Qumran, where the scribes of the scrolls hid them for safekeep-ing. Dinner was held in modern-day Jerusalem, thanks to stunning imagery of the city projected 40 feet tall (see page 3 for a photo).

“For the after-party, we moved guests outside to a Bedouin village where they danced under the stars, lounged inside tents and enjoyed fire dancers,” Sion says. Changing the theme each year “begs our guests to ask the question, ‘What do they have in store for us thisyear?” she says.

Recent changes for the Discovery Ball include updated guest registration technology (“It seemed almost prehistoric to con-tinue to use printed guest lists,” Sion says), increased ticket prices, and higher levels of table sponsor-ship, which has turned out to be a great way to boost the bottom line while holding the line on expenses. California Science Center www.californiasciencecenter.org

COMING UP DAFFODILS Guests can count on many constant elements at Montreal’s famed Daffodil Ball, which benefits the Canadian Cancer Society. It’s always black-tie, it’s always a cocktail reception fol-lowed by a dinner-dance, and it’s always in April—because it always features daffodils and daffodils aren’t available later, says producer Alison Silcoff. The daffodil is the symbol of the society and forms part of its logo. This event recipe has worked since the first ball back in 1994, Silcoff says.

Veteran event producer Silcoff, who will oversee the ball for her 23rd year in 2016, has watched the event grow from a lower cost affair for the first years, which relied completely on floral for decor (“It

Storyteller: The 2013 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gala took guests on a journey through beloved storybooks (all photos this page). Photos by Stephanie Strasburg.

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was important to establish a fabu-lously successful event rather than make a big profit,” she says), to one that now features elaborate themes, from Madame de Pompadour to Alice in Wonderland to the Great Gatsby. The ball’s stunning look has made it a repeat Special Events magazine Gala Award winner.

The Daffodil Ball’s venue has changed only once in the last 22 years—“when we outgrew the origi-nal venue,” Silcoff notes.

Although the slow economy in Quebec has pinched revenues, “The ball consistently makes a profit of more than $1.5 million,” Silcoff says. “The event is still Canada’s most successful cancer-related fundraiser, in spite of considerably increased competition. And despite a difficult economy, it is still the see-and-be-seen event of the year.”Alison Silcoff Events www.alisonsilcoff.com

MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC For many fundraising galas, the institution’s mission is the event planner’s mantra. And for Shannon Capellupo, director of events at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, that means showcasing the orches-tra at the Gala Award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gala. With nine years working on the event under her belt, Capellupo notes that the single

most important part of the annual fundraiser is the concert at land-mark Heinz Hall, which is followed by dinner. A pre-concert cocktail hour kicks the evening off. “So many new people are in attendance from the some 950 event guests that it offers us an opportunity to introduce the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to new patrons, and pres-ent our loyal patrons with an amaz-ing, one-night-only experience.”

Eight years ago, the event team made the decision to reach out to a younger demographic with a second, simultaneous event—the Soiree. “This event has grown over the years from 87 people to a record-breaking 450 guests last year,” Capellupo notes, and has added an additional $150,000 in revenue.

Instead of diluting sponsor sup-port, the two events have boosted it. “We’ve seen companies and indi-viduals provide dual sponsorships of both events,” Capellupo says. “Companies are targeting junior executives to invite to the Soiree, who then get to spend the cocktail hour mingling with senior-level executives. We’ve also seen family support cross between both events, seeing parents and grandparents attending the gala, and their chil-dren and grandchildren at the Soiree. This is only going to benefit the long-term financial stability

Taking the Silk road: The stunning 2015 Daffodil Ball featured the theme ‘Shanghai Silk’ (here, right). Photos by Stéphane Poirier.

The big chill: Winter came in July for guests at Chicago’s 2015 Zoo Ball (here, below). Photos by Alain Milotti.

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125 Taylor Pkwy.

Archbold, OH 43502

800.537.0540

www.biljax.com

of the event and organization as a whole.”Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestrawww.pittsburghsymphony.org

GETTING WILD AT THE ZOO BALL Where else to hold a fundraising gala for a zoo than the zoo itself? That’s the rationale behind the Zoo Ball, hosted by the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. After guests experience the beautiful grounds and ani-mals, “It’s very easy to get them to offer support through the auction, raffle, and Fund a Need programs,” explains Christine Zrinsky, vice

president for development at the zoo.

It’s hard to beat summer in Chicago, and that’s part of the Zoo Ball’s appeal. The July event “is a really a fun event—it’s held out-doors in the summer, so the women get to wear colorful and fun dresses and gowns, and many of the male guests wear white dinner jackets,” Zrinsky explains. “And the gardens are glorious—much more magical than a hotel ballroom.”

Sometimes adding elements to an event isn’t the answer; manage-ment of the Zoo Ball has found success in paring event programs down.

“We tried a live auction about

15 years ago,” Zrinsky says, but, “It was really hard to make it suc-cessful in two big tents with 900 people in attendance. Instead, we established it as a separate event, held in November, so it doesn’t compete with the ball but draws a smaller but dedicated audience to bid on 20 or so items. The ball tends to raise at least $1 million in gross revenue—this year was $1.2 million—and the live auction is about $250,000. Both are fantastic, fun and successful events that pro-vide very significant funds to keep Lincoln Park Zoo admission free.”Lincoln Park Zoowww.lpzoo.org/about-us/womens-board ●

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The pulse of the Pittsburgh Heart Ball: The 2015 Pittsburgh Heart Ball featured a ‘Fire and Ice’ theme (here, left). Photos courtesy Tolo Events.

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