Benefit Events

Compiled by Deena Zaidi 206-876-5415, @PSBJ_Lists dzaidi@bizjournals.com

LARGEST BENEFITS EVENTS

RANKED BY CASH GIVING IN WASHINGTON STATE IN 2019

Event name (prior rank)

11 44th Annual Hutch Holiday Gala 1

Organizers

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Amount raised 2019 Event Date 2019 Event venue

$13.4 million Dec. 7, 2019 Sheraton Grand Seattle

22 20th Annual Costco Children’s Golf Classic1

2 Costco Wholesale Corp. $10.4 million Aug. 18, 2019 T-Mobile Park

33 Auction of Washington Wines August Weekend 5 Auction of Washington Wines $4.5 million Aug. 15, 2019 Chateau Ste Michelle Winery

44 Obliteride 8

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center $4.14 million Aug. 10, 2019 Gas Works Park

55 JDRF Dream Gala 9

66 2019 LLS Firefighter Stairclimb 7

77 Dreambuilder’s Ball 4

88 Big Climb Seattle 6

99 43rd annual Jungle Party *

JDRF Seattle Guild (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) $3.5 million March 9, 2019 Seattle Sheraton

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society $2.9 million March 10, 2019 Columbia Center

Virginia Mason Foundation $2.75 million May 11, 2019 Westin Seattle

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society $2.7 million March 24, 2019 Columbia Center

Woodland Park Zoo $2.17 million July 12, 2019 Woodland Park Zoo

1010 Celebration of Light 19

1111 Providence O’Christmas Trees 17

1212 FareStart Great Food, Better Lives Gala Auction 11

1313 Mary's Place Shine Gala 10

1144 Opening Night 2019 *

Fulcrum Foundation $2.1 million Aug. 2, 20192 Sheraton Grand Seattle

Providence Home and Community Care $2.09 million Dec. 4, 2019 Westin Seattle

FareStart $2.05 million Oct. 6, 2019 Washington State Convention Center

Mary’s Place $2 million3 Oct. 11, 2019 Bell Harbor’s Elliott Hal

Seattle Symphony $1.9 million Sept. 14, 2019 Sheraton Seattle

1515 Wish Night Gala and Auction 13

1616 The JFS Community of Caring Luncheon 15

Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington $1.67 million March 23, 2019 Westin Downtown Seattle

Jewish Family Service dba JFS $1.62 million April 2, 2019 Sheraton Grand Seattle

1717 Bandage Ball 20

1717 Tuxes & Tails 12

1199 16th annual Key to Hope Luncheon *

1199 DOORS: Opening Doors to the Arts 22

Overlake Medical Center Foundation $1.5 million May 4, 2019 Hyatt Regency Bellevue

Seattle Humane $1.5 million3 May 11, 2019 Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue

Plymouth Housing Group $1.3 million Sept. 20, 2019 Westin Seattle

Seattle Theatre Group $1.3 million May 4, 2019 Paramount Theatre

1199 Festival of Trees: Season of Miracles *

Providence Medical Group $1.3 million Dec. 7, 2019 Tulalip Resort Casino

2222 EvergreenHealth Foundation Gala 18

EvergreenHealth Foundation $1.2 million May 27, 2019 Marymoor Park

2222 Seattle Dances 23

2244 Kids Auction 24

2525 A Night for the 5th Gala *

A three-day event, which started Aug. 17 with a VIP party at Mojai Event was cancelled due to snow and the amount was raised through marketing channels. Approximate amount Plymouth Housing Group $1.2 million March 9, 2019 Fremont Studios

Boys & Girls Clubs of King County $1.14 million Oct. 12, 2019 Hyatt Regency Seattle

The 5th Avenue Theatre $1.1 million May 10, 2019 King St. Ballroom and Perch R CLOSER LOOK

JUST MISSED THE LIST

Event name

26 Beer & Bites by South Sound Care

27 28

Seattle Rep Annual Gala by Seattle Repertory Theatre

Premier Chefs Dinner by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

29 34th Annual Luncheon by YouthCare

30

25th Annual Auction Gala by Kindering Center

ABOUT THE LIST This list has been updated since the original publication date, Sept. 4, 2020.

