#1 Benefit
More than 1,200 attendees gathered at the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium for the 2016 block-party style event, raising $13.3 million to fight poverty and homelessness in the Bay Area. Thanks to a partnership with Another Planet Entertainment, the entertainment is always a highlight: In 2016, Alabama Shakes performed. Next: Spring 2017
#3 Benefit
January heats up with a taste of the ballet season to come. Some 900 deep-pocketed donors start the evening with a formal dinner, while more budget-conscious supporters choose tickets for the performance and after-party. Altogether, last year’s event generated about $2.6 million for the ballet’s programs. Following the show, revelers make their way to City Hall for cocktails and dancing under the rotunda. Next: January 19, 2017
#4 Benefit
Opera superstars Renée Fleming and Susan Graham will join the orchestra for its opening-night performance this year, followed by an after-party that shuts down traffic outside the symphony hall. Symphony officials declined to disclose the event’s fund-raising total but say it’s the organization’s largest benefit of the year. Proceeds support the orchestra’s education programs, which provide music education to more than 75,000 Bay Area schoolchildren each year. Next: September 7, 2016
#5 Benefit (new to the list)
The invitation-only, star-studded affair is regularly featured in glossy magazines such as Vogue, Town & Country, and Harper’s Bazaar. In 2016, the 365 guests raised more than $400,000 for the museum’s exhibitions and programs while dining and dancing at the Legion of Honor. Next: March 2017
#6 Benefit (up from #9)
The city’s coolest science fair starts with dinner and science lectures and ends with DJs, food trucks, photo booths, cocktails, and dancing under a living roof. The gala raises more than $2 million for the California Academy of Sciences. Next: April 2017
#7 Benefit
The largest and longest-running charity wine auction in the city features more than 40 top wineries. Proceeds from the event benefit Guardsmen efforts to send kids to camp and school. More than 400 guests attend the black-tie-optional gala, raising more than $2 million for children’s programs. Next: Spring 2017
#8 Benefit
The Bay Area nonprofit’s follow-up to its 2015 Joni Mitchell tribute was 5!, an SFJazz Collective performance celebrating its fifth season lineup. No matter the theme, the party always serves up cocktails, bites, and, of course, music at SFJazz’s Hayes Valley concert hall (the nation’s first stand-alone building for jazz). Past events have raised more than $1 million for music education programs. Next: Spring 2017
#9 Benefit
The foundation’s gala raised more than $1.7 million in 2016 to fund research on type 1 diabetes. The event included a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, dinner, dancing, and an after-party at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. Next: Spring 2017
#10 Benefit
The legendary rummage sale has been running for 58 years and takes place in a 96,000-square-foot warehouse with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers. In 2016, the event raised $2.13 million for the Oakland Museum of California. Next: March 4-5, 2017
#11 Benefit
The annual Lifehouse fund-raiser starts with dinner prepared by chefs from 25 of the Bay Area’s best restaurants and wine pairings from 25 wineries. This year’s entertainment featured a Journey tribute band, a live auction, and a fine jewelry raffle. Longtime honorary chairman Huey Lewis led the benefit once again, helping the organization raise $500,000 for programs for people with developmental disabilities. Next: Spring 2017
#12 Benefit (new to the list)
The annual black-tie event both raises money for and recognizes Bay Area disaster responders. The sold-out 2016 event, held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom, raised almost $600,000 for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery programs and services. Next: March 11, 2017
#13 Benefit
The benefit brings authors, actors, and musicians together to raise money for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. More than 2,000 people gathered for the 2016 event at Oakland’s Fox Theatre to see Stone Foxes and Chris Martin of Coldplay with authors BJ Novak, Dave Eggers, and Kelly Corrigan. By the end of the night, they had raised $1.5 million for the hospital. Next: Spring 2017
#14 Benefit
In 2016, the event raised $450,000 to serve more than 7,000 Bay Area youth and their families. The fair, a two-day auction and shopping extravaganza, kicks off with a gala at the Bentley Reserve. Next: Spring 2017
#15 Benefit (new to the list)
Celebrating one of San Francisco's most beloved and iconic charitable organizations, 100 percent of the evening’s proceeds—$150,000 in 2015—benefit Glide programs to break the poverty and marginalization cycle. Now in its seventh year, the fund-raiser includes musical performances from the internationally renowned Glide Ensemble and the Change Band and beats from DJ KingMost. Next: August 13, 2016
#16 Benefit (new to the list)
For 22 years, the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation has hosted a concert and gala benefiting Meals On Wheels of San Francisco and AIDS Legal Referral Panel. Now Northern California's largest annual AIDS benefit and gala—950 attendees raised $130,000 last year—the event features stars from Broadway, film, television, and the recording industry, plus the best of Bay Area talent. This year's event will feature Constantine Maroulis, Carole Cook, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Jai Rodriguez, among others. Next: August 21, 2016
