For some nonprofits, COVID-19 put all their spring fundraising efforts behind the eight ball, literally. Still others scrambled to regroup and make the best of it. Such was the case of Aware Dallas, when its Aware Affair had to be canceled.
Aware Dallas President Jolie Humphrey and Event Co-Chairs Kersten Rettig and Clark Knippers looked at what they could offer to help raise funds for the 2020 beneficiaries (Baylor Healthcare System, Casa de Vida, Center for Brain Health Mosaic of Meaningful Messages, Center for Vital Longevity Optimizing Neuro-Cognitive Functions in Healthy Living, Dallas Museum of Art Meaningful Moments Program, Jewish Family Service Older Adults Program, Juliette Fowler Communities, The Senior Source, Stomping Ground Comedy, Texas Winds Musical Outreach, University of Texas Southwestern Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Wilshire Baptist Church and 2019-2020 Myrna D. Schlegel Aware Scholarship Fund Grant Recipients Lauren Benefield, Melissa George, Grace Penaranda and Alyssa Temple) and came up with the idea of holding an online auction. As the new idea of online bidding was unknown territory for some, the Aware team soldiered on.
Their efforts paid off, netting a whopping $315,000. Of course, it helped to have the following folks and organizations staying committed as sponsors:
- Orchid — Lydia and Bill Addy, Alice and Curt Farmer and and Mrs. John Tatum
- Iris—Sally and Forrest Hoglund, Stacey and Charles A. Angel Jr. and Venise and Larry Stuart in honor of Kim McDavid, Kennington Family Philanthropic Fund
- Plum: Stephanie and Bennie Bray in honor of Amy Osler and Kim McDavid and in memory of Frances Chantilis, Karen and Mark Carney in memory of Mrs. Del McCarthy, Jolie and Bart Humphrey in honor of Stacey Jones Angel, Kersten Rettig and Clark Knippers in memory of Pat Knippers, Gail and Bill Plummer and Debra and Lewis Ropp.
- Sponsors also included Comerica, Hall Arts Hotel and Hall Group
* Graphic provided by Aware Dallas