San Francisco's Top 100 Events 2018 - Benefits

#1 Benefit
It may only be in its 12th year, but the gala was once again the highest-grossing benefit in the city, raising more than $14 million in 2018. The guest list for the event always reads like a who’s-who in the Bay Area, ranging from Fortune 500 C.E.O.s to professional athletes to billionaire philanthropists. Then there’s the top-tier talent working the event: Most recently, that included entertainment from Leon Bridges and DJ Kiss, a dinner by Tyler Florence and Paula LeDuc catering, and event design by Stanlee Gatti. The pièce de résistance? Attendees could flex their philanthropic muscle in both cash and cryptocurrency. Next: May 2019

#2 Benefit
Of all the glitzy fund-raisers in San Francisco, the Mid-Winter Gala is the hardest ticket to score. While the event location traditionally alternates between the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, the guest list remains limited to a relatively small 425 guests and is by invitation only. In addition to the local social set, there are always a few seats reserved for celebrities and society mavens. In 2018, the crowd included Lily Collins, Freida Pinto, and Vanessa Getty. Next: Winter 2019

#3 Benefit (up from #5)
One of the biggest and best parties on the arts calendar, the San Francisco Symphony kicks off each season with its black-tie gala. The night begins with four concurrent donor dinners, followed by drinks and a concert in the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, and finishes with a block party that literally shuts down traffic. In 2017, 2,500 guests showed up for the sold-out performance featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The organization is expecting a similarly large crowd in 2018, when violinist Itzhak Perlman will join conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and company on stage. Next: September 5, 2018

#4 Benefit
Ball gowns, feasts, jewels, dancing—the Opera Ball is almost as grand as the performance itself. The 96th season opener in 2018 will boast the traditional McCall’s-catered dinner and a double bill of one-act operas: Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. But the evening is not all about vibrato and divas: After the stage lights dim, guests cross the street to the after-party at City Hall, where they dance the night away with the cover band, Pop Rocks. Proceeds from the seven-figure party benefit the San Francisco Opera Association and Opera Guild’s education and community programs. Next: September 7, 2018

#5 Benefit
The Ballet Gala begins with a taste of what’s to come in the evening: Patrons gather in City Hall for dinner while members of the company perform short dances from the season ahead. Following a full-length performance at the War Memorial Opera House, guests return to City Hall for dancing, cocktails, and a smorgasbord of sweets and snacks. The evening is particularly popular because guests can buy tickets for the full slate of events, just the performance, or just the after-party; 3,500 supporters attend opening-night festivities each year, raising millions for the ballet’s programs. Next: January 23, 2019

#6 Benefit
The gala is not just a chance to geek out in the California Academy of Sciences after hours; it’s also an epic party. In 2018, 2,500 guests raised $2.35 million for the museum at the annual science soiree. There was a DJ set by T-Pain, a silent disco in the coral reef, a “playground for adults,” and plenty of food and drinks to keep revelers celebrating long into the night. Next: Spring 2019

#7 Benefit (up from #9)
The gala moved from the Julia Morgan Ballroom to San Francisco City Hall in 2018 and celebrated the new venue with a party for the ages. The event is an opportunity to recognize Red Cross volunteers and the communities they serve, and the 430-person-strong crowd enthusiastically supported the organization by raising more than $1 million for relief efforts. Model Devon Aoki joined actors James Van Der Beek and Mehcad Brooks—along with a red-clad sea of Bay Area do-gooders—for the after-party set from Grammy-nominated DJ and producer Steve Aoki. Next: March 23, 2019

#8 Benefit
In 2018, more than 500 guests helped the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation raise $2.78 million to fight Type 1 Diabetes. The event, held at the Ritz-Carlton, is the organization’s premier fund-raiser in the Bay Area, complete with a dinner, dancing, an auction, and the Fund-a-Cure paddle raise. Over the last 20 years, the celebration has raised over $25 million in support of the foundation and diabetes research. Next: May 18, 2019

#9 Benefit
What do you get when you combine 900 music lovers and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band? Try $1.2 million to support music and education programs in the Bay Area. Between a benefit concert and the AfterJam party honoring top talent in the music industry, SFJazz’s winter gala heats up an otherwise slow period on the San Francisco social calendar. Online jazz hub All About Jazz also loves the event, writing: “When SFJAZZ decides to throw a party, it does not fool around." Next: January 31, 2019

#10 Benefit
For the last 60 years, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board has filled a 96,000-square-foot warehouse with donated goods ranging from artwork and collectibles to furniture and clothing during the annual bazaar. Easily the most sustainably minded fund-raiser on the list, the Oakland Museum raised more than $2.2 million at its 2018 White Elephant Sale. The proceeds are the single largest source of private support for the museum. Next: March 2-3, 2019

#11 Benefit
Each spring, Lifehouse Agency dazzles guests with fare from 50 of the Bay Area’s best restaurants and winemakers as part of its Great Chefs and Wineries Gala. The 450 attendees at the 2018 gala raised almost $500,000 to provide support services to people with developmental disabilities. Between food, wine tastings, and the outdoor setting in the rolling hills of wine country, the event is one of the best ways to spend a spring evening. Next: April 13, 2019

#12 Benefit
One of the most memorable moments from any benefit in the last year was when Violet Grohl, daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, upstaged her very famous father singing Adele’s “When We Were Young” at Notes & Words. It was the type of “wow” moment the fund-raiser is known for creating. At the eighth annual event in 2018, writers and musicians once again came together to perform in front of 1,700 guests at the Fox Theatre, raising $1.8 million for children’s healthcare. Next: April 27, 2019

#13 Benefit
More than 40 wineries team up with the Guardsmen each year for the city’s longest-running wine auction. Forget about dinner and dancing—though there’s plenty of that, too—the star of this black-tie optional party is the good-natured bidding wars on world-class dining experiences at restaurants like the French Laundry and Gary Danko, plus winery tours and limited edition bottles of vino. The event raises approximately $500,000 each year. Next: April 2019

#14 Benefit (up from #15)
Since 1971, Raphael House has been supporting homeless families in the Bay Area with housing and support services—a substantial undertaking for San Francisco’s only privately funded shelter and services program. For 21 years, the charity’s annual gala has helped finance those efforts. The black-tie soiree pairs the standard dancing, dining, and drinking elements with an unexpected twist: a bid-for-your-wine auction gives tables the chance to bid on premium magnums to enjoy with dinner. More than 600 supporters gathered for the event in 2018, collecting more than $775,000. Next: Spring 2019

#15 Benefit
Glide’s Legacy Gala is a departure from the usual tuxedo and designer-dress crowd. As a radically inclusive organization serving the city’s poorest and most marginalized citizens, Glide welcomes a wide swath of benefactors with its low ticket prices to the fête, which honors community organizers and features performances from the Glide Ensemble. In 2018, the party drew more than 800 guests to August Hall to raise more than $100,000 for Glide programs in the Tenderloin. Next: August 2019

#16 Benefit (new to the list)
The Museum of the African Diaspora, a contemporary art museum and Smithsonian affiliate based in SoMa, was created to celebrate black culture and creativity—and the museum’s annual gala has been raising money to support that mission since 2005. Last year, 1,000 guests flocked to the Fairmont Hotel for the sold-out Afropolitan Ball, which raised $1 million for museum programs and featured entertainment from the Hiplet Ballerinas and Dora the Band. Next: October 27, 2018

#17 Benefit (new to the list)
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 laid-back party to benefit a worthy cause: In 2017, 600 guests raised $483,000 for the Tenderloin After-School Program. Next: October 10, 2018