Benefits San Francisco 2019

Up from #3
Revelers don’t have to love classical music to love the San Francisco Symphony’s opening gala. The sellout event—which starts with four concurrent donor dinners and ends with a traffic-stopping after-party in City Center—is one of the best parties of the year. In 2018, 2,245 guests attended. For the main concert, the symphony brings in a marquee performer to join the orchestra for a program that spans both classical and pop. (Recent guests have included Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Kelsey Grammer.) Organizers declined to disclose the fund-raising totals from the night, but past estimates suggest upward of $2 million to support the organization’s educational programs. Next: September 4, 2019

Up from #4
The San Francisco Opera Ball has a dramatic arc similar to the pageantry patrons see on the stage. It starts with red carpet promenade of ticket holders in their finery, followed by dinner and toasting. The crescendo is a performance in the War Memorial Opera House. The grand finale? More food, drinks, music, and dancing under the Rotunda at San Francisco City Hall. More than 700 guests, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, gathered for the 2018 event. Like any great aria, the effects of the night linger long past the final note: Proceeds for the ball, which the organization declined to publish, support the Opera Guild’s education programs. Next: September 6, 2019

Up from #5
The first major soirée on the social calendar each calendar year, the San Francisco Ballet’s opening gala showcases the organization’s stylistic versatility and diversity. The program at the 2019 gala included eight performances, one of which was a world premiere by a female choreographer. Similar to the other prominent museum and arts galas in the city, it’s an evening in three acts: dinner, performance, and after-party. The after-party, which lasts until 1 a.m., includes a V.I.P. lounge where top donors enjoy live entertainment, luxury cocktails, and an oyster bar while socializing with ballet dancers. About 3,000 guests attended the 2018 gala, more than $3 million for ballet productions, scholarships for ballet students, and community education programs. Next: January 16, 2020

Up from #6
In San Francisco, it’s cool to love science and the science museum, so the annual Big Bang Gala benefiting the California Academy of Sciences is consistently a hot ticket. A more glamorous version of the museum’s weekly late-night After Dark parties, Big Bang includes cocktails, a seated dinner, and themed lectures among the museum’s world-class exhibits. (The most recent gala, which raised $2.5 million, featured discussions about the unique biodiversity of the Galápagos.) In 2019, recording artist St. Vincent brought star power outside the museum’s planetarium when she deejayed the after-party as her tune-spinning alter-ego, St. Vicious. Next: Spring 2020

The highest-grossing benefit in the city for years, Tipping Point sunsetted its annual gala in 2019 in favor of a fresh fund-raising event strategy. The organization, which aims to address the Bay Area’s homeless crisis, held a small benefit in May away from the usual media attention and will be debuting a new, musically-driven concept called Amplify at Oakland’s Fox Theatre in October. Next: October 2019

Up from #8
A black-tie event for 500 guests at the Ritz-Carlton with dinner, music, dancing, and a competitive auction, the Hope Gala is San Francisco’s highest-grossing annual benefit for Type 1 Diabetes research. Over the past 20 years, the celebration has raised over $25 million in support of JDRF. The 2019 event, presented by Salesforce, added $1.6 million to the foundation’s local fund-raising tally. Next: May 16, 2020

Part fund-raiser, part recognition ceremony, the American Red Cross’s annual gala returned to San Francisco’s City Hall in 2019 for its 25th-anniversary soiree. Some 450 guests gathered for the most recent bash, raising more than $1 million for the organization. Highlights from the live auction included rare experiences like a National Geographic-curated trip to New Orleans. In addition to dinner and dancing, organizers surprised guests with a Vanity Portrait Studio (similar to the Vanity Fair portrait concept at the Academy Awards after-party), so glammed-up revelers walked away with art-directed shots to remember the night. Next: Spring 2020

Up from #9
Each year, the SFJazz Gala celebrates a Lifetime Achievement Award honoree while raising money for the next generation of jazz music. The party is centered around the gala concert, which features all-star collaborations—in 2019, Irakere 45, Omara Portuondo, Dianne Reeves, Corinne Bailey Rae, Stefon Harris, and Leyanis and Jessie Valdés all performed—and wraps with a late-night after-party. Proceeds support growing its artistic and education programs, presenting more than 400 concerts and bringing education initiatives to some 23,000 students each year. Next: January 30, 2020

