MobileCause
MobileCause began in 2006 as a text-to-give system, with billing handled by cell phone carriers. In June 2012, the company added mobile pledging, which allows users to send a text message to make a donation and then click through on their phones to pay with a credit card. Donors can also add a message, which is displayed on the “donation thermometer” in real time at the event. Donors instantly receive a text message response that thanks them for the donation and provides a link to click through to input credit card information. The mobile site also provides a “remember me” option, which allows the organization to save the donor's information and use it for future communication. For those who opt not to pay at the event, MobileCause provides call center staff who contact each donor a few days later to fulfill the payment over the phone. Pricing ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 for consulting services, plus a transaction fee of 50 cents and between 5 percent and 7.25 percent per donation.
Photo: Courtesy of MobileCause
BidPal
BidPal offers two options for mobile bidding at an event. The original system, which the company has offered since 2009, is run on a closed Wi-Fi network and attendees log in using their smartphone or an iPod Touch provided by BidPal. Last year the company also began offering a cellular–based system due to the increase in smartphone usage and improvement in cellular signals within venues. Later this year BidPal will offer a hybrid solution that provides both cellular and Wi-Fi access at one event. BidPal can be used for general donations as well as bidding on auction items, with instant “outbid” alerts, and pledges can be displayed on a leaderboard. Users can check out directly on their mobile device. Planners can also use BidPal’s event management functions, including single-ticket and table sales, donor thank-yous, and post-event reports that provide data such as which items had the most interest and when most bidding took place. Pricing is based on a combination of a booking fee and an event fee.
Photo: Courtesy of BidPal
Bidding for Good
Bidding for Good launched in 2003 and has managed more than 16,000 fund-raising auctions through its online platform and has added a mobile system so users can bid from their smartphones or tablets. Hosts can share a link to their auction before the event begins so users can input credit card information and browse items ahead of time. The system sends instant alerts to users who are outbid, and the programmable leaderboard can be used at the event to thank sponsors and highlight featured items. In the next month the company will add real-time data that will update as bids are made. Hosts can also opt to keep their auctions open after an event or open them to a broader audience on the Bidding for Good Web site, where users worldwide can shop for items by category. Bidding for Good charges $595 for a one-year subscription, plus a performance fee tied to the amount of online transactions.
Photo: Courtesy of Bidding for Good
Razoo
Razoo started in 2007 as a social network for giving and added commerce features in 2010. The majority of Razoo’s activity is cause-based fund-raising campaigns that may not be tied to a specific event, but it does offer a mobile-optimized site so event guests can donate directly from their smartphones. To easily point guests to the site, it can be shared as a QR code that takes users directly to the donation page. In the coming months, Razoo is developing a native app that will expedite the donation process and post instant updates to a leaderboard. Razoo's existing iPhone app allows organizers to track and solicit donations and send thank-you messages. For fund-raising before and after an event, organizations can embed the Razoo widget on their Web site or on a Facebook page. Razoo charges 4.9 percent of each donation.
Photo: Courtesy of Razoo
Unicef Masquerade Ball
Designed by Shiraz Events, the event took place on December 13 at New York's Angel Orensanz and had a sinister, superhero-inspired look. Deriving inspiration from comic books, the dessert table had candies with phrases such as "pow!" and "blow!" written on bright signs.
Photo: Sean T. Smith
Trevor Live
In December, the Trevor Project honored Katy Perry and Audi at its Trevor Live event at the Hollywood Palladium. To further the organization's mission to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning young people, MSN Wonderwall and Getty Images provided an official photo booth for the event in the greenroom, complete with props in the form of chat bubbles bearing inspiring messages like "be proud of who you are" and "you are not alone."
Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images for Trevor Project
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago's "World of Chocolate" Event
At the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's "World of Chocolate" event at the Hilton Chicago on November 29, a silent auction let guests bid at different levels starting at $50. Once a bid level was selected, guests would choose a number on a punchboard that corresponded to that bidding level. Event staffers dressed as professional boxers would then punch a hole through that number and reveal a corresponding prize. Lots included a gift certificate for a wine tasting, UGG Australia velvet men's slippers, and an overnight stay at Park Hyatt Chicago. The punchboard raised more than $14,000.
Photo: Courtesy of AIDS Foundation of Chicago
The Husbands Versus Bachelors Bouquet Face-Off
The Toronto event, produced by Kim Graham & Associates, put a fresh spin on a flower-design competition. Held just before Valentine's Day at a swanky gallery, the event was billed as an "evening of romance and philanthropy" and was hosted by sisters Maryam and Nargues Mansouri (of Mansouri Living) and Toronto socialite Ainsley Kerr. The intimate evening pitted bachelors against married men in a bouquet-design competition, and guests could bid on their favorite arrangements. The $4,000 of proceeds went toward Rethink Breast Cancer.
Photo: Nolan Bryan
Motionball's "Winter Wonderland" Gala
Held at Muzik in Toronto on February 8, the Motionball gala raised funds for Special Olympics Canada and had a wintry theme befitting the frosty weather. The vibe came to life with a dance floor made to look like an ice rink and an ice-luge vodka bar. As a final touch, an indoor snowfall took place at midnight.
Photo: Jason Kwan
The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Bunny Hop
A far springier event—with a cute bunny theme—took place at New York's F.A.O. Schwarz on March 5. Small topiaries shaped like the animal of honor spruced up the family-friendly event, which also had a balloon artist, face painting, and a station for decorating cookies.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
The Joffrey Ballet's 'Nutcracker' Family Dinner
The Joffrey Ballet feted its then-current production of The Nutcracker with a dinner at Chicago's Palmer House Hilton on December 15. Inspired by the ballet's Land-of-Sweets setting, Kehoe Designs adorned the event with pieces of giant candy including swirly lollipops and Airheads packages. Overhead, a chandelier was decked with ribbons and more pieces of prop candy.
Photo: Bob Carl
The Lyric Opera of Chicago's Fantasy of the Opera Gala
The February 9 event in Chicago had a "Midnight in Paris" theme. In the lobby of the downtown opera house, Event Creative Designer Jeffrey Foster erected giant replicas of Parisian street signs. An illuminated windmill nodded to the iconic signage of the Moulin Rouge.
Photo: Rick Aguilar
Miami Children's Hospital Foundation's Wine, Women & Shoes
Looking to boost event-day proceeds, the foundation went beyond the basic silent auction by enlisting a group of hunky male volunteers to showcase auction items at its Wine, Women & Shoes benefit February 7. The event, which drew 450 women to the Coral Gables Country Club in Miami, ended up selling $50,000 in goods that day from the auction and a fashion marketplace, resulting in a fund-raising total of $450,000.
Photo: Yamila Lomba
The Jordan Farmar Foundation Fund-Raiser
The Jordan Farmar Foundation raises money to send children in need to summer camp, so a recent fund-raiser for the charity took on a campgrounds vibe. Nathaniel Neubauer of Contemporary Catering designed a seven-course tasting menu of foods that put sophisticated twists on childhood classics. The sashimi course, for example, was inspired by fish sticks. Neubauer represented pizza with Manchego-and-chorizo flatbread. Because the foods didn't require much silverware to eat, guests only had forks; other cutlery was playfully suggested with colorful blue drawings on the place mats. Sterling Engagements produced the event, which took place February 7 at Gindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu.
Photo: Brian Callaway/Callaway Gable
San Francisco Ballet Gala
The San Francisco Ballet's annual gala took over City Hall on January 24, bringing a striking look and bold color palette to the historic space. Set up for dinner, the rotunda was washed in colorful lighting projections, and lotus-shaped silk chandeliers hung overhead.
