BENEFIT CIRCUIT

Rivals Grumble as Ross Grabs Dates

Five concerts by the likes of Prince and Dave Matthews scramble calendar

By Aurrice Duke

(04/26/2007)    A summer concert series that would benefit the Ross School’s scholarship fund in East Hampton has created a stir on the charity benefit circuit, with some rival organizers worrying that the school’s event may overshadow their own.

    Roused by a July concert by Aretha Franklin that brought in an estimated $1.3 million for its scholarship fund, the Ross School is planning a series of shows this summer with Prince, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, James Taylor, and Dave Matthews, according to East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill McGintee. The dates for the shows would be July 14 and 28 and August 4, 11, and 25.

    As of Tuesday, the Ross School had yet to apply for a mass gathering permit from the town for the events. A permit would need to be secured at least three weeks before any event.

    A for-profit California company is said to be promoting the series. Estimates are that a “passport” to attend all five concerts will be priced at about $15,000 per person. Diana Aceti, the Ross School’s director of development, declined to respond to a request for comment.

    With the Ross School nabbing five of the season’s 14 Saturdays, some charity organizers expressed tentativeness about their dates. And without being in two places at once, partygoers may be left with difficult choices to make.

    “It’s not fair to the other organizations,” said Victoria Graham, board president for the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. Their annual fund-raising event is scheduled for July 14.

    “Unfortunately it’s the same evening as Prince,” she said. “We’re counting on the support of our friends and hope the concerts appeal to a different group of people.”

    Many local nonprofit organizations “depend on summer benefits to make their operating income to fund programs for the year,” said Ms. Graham.

    Even benefits known for their annual events ease the social maneuvering for attendees by making a conscious decision to host their events on different dates. The American Heart Association event has been a charity mainstay for the past 11 years.

    “There are a couple of days you know to avoid,” said Barbara Poliwoda, regional director for the American Heart Association. “Like the Parrish Art Museum or the Southampton Hospital’s annual galas.”

    “You do it out of respect for the other organizations, but you also want to make sure your event is successful,” Ms. Poliwoda explained. To accommodate the schedules of this year’s honorees, organizers are staging the event on July 7, but not without first consulting the social calendar.

    “Organizations need two to three years to build a donor base,” said Duncan Darrow, founder and chairman of the five-year old Fighting Chance, a free cancer resource center in Sag Harbor.

    The group’s second annual event will be held on Saturday, August 25, an evening on which the Ross School has tentatively planned a concert. Mr. Darrow brushed aside any concern about sharing the fund-raising limelight. “We wish them well,” he said. 

    “Generally, different constituencies support different charities. In the case of Fighting Chance, our core supporters include cancer survivors and their caregivers.”

    “Besides, people do attend multiple events, and can show their support by making contributions.”

    Given the finite number of summer Saturdays and Sundays, event planners are jockeying for dates. Some lesser-known entities are opting for a different approach.

    “People have come to think Hamptons’ events are like the white party at P. Diddy’s,” said Roxanne Donavan, board member of the Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer.

    For their inaugural summer fund-raiser, the foundation is hosting Kites for a Cure at Cooper’s Beach in Southampton on May 26. For a $25 donation, each guest will receive a white kite that can be painted before flying, snacks, and a T-shirt.

    “Friends and family dreamt of honoring Joan by doing something on the beach that was more about family and less about getting dressed up,” she said

    “We choose Memorial Day weekend, the kick-off of the season, to not only remember those lost in service, but to remember and honor [others] who have passed,” said Ms. Donavan.

    The Wildlife Rescue Fund of the Hamptons is also elbowing its way onto the summer benefit scene. The group will host its first high-season event on July 21, with an assist by several names worth their weight in headlines like Alec Baldwin and Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi.

    Guild Hall in East Hampton is hosting 13 events over the course of the summer.

    “Whatever else is happening, fundraiser-wise, doesn’t affect what we offer or what we do,” said Jennifer Rockford, the organization’s director of development. “We base our decisions on how best to service the community.”

    The way party organizers see it, high season is beginning sooner and ending later. “Stony Brook Southampton is hosting their Sustainability in Food and Wine event in October,” said John Kowalenko, co-owner of Amagansett’s Art of Eating and Hampton Event Manegment International.

    The allure of South Fork dollars tempts many Manhattan nonprofits east. “The Hamptons is high visibility, charities see it as a place to raise money,” said Mr. Kowalenko.

    “Clients that have a big presence in Manhattan have the Hamptons on their radar,” said Elaine Lapersonie of Wink PR, a Manhattan special events and public relations firm. “But they have to keep in mind it’s more expensive to have an event there.”

    While regulars on the social circuit may be running the risk of benefit fatigue, this summer there are more than 75 large events lined up. “There is no sacred date between Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Linda Shapiro, an East Hampton event planner.

    “Each year activity has escalated,” said Ms. Shapiro, a 20-year special events veteran and head of an eponymous company.

    “There is a tremendous amount of fund-raisers,” Mr. Kowalenko said. His companies are scheduled to provide services for 100 events, including weddings, this summer. “We’ve had to turn down a number of requests,” he said.   

    “Smaller charities without a big celebrity to put them on the map” risk being overshadowed, said Ms. Shapiro.