Though fundraisers for worthy causes abound in central Ohio, only a select few follow the old model, inviting patrons to dress to the nines for an evening of high-class entertainment.
Those black-tie affairs that have survived have hit on and maintained systems that work – and that means hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing into the nonprofits they benefit.
Among Columbus’ biggest evenings of class and charity are…
Up on the Roof
When the new Comprehensive Cancer Center opens in 2014 on The Ohio State University campus, among the people thanked will be the organizers and patrons of Up on the Roof.
Up on the Roof is the premier black-tie event of OSU’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, and with the new hospital slated to open next year, this year’s event, which took place Oct. 12 at Chemical Abstracts Service, was especially important.
As its name implies, Up on the Roof is often held atop a building. Though a few recent events have taken place in more conventional ballroom settings, this year’s got back to its roots – in a tent atop one of the Chemical Abstracts buildings, overlooking the new Comprehensive Cancer Center building under construction in the distance.
“There are new elements brought into the event each year,” says Lindsay Heksch, an assistant director of development for the center.
It typically draws about 900 attendees, Heksch says.
A cocktail reception, dinner and dancing are on the schedule each year, but Up on the Roof is about more than just having a good times. It’s also about recognizing the center’s accomplishments as they rack up year after year – more scientific discoveries, more and better means of treatment and, ultimately, more people surviving their battles with cancer.
“It certainly gives us an opportunity to celebrate the many successes of the James,” Heksch says.
It’s also an opportunity for the younger generation, whose members may have had fewer encounters with the effects of cancer in their lifetimes, to learn about the disease and the work the center is doing to combat it.
Though black-tie events get less common every year, the organizers of Up on the Roof continue to appeal to those who appreciate the occasional opportunity to dress up and have a distinguished evening, Heksch says.
The event, which celebrated 20 years this year, has raised some $7 million for the Comprehensive Cancer Center since its inception.
Black Tie Ball
For 27 years, the Behavioral Health Services Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has been able to count on a big annual donation from the Black Tie Ball.
This year’s Black Tie Ball took place Nov. 2 at the Sheraton at Capitol Square. As usual, dancing, a silent auction, raffle drawings and a buffet were part of the evening’s entertainment, as was live music from Put-in-Bay party group the Paradise Island Band.
“People come knowing they’re going to have a good time and dance,” says event chairman emeritus Kent Smith.
Black Tie Ball Inc. was the first organization to raise money independently for Behavioral Health Services.
Though the event has evolved since 1987 – it started as the Bachelors’ Ball, inspired by a similar event in Dallas – it has retained a major goal over the years: to secure support from the community’s young professionals.
“Our focus was to try to orient young professionals into giving back to the community,” says Smith.
Smith is also a member of the event’s board and was one of the ball’s founders. He typically sees a healthy blend of longtimers and newcomers at each year’s fundraiser.
“What’s really been the key to keep the success going has been bringing new blood onto the board – new energy, new ideas, new relationships,” he says.
The board does not pay salaries and has minimal expenses for the event, so the vast majority of the ball’s revenue goes to the hospital. In 2012, it raised about $20,000, bringing the overall total to just shy of $500,000.
Nationwide Children’s has long appreciated the boost.
“It’s definitely an awareness piece for our behavioral health program as well,” says Courtney Cahill, an assistant director of development for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Nutcracker Ball
BalletMet’s performance of The Nutcracker is a holiday institution in Columbus, and its Nutcracker Ball has been an institution for almost as long.
This year’s ball – slated for Dec. 14 at the DSW corporate office – marks 30 years since the inaugural event. Organizers like to keep the most impressive aspects of the event a surprise, but the agenda always calls for dining, dancing and jaw-dropping decorations.
“I’m so very proud to my core that we have an event that’s gone on for 30 years, celebrating the holiday season, the arts in Columbus and ballet,” says Barbara Markus, assistant development director for BalletMet.
The Nutcracker Ball started out as a dinner, sometimes with horse-drawn carriages to take attendees to the Ohio Theatre for the show afterward. About 80 percent of attendees each year are returning from the year before, Markus says.
One signature aspect of the event is its tendency toward nontraditional venues. Very seldom is the ball held in a conventional event space, such as a hotel ballroom; it’s been hosted at corporate headquarters, vacant spaces, even an airplane hangar.
And uniqueness is a top priority. The decoration theme, kept under wraps until attendees arrive, is completely different each year. Cameron Mitchell, which caters the ball, always comes up with a different menu. And the evening’s signature drank has ranged from pink champagne and special martinis to ice luges with Russian vodka.
The Nutcracker Ball is BalletMet’s biggest annual fundraiser. Last year’s ball raised about $175,000; in more robust economic times, the total has topped $400,000.
“To be a big city, we have to have these big signature events, and I think the Nutcracker Ball has stood the test of time to be that,” Markus says.
Garth Bishop is editor of CityScene Magazine. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