Photo: Courtesy of Blueprint Studios
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay's "Big Night"
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay held its annual "Big Night" event at House of Blues Boston February 9. At the soiree, servers circulated with appetizers including shrimp and guacamole tostadas and wild mushroom profiteroles. The event included high-octane performances from two bands—Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings—so servers from the Catered Affair wore signage that labeled each item in case verbal descriptions couldn't be heard over the music. Branded lanyards strapped around staffers' necks read "Hi, these are," with a quick menu description and warnings about any ingredients that potentially could cause allergic reactions.
Photo: David Fox
The Book Lover's Ball
Held on February 7 at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York, the fund-raiser for the Toronto Public Library Foundation had entertainment inspired by novels. One of the pieces, based on a book called The Painted Girls, featured a ballerina speckled in gold body paint and an artist working alongside her.
Photo: George Pimentel Photography
The Museum of Contemporary Art's ArtEdge Gala
The Museum of Contemporary Art's ArtEdge gala, held February 2 for the first time in the institution's warehouse, was indeed a little edgy, and it had an all-pervasive factory vibe. At a panini station, attendants used irons and an ironing board to toast ham-and-cheese and tomato-and-cheese sandwiches.
Photo: Alain Milotti
Museum of Science and Industry's Black Creativity Gala
At the Museum of Science & Industry's Black Creativity gala January 27, no guest left hungry. The event's bevvy of buffet stations, provided by Sodexo, held Brazilian meats, spicy Moroccan foods, cotton candy, and more—but the salt-and-pepper station turned into a main attraction. Stationed near the salad buffet, the table held hanging terrariums filled with colored salts such as red chili, pink Hawaiian, smoke, rosemary, and wild garlic. The flavors were spelled out on smooth river rocks placed in front of each hanging vessel. On the other side of table, a row of grinders held pink, green, white, and black pepper.
Photo: JB Spector/Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Whitney Museum of American Art's Gala
This year's gala was pushed back to December because of Hurricane Sandy, and ultimately took place inside the museum's Upper East Side home. In one room, where the walls were painted black, designer David Stark used white tape and created a 3-D effect by crumpling some segments. Without much space for the caterers, the planning team opted for a family-style meal with side dishes shared at the tables and entrées on passed plates.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Charity:Water Gala
At the December 10 event at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, staffers roaming the venue sold helium-filled balloons to guests for on-the-spot donations. Guests could release their balloons into a giant Jerry can-shaped netting structure. The concept was designed to allow people to visualize their donations in a whimsical way.
Photo: Courtesy of Charity:Water
The Museum of Modern Art's Film Benefit
After designing a romantic red look for the tribute to Pedro Almodóvar last year, the Museum of Modern Art opted for a more masculine design at its film benefit honoring Quentin Tarantino in December. A mix of round and rectangular clear Lucite tables formed the dinner setup in the atrium. The sleek look was matched by clear chargers and Ghost chairs; clusters of pillar candles replaced flowers as centerpieces.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
California Science Center's Discovery Ball
After it scored one of NASA's coveted crafts late last year amid buzzy citywide pomp, the museum sold out tables for its Discovery Ball—even before the invitation dropped. The gala took place under the wings of the Endeavour on March 9 and secured a record-breaking night for fund-raising, taking in $1.5 million.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
The Joffrey Ballet's "What is This Thing Called Love" Gala
Chicago's premiere ballet company hosted a Valentine's Day benefit (on the actual date) that offered appetizers from chef Charlie Trotter. There was a lavish oyster and caviar bar festooned with gold linens and flowers, and passed snacks—including quail eggs—were presented on trays holding red roses. In keeping with the spirit of the evening, napkins were embossed with the word "Love." Jewell Events Catering assisted the chef that evening.
Photo: Bob Carl
The Children's Defense Fund's "Beat the Odds" Award Ceremony
The December 6 event at the Beverly Hills Hotel honored five Los Angeles high school students who overcame personal obstacles and achieved academic excellence. To incorporate the teenagers into the night's visuals, the organizers used a gallery of black-and-white portraits as the backdrop for the stage. Art Arellanes produced the event, Revelry handled the scenic production, and Richard Taylor provided the lighting design.
Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
Hermès opened its new Beverly Hills flagship store with a Bounce-produced party so transformative, it almost felt like an entirely other place and time. And that's exactly what the production and design team behind the nuanced bash was going for: “We wanted it to transport you, so when you were walking into the space, you were really taken into another world. We were trying to achieve a sense of disbelief that you would experience while watching a film or a piece of theater,” said Hermès senior vice president of communications Peter Malachi. About 700 guests found a private warehouse in Culver City reimagined with dreamy vintage Hollywood and French flair, the original inspiration for which was drawn from a scarf specially commissioned for the new store. The red carpet arrivals backdrop mimicked the iconic Hollywood hills and sign.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
The Watermill Center, Robert Wilson's artistic laboratory in the Hamptons, is known for incorporating unusual elements into its annual benefits, and in 2007 the night began with a live-action take on the logo-filled photo backdrop, which had actors in frog costumes holding signs with sponsors' names. “We've never had a step-and-repeat before, and we thought that if we had that, it had to be our own version,” said Watermill Center public relations and special events manager Natascha Theis. Artist Andrey Bartenev designed the installation.
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Relativity Media's 21 and Over was filled with drinking scenes, of course. So when the movie had its premiere party at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood in February, event producers brought its hard-partying plot line to life with an unusual arrivals wall. Jade Alex, Relativity Media's director of events and special projects, worked with Best Events to create a 60-foot wall that comprised some 3,700 red plastic cups. Stationed alongside the red carpet, the cheeky fixture served as a backdrop for press photographs of stars such as Justin Chon and Skylar Astin.
Photo: Ashley Sugarman/Relativity Media
With a headliner like Kanye West and sponsor Cartier helping to underwrite the event, the Museum of Modern Art had no trouble drawing a big crowd for its annual Party in the Garden in 2011. But as in years past, the institution's planning team sought to widen its base of supporters even further and find new ways to keep the spring fundraiser fresh. To bring guests straight into the cocktail area and create more of a grand backdrop for the arrivals, the planning team used the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden's gates as the event's entrance, and marked it with a striking leafy topiary embellished with MoMA and Cartier logos.
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
Prabal Gurung and Target launched their design collaboration with an elaborate carnival at New York’s Pier 57 dedicated to love, the inspiration behind the vibrant collection. Held in February, the pre-Fashion Week event served as a sneak peek to the limited edition line of apparel and accessories before it hit Target stores. On the fantasy city street where the carnival took place, a flower shop–style setup played double duty as the step-and-repeat. Inspired by a scene in the Prabal Gurung for Target TV commercial, the buckets of fresh flowers stood on tiered platforms, creating a wall of florals with small signs carrying the Target and Prabal Gurung logos rising from within.
Photo: Neil Rasmus/BFAnyc.com
Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was 147 minutes of intense, nonstop visual and aural stimulation. So naturally, the studio's event team arranged a premiere along those same lines in 2009. The event, part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, added drama on the red carpet by incorporating the Optimus Prime truck prop.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
Guests at the Performa benefit in New York in 2011 entered Skylight Soho to find a long red carpet and a swarm of fake paparazzi waiting, but the effect left some feeling more unsettled than glamorous. As guests walked on the carpet, the group of 45 hooting performers with flashing cameras would roar in a moment of arrivals-zone authenticity not seen in regular TV and magazine coverage. Some of the guests ate it up and posed—the artsy crowd had plenty of people clearly dressed to be noticed—while others hurried past to get into the party proper.
Photo: Jeeyun Lee for BizBash
The United Kingdom premiere of Django Unchained in January illuminated London's Leicester Square with enormous LED panels that led to the screening at the Empire cinema. The outdoor arrivals, which spanned the north side of the central London pedestrian plaza, saw six 12-foot-tall screens splash the name of Quentin Tarantino's film and images of the characters overhead as stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Kerry Washington walked the white-colored red carpet. To provide the displays, producer Premier tapped XL Events, which built each piece from 12 lightweight, semitransparent tiles. XL also supplied 72 LED tiles used for a screen that served as the backdrop for a stage where interviews with the cast took place.