Information was obtained from firm representatives, company websites and PSBJ reporting. Information could not be independently verified by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Only those that responded to our inquiries or had reliable information available elsewhere were listed. In case of ties, companies are listed alphabetically.

NEED A COPY OF THE LIST? For information on obtaining reprints, web permissions and commemorative plaques, call 503-219-3431.

WANT TO BE ON THE LIST? If you wish to be surveyed when The List is next updated, or if you wish to be considered for other Lists, email your contact information to Deena Zaidi at dzaidi@bizjournals.com.

OPINION

GETTY IMAGES

The need for giving is great. Here’s how to make an impact.

The need for engagement and giving has seldom been greater than right now.

We are in the midst of historic change and upheaval: the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the surge in demand for social justice brought to the fore by the death of George Floyd. Nonprofits and community organizations reeling from the pandemic’s strain on their operations are now facing new calls for investments and contributions that prioritize social justice, promote diversity and ensure equity.

As critical stakeholders in a better future, Puget Sound’s business leaders are being called to step up more now than ever before. We have an opportunity — and even an obligation – to help our communities rebuild and move toward greater social good.

Recent efforts by concerned community members to combat the impact of Covid-19 can serve as inspiration. We have seen many make personal contributions, tap private foundations and donor-advised funds, speed up giving from multiyear pledges and change or eliminate restrictions on grants. Many individuals have called directly on our elected officials to focus on pressing issues that needed to be addressed. And many have invested their time and engaged their networks to make a further impact. They put their financial, social and even political capital — their full balance sheet — to work.

As the uncertain effects of the pandemic and social demands continue, an increased focus on how to support change through charitable donations and impact investing will be critical to rebuilding and changing our community. From direct donations to nonprofits to social investments, such as through certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), the good news is there are more ways to make a positive impact.

Foundations: Private foundations, especially those with strong balance sheets, can consider giving more than 5% of their assets in 2020, the minimum annual distribution required by law. Many may also want to assess and execute new program-related investments (PRIs) through loans, equity stakes or guarantees aligned with a specific mission. Lastly, foundations could consider investing in vehicles that have environmental, social or governance outcomes in addition to financial returns.

Charitable lead trusts: Recent tax law changes and historically low interest rates have made charitable lead trusts an attractive tool for providing support over many years. With no specific minimum or maximum payout rates, they can offer the grantor a great deal of flexibility for when and how funds are distributed.

Donor-advised funds (DAFs): Many DAFs have been front-loaded with charitable contributions that have been invested and grown over time. Now, DAFs can be used as a key source of funding for charities of choice or to fulfill future pledges sooner.

Stock, asset and cash gifts: Stocks and other assets that have gained in value since purchase can be donated at their current market value, allowing a nonprofit to then sell and put the proceeds to use as it sees fit while also providing the donor with tax benefits. As an outcome of the CARES Act, cash gifts up to 100% of adjusted gross income can be claimed as deduction for the entire amount, as long as you itemize deductions. And, those over the age of 70 ½ can give up to $100,000 directly to charity from an IRA and get the benefits of a tax-free distribution.

As the US economy reopens, each of us has a chance to put our financial, social and political capital to work toward a better society. Healthy communities and a strong business environment do not happen by chance. It is up to each of us to forge new alliances and put more of our resources to work to make positive change happen.

Kristen Bauer is CEO of Laird Norton Wealth Management.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION ORGANIZATIONS ADDRESS URGENT NEED

FOOD LIFELINE • foodlifeline.org | NORTHWEST HARVEST • northwestharvest.org | SECOND HARVEST • 2-harvest.org

CHIEF SEATTLE CLUB | chiefseattleclub.org BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF KING COUNTY | positiveplace.org

More than 2 million people in Washington state are food insecure, according to a report from Northwest Harvest. It is one of three nonprofit food distribution lead organizations working collaboratively to respond to the statewide emergency. And that number is expected to rise as the economic effects of Covid-19 persist.

By some predictions one out of three of this state’s residents will need help getting food on the table.

Second Harvest serves all 21 counties in Eastern Washington and five in Northern Idaho, supplying food to 250 partners, including food banks and nutrition programs.

