“You scrimp and save and beg and borrow and where does half the money go?  Down the throats of the organizing committee.”  — Athene Seyler, “Make Mine Mink”

The 1980s and 1990s were the golden years of galas for arts charities.  Mostly because there were fewer of them.  But also because high percentages of the money actually went to the organization.

Today, putting on massive galas to feed donors – netting scant revenue to the charity but plenty of “goodwill,” “friend-raising” and resume padding – are often construed as elitist, inefficient modes of raising income.

One annual gala, or perhaps groups of organizations sharing a larger gala and splitting the receipts, might thin out the calendar and make them more financially effective.  Hundreds of hours of employee and trustee resources might well be better spent on relationship-building, not napkin swans..