Photos: Courtesy of XL Events
For its annual film benefit in 2011, the Museum of Modern Art honored director Pedro Almodóvar. As a subtle way to acknowledge the Spanish heritage of the director, the organizers added red-hued touches to the minimalist space. To switch things up, MoMA reconfigured the layout, receiving guests through the 54th Street side of the museum rather than the 53rd Street entrance. This new perspective gave producer KCD the opportunity to make a statement in the arrivals and check-in area while not detracting from the modern space and the night's honoree. The celebrity arrivals area was marked by an enormous wall designed by Raul Avila with more than 20,000 red roses.
Photo: Jika González for BizBash
At Warner Brothers Television Group's party to celebrate the opening of the studio’s new exhibit "Television: Out of the Box" last year, the arrivals carpet was striped to look like TV color bars.
Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images
At this year’s Rolling Stone Live Super Bowl party, producer Toast created a "trashed hotel room" where guests could take photos and pretend to live the rock star life. The event took place at the Bud Light Hotel, a Wyndham property in New Orleans rebranded for the weekend.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone
At last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Abel McCallister Designs created a movie-themed space for Chase Sapphire. Interactive photo booth installations allowed visitors to enter the worlds of well-known films that originally premiered at the festival, including Dogtown and Z-Boys. The photo station had guests stand on a skateboard set next to a sideways backdrop of Santa Monica beach; the printed photographs were then turned horizontally to make it look like guests were captured mid-trick on a skateboard ramp.
Photos: Evan Agostini for Chase Sapphire (photo booth), Courtesy of Abel McCallister Designs (printed photograph)
For this year's iteration of the Chase Sapphire activation at Sundance, Abel McCallister Designs created several new photo booth installations based on movies, including Hairspray, Hoosiers, and Little Shop of Horrors (pictured).
Photo: Courtesy of Abel McCallister Designs
At the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s gala in Miami, guests could pose for photos behind an oversize golden picture frame. Shiraz Events provided decor for the event, which drew 600 guests to the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts in December.
Photo: Courtesy of Shiraz Events
At the Lipton Uplift Lounge at the Sundance Film Festival in January, guests including Lil Jon could pose for photos while sitting in a real ski-lift chair set against a snowy, branded backdrop.
Photo: Todd Oren
Groupon hosted its Camp Groupon event last July at the Swissôtel Chicago. Kehoe Designs spruced up the hotel with thematic decor for the weekend, including a photo station area with a woodsy backdrop that included life preservers, boat paddles, and bundled logs.
Photo: Sheri Whitko Photography
To celebrate the release of Girls season one on Blu-ray—and to hype the second season—HBO hosted a cocktail party at Toronto's House of Moments in December. Guests were encouraged to snap Instagram photos in front of a backdrop based on Central Park in New York City, where Girls is set. The Big Apple-inspired area had lampposts, trees, shrubs, and backdrops decked with New York City architecture.
Photo: Becca Lemire
David Copperfield helped produce the L.A.'s Promise "A Night of Magic" gala in October. The producers at Chad Hudson Events worked with Copperfield's team to set up a photo booth that made it look as though guests were floating in midair in front of the famous magician. In reality, the station had a potted plant placed sideways against a wall, while attendees stood on a metal stand that was hidden from the camera by clothing and feet.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2Me Studio
To introduce its new line of men's grooming products and promote its partnership with Space Expedition Corporation to send 22 fans on a flight beyond Earth's atmosphere, Axe built its own space academy in January. The brand turned the Cullman Hall of the Universe at the American Museum of Natural History into its secret space headquarters for the launch event, placing a moon-landing-inspired photo op area up front.
