Washingtonians have always loved partying for a cause; somehow, that third glass of champagne or the second trip to the dessert bar seems excusable if it’s all about charity. The V.I.P. reception before the screening of the new Morgan Freeman-Jack Nicholson movie The Bucket List on Tuesday gave 150 attendees a good reason to celebrate: The event benefited Freeman’s charitable organization, Plan!t Now (formerly the Grenada Relief Fund), which is devoted to helping disaster-prone areas in the Gulf Coast and throughout North America.
Held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the event drew a young, international crowd, and even a few V.I.P.s on the global scene, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, and Freeman’s home-state congressman, Representative Bennie Thompson. Plan!t Now partnered with AARP, Oxfam America, and Warner Brothers Pictures to sponsor the screening.As many a nonprofit soldier knows, where there’s a good cause, there’s usually a tight budget, something that kept the event’s planner, Nancy Shaffer of Bravo Events by Design, in a creative frame of mind when it came to decor. Working with a tiny budget, Shaffer said she had to do a lot with a little. One answer was the high-impact, low-cost use of color: Drawing from Plan!t Now’s new logo, Shaffer outfitted the space in acid green, black, and white linens. Simple white lilies in glass vases looked intentionally stark and minimal instead of chintzy.
Even some of the smallest touches were budget-driven, like using gum balls (in bright green) in glass cylinders. Shaffer said she wanted to use pricier movie-theater treats to tie in with the film screening but switched to gum balls to save a few bucks. “When you get to do what you do all day, and do it for a cause, it’s great, but it’s challenging, because there’s just not a lot of money,” she said. Nonprofit work—and plenty of other Washington events—present similar challenges, since hosts want impact without the appearance (or budget) of excess, she said.
Following the reception, an additional 200 guests joined the group for the screening in the venue’s amphitheater.
Held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the event drew a young, international crowd, and even a few V.I.P.s on the global scene, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, and Freeman’s home-state congressman, Representative Bennie Thompson. Plan!t Now partnered with AARP, Oxfam America, and Warner Brothers Pictures to sponsor the screening.As many a nonprofit soldier knows, where there’s a good cause, there’s usually a tight budget, something that kept the event’s planner, Nancy Shaffer of Bravo Events by Design, in a creative frame of mind when it came to decor. Working with a tiny budget, Shaffer said she had to do a lot with a little. One answer was the high-impact, low-cost use of color: Drawing from Plan!t Now’s new logo, Shaffer outfitted the space in acid green, black, and white linens. Simple white lilies in glass vases looked intentionally stark and minimal instead of chintzy.
Even some of the smallest touches were budget-driven, like using gum balls (in bright green) in glass cylinders. Shaffer said she wanted to use pricier movie-theater treats to tie in with the film screening but switched to gum balls to save a few bucks. “When you get to do what you do all day, and do it for a cause, it’s great, but it’s challenging, because there’s just not a lot of money,” she said. Nonprofit work—and plenty of other Washington events—present similar challenges, since hosts want impact without the appearance (or budget) of excess, she said.
Following the reception, an additional 200 guests joined the group for the screening in the venue’s amphitheater.
The screening took place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
The Bucket List screening took place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Bravo Events by Design's Nancy Shaffer coordinated the green silk linens to match the Plan!t Now logo.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Morgan Freeman mingled with guests at the V.I.P. reception.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Blown-up posters for The Bucket List accented the space.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
A poster of Freeman's AARP magazine cover was on-site. AARP was an event sponsor.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Sweet treats capped off the reception's catering offerings.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Orchids sat atop the highboy tables.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
