Event Planning - Glide Fundraiser $3.4M
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| Click photo for news article by SF Gate. |
Congratulations to Glide in surpassing last year's fundraising amount of $2.3M in the 17th Annual eBay Power Lunch with Warren Buffett! The bidding for a lunch at Smith & Wollensky in New York with seven guests was auctioned beginning June 5, 2016 thru June 10th. The unveiling of the winning amount and party with hosted wine and passed appetizers was held at Dirty Water in San Francisco on Friday, June 10, 2016. Watch live footage of the event with live performances below:
Other news articles:
Anonymous Bidder Bidder Pays $3.46 million for Warren Buffett Lunch - Reuters
Warren Buffett Lunch Auction Won by Mystery Bidder for $3,456,789 - New York Times
Private Buffet Lunch Goes to Highest Bidder for Over $3.4M - MSN.com
DW was so honored to be part of such a wonderful event. Continue reading for a behind-the-scenes look at putting an event like this together from the venue and Event Planner / Events Director.
My former Events Manager took the initial lead on this project. I participated in the initial walk-thru and loved hearing the feedback during the tour of the venue. Our clients wanted a new venue and we are about to turn ONE! New - CHECK!
My Events Manager left DW and I took over the event to finalize details, timeline and the most challenging of all: some tech. I can troubleshoot a Xerox machine, I have set up phone systems for an office and I can clearly manage a blog. I am now a bit more knowledgeable on internet speeds and what it takes to run a live stream for an event like this. A few months back, we have participated in a live streaming training from the makers of Glenmorangie in Scotland, with other cities such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois also participating. The feed wasn't as smooth due to our capabilities but it got done. This event required much more than what we initially had. After two days and eight hours of tech assistance, we got it done.
A special shout out to Tech Collective and our neighbors at Runway, and a superb Office Manager.
The set-up required the use of our entire facility, plus our patio space and the lobby of the building. A sound room was created, stationed cameras on elevated platforms were positioned, additional plasma televisions were in use, including the showing of the Warriors game for the NBA Finals, a table selling t-shirts, a step and repeat for photos and we had a full band, 20+ choir members and an elevated platform used as a stage.
The event began at 5:30 PM but I had to be on-site for move-in at 8 AM. As I commute, I arrived at 7 AM. It was going to be a 16-hour day.
Though the event to the public began at 5:30 PM, I had line-up with service staff explaining the days's events, timeline, layout, assigned responsibilities, the menu, etc at 2:00 PM. My client was nice enough to listen in and express his gratitude for being there and making the event a success. I was very proud of the entire staff in executing a wonderful event.
By the end of the night, I had happy clients and guests, relieved vendors and staff mentioning to me that the event was easy. That is my job to ensure this is the outcome every single time. The bonus for me was that DW and our efforts played a part on a historic evening that raised $3.4 MILLION for San Francisco's homeless, poor and vulnerable residents. This amount is tied as the highest bid from 2012.
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| Reserved seating for the VIPs |
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| Our lobby using our lounge furniture. |
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| Live performances were done |
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| Glide and Warrior fans |
Please consider booking your event with me at DW in San Francisco. Email me! I would be more than happy to assist. Please support the following businesses and organizations.
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| Server, Courtney, Bar Manager Wes, and I, Partner and Events Director |
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