Smaller family fundraiser

A check-in area featured the nonprofit's colorful logo and clear Ghost chairs.

The Book Bindery offered a raw space where organizers could take over with a variety of entertainment stations.

In addition to Pink's Hot Dogs, event staffers served food from Akasha Restaurant, as well as fare from Along Came Mary and Beacon Catering. Wood-oven pizza and grilled cheese food trucks also sat in the cul-de-sac behind the Book Bindery.

At the family-friendly event, young guests sat directly in front of the stage on illuminated platforms.

Children experimented with building blocks and puzzles at the Disney “Creativity Area.”

In addition to offering Flash Tattoos and hair chalking, the “Be Unique” station gave guests the opportunity to place a message in a small bottle that would then be converted into a necklace.

In a nod to the event's "A Time For Heroes" name, artist Annie Preece worked on a Wonder Woman painting in real time at the fund-raiser.

Ink Plus Cotton teamed up with Jake Glaser's Modern Advocate organization to offer guests screen-printed T-shirts.

Girl Meets World's Sabrina Carpenter closed the event with a musical performance.

Reminiscent of an artist's studio, a table for CS Interiors designed by Casa Spazio with Atelier Turner had paper walls, ample brushes, and open jars of paint. Guests were encouraged to get creative and add to the background mural.

In the basement space of 82 Mercer, the festival's casino sponsor the Borgata created a lounge space that let attendees play casino games, snap pics in a photo booth, and paint the interactive graffiti wall, which included chocolate "paint" and "spray paint." The activation was open for three days, running from Thursday to Saturday.

To highlight the event's focus on children and fund-raising for a charter school, the 2006 Robin Hood Foundation gala had giant chalkboards in the reception area set up in New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. David Stark sketched local landmarks and iconic scenes on the walls, and, during the event, guests could add their own designs with chalk provided in bowls on the cocktail tables.

On July 28, some 1,200 guests headed out to the Watermill Center in the Hamptons for the art organization’s annual benefit, one of the season’s biggest draws for philanthropists. Inside the dinner tent a chandelier positioned over the dance floor was made up of plastic recycling bags and pink fabric streamers.

For the fourth annual Sweetlife festival, hosted by Washington eatery Sweetgreen at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the V.I.P. area’s DJ booth was outfitted with hundreds of bright orange traffic cones.

Attendees took part in intimate “tent talks,” where speakers like Colin Cowie hosted small groups for informal discussions over a picnic lunch inside tents provided by Shelter Company.

In a new take on the traditional photo backdrop, guests bounced on a trampoline before having their photo taken. Side rails around the custom station kept guests safe.

On the wooden farm tables, Hatch Creative Studio punctuated wheatgrass flats with wheat stocks and red Mason jars holding candles. Custom red bandannas printed with event details served as napkins, and family-style bowls of pickled beet, wheat berry, and kale salads sat atop platforms made from tree trunks.

The details of the event were leaked on the Internet before it took place, prompting a surge of R.S.V.P.s and a line down the block that night. Security and event staffers kept the party from becoming overwhelming by limiting the number of guests in the venue at any one time.

Moss-filled mason jars served as table numbers.

Croquet mallets in the grass added another picnic touch.

The picnic lunches—presented in baskets provided by Gifts for the Good Life—included orzo pasta, fried apple pie, a fresh pear, and a choice of a turkey-and-provolone sandwich or a Southern-style vegetable bánh mì sandwich.

Each attendee at the July 4 event was given a picnic blanket, and the team from Macy's Parade & Entertainment Group brought in seven food trucks to serve picnic fare like hot dogs.

As part of the "California Cool" theme, organizers set up a lemonade stand near the registration table and served lemonade to guests.

The colorful plastic and paper wristbands used at concerts, festivals, and other big events can be customized to show a designated hashtag. To encourage guests at its Party in the Garden fund-raiser to upload photos via Instagram, the Museum of Modern Art in New York handed out entry bracelets printed with the hashtag #PitG2012.

Bright yellow construction hats served as on-theme—and easy-to-read—custom table numbers at the Make It Right gala, which was held in May at the Sugar Mill in New Orleans.

In February, the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay hosted its “Big Night” benefit, which included the big and little siblings alike. Big and little brothers were on hand to pass out photo booth props like glasses and mustaches to guests.

In November last year, the 10th anniversary of Keep a Child Alive's Black Ball included locked jewelry boxes on tables. At a designated point, waiters placed a key with each donor's name on it onto the table. The keys unlocked the silver boxes, which contained personal thank-you notes from Alicia Keys and unique gifts like origami paper elephants.

The New World Symphony Gala in Miami provided guests with a memorable takeaway that underscored the event's purpose. Valet staffers placed individual thank-you notes written by the symphony's musician fellows in guests' cars.

Marie Aiello Design Studio’s elegant Great Gatsby picnic spread included fresh flower arrangements, a tiered display of cookies, 1920s-style accessories, and a façade of the yellow 1929 Duesenberg Leonardo DiCaprio drives in Baz Luhrmann’s movie.