| TOP 100 EVENTS 07.07.09 3:39 PM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2009
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 | Ellen DeGeneres and a Make-a-Wish recipient
Photo: Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois |
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1. Green Tie Ball
Held in support of Chicago Gateway Green’s mission of beautifying area roadways, this ball draws the largest crowd of the season. Around 3,000 guests take part in charitable gaming, live entertainment, and tastings from dozens of area restaurants. Last year’s event raked in $500,000.
2. After School Matters Gala
The 2008 gala made a splash with its unconventional venue: an under-construction runway at O’Hare airport. Some 2,400 guests browsed a youth art auction and raised $3.5 million for after-school programs. The 2009 fund-raiser for Maggie Daley’s pet charity will take place in September.
3. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Chance of a Lifetime Gala
The most extensive silent auction in Chicago (500 lots, with everything from restaurant packages to trips) is the focus of this 2,000-guest event, which in 2008 raised $2.6 million and featured singer Steve Winwood. The 2009 incarnation is set for December 12.
4. Chicago Urban League Golden Fellowship Dinner
Major players in the city’s political, corporate, and social circles attend this annual event, where past guests have included Barack Obama and Johnson Publishing Company’s Linda Johnson Rice. In 2008, the evening drew 2,000 guests and raised $1.9 million for the civil-rights organization. This year’s dinner is set for November 7.
5. American Cancer Society Discovery Ball
Charlie Trotter designed the cocktails for the 2008 ball, which raised $2.1 million and featured acrobats and a performance by jazz icon Herbie Hancock. This year’s event took place at the Civic Opera House on April 25; some 1,000 guests attended.
6. Children’s Memorial Hospital Children’s Ball
In 2008, the 50th anniversary ball for 1,200 was held at the Hilton Chicago. The Medical Research Institute Council’s 2009 event on December 12 will build on the momentum of excitement generated by a new hospital building currently under construction in Streeterville.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chicago's Top 100 Events, Chicago Gateway Green, Maggie Daley, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Steve Winwood, Chicago Urban League, American Cancer Society, Herbie Hancock, Children's Memorial Hospital, Lincoln Park Zoo, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ellen DeGeneres, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Shedd Aquarium, Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, Museum of Science and Insutry |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.27.09 4:50 PM |
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Cancer Society Uses Electronic Bidding to Tighten Gala Program, Create Greener Event
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At the American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball, at the Civic Opera House on Saturday night, apple-green draping separated the check-in area from the lobby, where servers shook up specialty "Discovertinis" at grass-covered bars. On highboys set up throughout the reception area, plant patterns decorated candle holders, and servers from Blue Plate Catering circulated with leaf-adorned hors d'oeuvre trays.
According to Lee Kite, the society's director of distinguished events, the demonstrable green theme reflected a current focus of both the American Cancer Society and Boeing, the evening's lead sponsor. (Boeing chairman, president, and C.E.O. James McNerney and his wife, Haity, also chaired the ball.) Both companies are focusing on environmental efforts, and in keeping with that, "I'm pleased to say that we've covered the greening of the Discovery Ball quite well," Kite said last week.
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RELATED TOPICS
American Cancer Society, Natalie Cole, Going Green, Boeing, Tiffany & Company |
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| BEST OF 2008 11.24.08 8:00 AM |
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Return on Investment
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As director of distinguished events at the Illinois division of the American Cancer Society since 2005, Lee Kite oversees the organization’s blockbuster Discovery Ball. This year’s gala netted more than $2.1 million, exceeding the budgeted goal by more than 15 percent and surpassing the $1.8 million haul from 2007. That success is due in part to the benefit’s board of ambassadors, which Kite created to attract the support of local philanthropists and C.E.O.s. The board grew, too, from 27 members in 2007 to more than 70 this year. Each board member makes a financial commitment at the outset of the ball’s planning process, and Kite and her team demonstrate where sponsors’ dollars are going throughout the year.
Proving the Return: “The American Cancer Society has a national program that provides heavy training in proof of sponsorship. Sponsors want to see viability and return on investment, along with an alignment of their brand to a cause that matters to their employees. It is our responsibility to show them this proof. We look at this like a small contract. We have fun coming up with creative, eye-catching packages, which we deliver to a sponsor post-event and which demonstrate all of the placements—photos, programs, clip reels, press clips, etc.—that were promised when the sponsor agreed to support. We also enclose a commitment form for the following year.”
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RELATED TOPICS
American Cancer Society |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 07.07.08 10:00 AM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2008
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 | Brookfield Zoo's annual Whirl Ball
Photo: Eric Craig |
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1. Chicago Gateway Green’s Green Tie Ball
This rollicking annual outdoor event usually draws nearly 3,000 of the city’s young residents. Celebrity attendees, casino gaming tents, live music, and food from more than 65 Chicago restaurants are slated to be featured at the 2008 Green Tie Ball on September 13. Held at private event space Chicago Scenic Studios, the ball will be produced this year by Denise McGowan and Michelle Durpetti of McGowan Durpetti & Associates. The “Greenivale” theme will feature bands re-creating the sounds of Carnival in Rio. The 2007 ball raised $500,000.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chicago's Top 100 Events, After School Matters, American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Chicago Auto Show, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Field Museum, Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Butterfly Ball, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Automobile Trade Association, Heartland Alliance, Medical Research Institute Council of Children's Memorial, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chicago Zoological Society, Alzheimer's Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Parkways Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, Boys & Girls Clubs, Children's Place Association, Lupus Foundation |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.21.08 3:01 PM |
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Aerialists and a Rousing Silent Auction Mark American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball
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 | Charlie Trotter's live-auction prize
Photo: Lee Hoagland |
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The theme of Saturday's Discovery Ball, a black-tie fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society held at McCormick Place West, was inspired by its name. "The real driver for some of the creativity behind this event was the word discovery," said Lee Kite, the society's director of distinguished events. Considering, according to Kite, "Chicago is an innovative city that enfolds so many of its own discoveries," she planned an evening that would celebrate some acclaimed aspects of local culture—especially its culinary and musical accomplishments.
At the cocktail reception that kicked off the gala, young musicians from the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz played beside a silent auction that comprised nearly 400 lots. At bars set up throughout the venue's prereception space (which also housed part of the silent auction), bartenders shook up specialty drinks that iconic local chef Charlie Trotter created especially for the occasion. Cocktails came with jazzy names like the Rhapsody in Groove, which was a blend of gin, vodka, ginger ale, bitter lemon soda, fresh lemon juice, and a sugar-dusted lemon slice.
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RELATED TOPICS
McCormick Place West, American Cancer Society, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Trotter |
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