Chief of Staff Drew Meuer says they are giving up to 1.4 million pounds of food a week, 50% higher than pre-Covid numbers. That food includes three kinds of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 25-pound boxes: produce, dairy and a combination that adds meats, such as cold cuts and chicken.

Every Friday at the Spokane County Interstate Fairgrounds, Meuer says they serve up to 900 families with the help of the National Guard.

“Visualize, if you can, a massive parking lot, and a rolling serpentine line of vehicles backed up 150 deep. It’s staggering,” he says. “On one Saturday at the warehouse we had up to 600 cars representing 700 families lined up.”

The need statewide is urgent and continues to grow.

“What keeps me up at night,” says Meuer,

SECOND HARVEST

National Guard members help Second Harvest in Spokane distribute up to 1.4 million pounds of food a week to people in long lines of cars.

“is we’re going to see another spike in need because pandemic benefit programs will begin to sunset and expire by the end of July, and that will put more pressure on food banks.”

In Western Washington, Food Lifeline supplies 300 food banks, shelters and meal programs with roughly half of their needed food. Food Lifeline’s Mark Coleman says they’re packing up about 1.6 million pounds of food a week in 22-pound boxes, with the help of about 150 National Guard. This is in addition to a million pounds of food a month they distribute to agency food banks.

“We spent $5.4 million in the last 60 days,” he says.

CHIEF SEATTLE CLUB SERVES DURING TUMULTUOUS TIMES

Chief Seattle Club Executive Director Colleen Echohawk is concerned about the 1,500 homeless American Indian and Alaska Native people served annually by her nonprofit. “We’re constantly changing and adapting to this new world. It’s important that this community is served and offered love, comfort and protection,” she says. The 50-year-old agency has two locations: the main one in Pioneer Square and a second COLLEEN one with 35 housing units in Sodo. ECHOHAWK Echohawk says every night in Seattle there Chief Seattle Club are 1,000 Native people are homeless, and executive director there’s a huge need for culturally appropriate services. In addition to showers, laundry and housing, they address spiritual healing practices and traditional medicines.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hindered much of the activities, including shutting down a workforce development program and moving daily food service for hundreds of people outside.

The recent protests have also affected Chief Seattle Club, as permits for a crane to help build 80 units of housing were canceled to not interfere with the marches. The organization secured a grant to hire a case manager to help incarcerated Native people at the end of their prison sentence in King County’s early release program. The case manager gets them a hotel room, cell phone, food and some sense of stability as they adjust.

“If we didn’t help them now they would fall into homelessness, coming out into a world that is in total chaos with no jobs to be had and lots of stress.”

The organizations also support those who are Covid-19 positive, she says, getting them into quarantine sites and medical help.

Echohawk is grateful for new and longtime donors, but that doesn’t allay her concerns.

“I am very worried about next year and beyond, and the economic fallout of all this,” she says. “It’s not easy to plan and I’m thinking that through right now.”

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS SHIFT SERVICES TO MEET DEMAND

Laurie Black had been on the job as CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of King County a little over a year when the Covid-19 virus hit. Their March 11 fundraising lunch was shifted to a virtual setting, with almost $650,000 raised — the same amount expected with the in-person event. When schools were abruptly closed, BGCKC moved swiftly from after-school programs to full day programming, LAURIE BLACK charging no extra fees. Boys & Girls Clubs Concurrently, Black convened a health of King County and safety team, developing a plan that CEO included taking each child’s temperature before entering the club, banning any stuffed animal toys, and disinfecting clubs four times a day, starting with 12 free-standing clubs and growing to 20 clubs.

Boys & Girls Clubs of King County’s response to the pandemic has been widely recognized as an example of leadership nationally, extending its daily offerings to serve the most vulnerable children, but also, at no cost, children of essential and front line workers who had no means of child care.

The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program loan only covers employees’ salaries, utilities and rent.

“We went from a strong healthy financial situation to a revenue drop of 90%,” Black says.

This summer they will serve 1,100 children daily, with reimagined field trips and teacher-facilitated online learning, as well as offering the Clubs’ own brain-enrichment programs. Seattle Mariners donated backpacks for each child, and Office Depot donated money for supplies.

“With kids, things are always changing and we have to be flexible, adapting to the need in every community,” Black says. “The main thing is that our clubs are the safest place for children to come and grow.”