Up from #10
Sustainability is one of the buzziest terms in the Bay Area right now, and nothing is more sustainable than reusing materials. The Oakland Museum of California has been embracing the trend since 1959 with its annual White Elephant Sale, a massive rummage sale and fund-raiser each spring. The event raises more than $2 million annually for the museum, making it the organization’s single largest source of revenue. While the regular, two-day sale in the spring is free to the public, competitive bargain hunters can pay $18 to $20 to attend the preview sale in January. More than 14,000 shoppers attended the event in 2019. Next: March 7-8, 2020

Up from #12
Notes & Words pulls celebrity talent from the music, dramatic, and literary worlds for a one-night blend of music and storytelling. In 2019, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, actress Helen Hunt, and author Andrew Sean Greer headlined the event. Photographer and former Children’s Hospital patient Galen Ducey describes the annual tradition as "entertainment that has been distilled into a pixie dust elixir for the soul.” More than 1,200 guests attended the 10th-anniversary event in 2019, raising more than $3.2 million for Benioff Children’s Hospital. Next: April 2020

Eighties music sensation Huey Lewis is the honorary chair of this fund-raiser for Lifehouse, an organization serving people with developmental disabilities. The event celebrated its 65th year in 2019, when 500 guests gathered to raise $600,000 for the organization’s programs. As the name would suggest, the event is known for its food and wine pairings, including selections from 50 local restaurants and wineries. The most recent event also included a private concert with yacht rock legends Mustache Harbor. Next: April 18, 2020

Up from #13
At the Guardsmen’s Wine Auction benefit, Bay Area vino lovers indulge in a winning combination of black ties and bottles. More than 45 wineries participated in the 2019 auction, where attendees bid on reserve bottles, winemaking classes, and wine country excursions. The event, held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, raised more than $500,000 for summer youth programs this year. Next: Spring 2020

Up from #15
Momentum is key at Raphael House’s annual benefit. What started more than 20 years ago as a small event has steadily grown into a sell-out party thanks to the dedication of the organization’s most loyal patrons. Television and radio personality Liam Mayclem warmed up the 500-strong crowd first as the emcee and later as the auctioneer at the event’s new location: the Four Seasons Hotel. By the end of the night, attendees had raised more than $815,930 for Raphael House and programs that help homeless families achieve stable housing and financial stability. Next: May 2020

Up from #16
The museum’s Afropolitan Ball continues to get bigger and better each year. In 2018, 500 guests filled the Fairmont Hotel’s ballroom, which was awash in pinks and purples for the “Color of Time” theme. Entertainment for the evening opened with spoken word artist Marvin K. White riffing with world-renowned saxophonist Charles McNeal, continued with a performance by pop lockers Medea Sirkas, and continued late into the night with tunes from DJ Lady Ryan. Former Mayor Willie Brown and current Mayor London Breed were both in the crowd, which included Bay Area C.E.O.s, philanthropists, and art collectors. Altogether, the event raised $1.3 million for MOAD. Next: October 19, 2019

Glide Memorial Church has earned its reputation as a radically inclusive community by opening its doors to people from all walks of life each week—and the Glide Legacy Gala is no different. Titans of industry rub shoulders with social justice warriors while jamming with Glide’s gospel choir at this fund-raiser for the Glide’s social service programs. In 2018, more than 800 guests danced the night away while raising almost $90,000 for Glide initiatives. Next: September 7, 2019

New to the list
If traditional balls and galas are where the city’s movers and shakers go to swan and air kiss, the ArtPoint Gala is where art enthusiasts go to let their hair down and dance. ArtPoint, the young professionals arm of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco network, gathers the masses annually for food, drinks, and lots of dancing. The 2019 gala, Mëtal ét Monet, was a nod to Monet’s role as “the undeniable rockstar of Impressionism.” ArtPoint transformed the De Young into a 1980s greenhouse for the night and encouraged more than 800 partygoers to sport massive shoulder pads, big hair, and their best metal style in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek theme. Next: Spring 2020

For more than 20 years, San Franciscans have been donating money to throw local officials, personalities, and the occasional celebrity into the pool at the Phoenix Hotel. Fund-raising starts online months before the “tossees” make their big splash, and continues until the final cannonball. A departure from some of the fussier affairs on the philanthropic calendar, Pool Toss is a laidback party to benefit a worthy cause: In 2018, 500 guests raised $400,000 for the Tenderloin After-School Program. Next: October 15, 2019