Photo: Getty Images for Axe
Last fall’s New Yorkers for Children gala had a "light the way" theme, inspired by the nonprofit's mission to improve the lives of young people. David Stark handled the decor, embellishing a photo backdrop of a forest scene with white birch trees, lush greenery, and a path lit by lanterns.
Photo: Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com
In November, NBC once again hosted Democracy Plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York, a free interactive, election-focused exhibit and promotion for the public that also served as its election-night coverage hub. Inside the Rockefeller Plaza concourse, people lined up to have their photos taken in side-by-side replicas of the White House press room and the Oval Office.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
For Dos Equis's "Most Interesting Masquerade," held in Chelsea's historic Masonic Hall in New York and produced by Mirrorball, body painter Craig Tracy drew half a lion's face on the sides of two models. When the models sat back-to-back inside a gold picture frame, the full face of the lion was visible and formed the backdrop of a photo op.
Photo: Courtesy of Mirrorball
For last year’s American Heart Association gala in Seattle, event designer Matthew Parker created a photo backdrop for the Kentucky Derby-themed event that included a life-size papier-mâché horse made from more than 5,000 individually placed construction-paper strips.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Parker Events
To promote its new line of Outdoor Life apparel, Sears built a campsite-themed area in New York’s Times Square last October. Guests could pose in a photo op area that was set up to look like a real campsite, with a tent, faux grass, a fire pit, and outdoorsy props.
Photo: Getty Images
Transitions Optical, working with chef Robert Irvine, had a two-story activation at the recent South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Grand Tasting Village. Inside the structure, guests posed at a Mad Hatter's tea-party-themed dining set with props, including cutouts of Irvine’s face.
Photo: Elizabeth Renfrow for BizBash
For a recent wedding in New York, Oh Snap Smile constructed a unique photo booth environment: Guests were shot from above while lounging in a bed strewn with custom pillows to use as props.
Photo: Courtesy of Oh Snap! Smile
For e-commerce company Vente-Privee USA's one-year anniversary party held last November in New York, StudioBooth set up a custom photo set with fall leaves and vintage props, designed to mimic the company’s fall campaign. The images were turned into animated GIFs that were emailed to guests.
Photo: Anna Sekula
Alison Events Planning & Design arranged white dahlias in wooden trays as a display for escort cards at a birthday party.
Photo: Meg Smith Photography
For a wedding at Union Station in Los Angeles, Sterling Engagements displayed escort cards printed to look like train tickets inside vintage suitcases.
Photo: Callaway Gable Photography
A Great Gatsby-themed wedding planned by Swank Productions Inc. featured escort cards arranged inside of a vintage card catalogue.
Photo: Sean T. Smith
Fête printed seating assignments on vinyl and elevated it above a square birch bar.
Photo: Jimmie Fishbein
Lindsay Landman Events placed a display of candles in white shelves behind a clear table holding escort cards.
Photo: Gustavo Campos Photography
A cirque performer helped guests reach escort cards suspended from the ceiling at a wedding designed by Gloria Wong Design and Jubilee Lau Events.
Photo: Michelle Walker Photography
Table 6 Productions avoided the problem of making guests wait for drinks at their table by attaching escort cards to cocktails.
Photo: Travis Broxton for Broxton Photography
Poppies & Posies set up a display of cookbooks wrapped with patterned fabrics that corresponded to the table number displays. Wedding guests found their names on the bookmarks and sat at the table that matched the fabric.
Photo: Robert Sukrachand
Jes Gordon/Proper Fun applied a vinyl appliqué printed with guests’ names and table assignments to an illuminated structure from Taylor Creative Inc.
Photo: Andre Maier Photography
An Unopened Hotel
During New York Fashion Week in 2008, Interview magazine hosted a relaunch at the Standard New York. Hundreds of guests filled the ground floor and the penthouse of the construction site—the hotel wasn't scheduled to open until the following year—for a surreal, red-dominated party.
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash
