@MissBigelow
tipping point, Cal performances’ big nights.
Tipping Point did it again: In a matter of hours, 1,200 guests raised a record-breaking $16.7 million to fight poverty during its 10th benefit at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Led by founder-CEO Daniel
Lurie and his all-star trustees, including original board members such as Ronnie Lott, Katie Schwab Paige, Alec Perkins, Kate Harbin Clammer and chairman Chris James, all monies from this blockbuster head back out the door to assist 45 povertyfighting grantees funded by Tipping Point Community.
Though the vast hall was tightly packed with tech types who love to bandy about words like innovator and progressive, chairman James reminded folks that there’s a disconnect between Silicon Valley denizens’ self-dynamic view and visitors to San Francisco, a city they discover is filled with poverty, homelessness and, in many ways, failure.
“If we don’t want Silicon Valley to be seen as the new Wall Street, we must deliver on our vision and own the impact we have on our community,” James declared. “There is nothing progressive about 1 of 5 Bay Area people living in poverty. The vision we ultimately seek is giving people the opportunity to escape poverty for good.”
An equation-changing theme, #xofactor, defined this
fete (chaired by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Arno Harris,
Joe Gebbia, Amy Banse and Joe Dworetzky, Emily and Brian Slingerland) featuring Stanlee Gatti designs, a Paula LeDuc dinner, Rye on the Road craft cocktails followed by a stellar Phoenix set and DJ Ruckus dance party.
Lurie believes his organization, which he founded 12 years ago, must move beyond just funding direct services. So he’s joined forces with the city of San Francisco in a new initiative that will raise $100 million in private donations, overseen by the Tipping Point board, to reduce chronic homelessness by half within five years.
Lurie is angry that 7,000 people sleep on the streets every night in San Francisco. And that it takes five years and $500,000 to build just one unit of support housing.
“I’ve been afraid to say that what we’re doing right now, what your incredible generosity has made possible through the years, is not enough. I’ve been scared to be direct, to push you,” he admitted. “But to solve the problems we face, we need much more effort. There is great power in this room: We have to go bigger, bolder and flex our muscles.”
Bach-analia: Exquisite sounds recently filled the Greek Theatre as cellist Yo-Yo
Ma shared the stage with bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile for a thrilling all-Bach program under sunny skies.
Presented by Cal Performances, the concert coincided with Gala at the Greek II, a joyful new format that raised $800K for the cultural organization’s community and music education programs for Bay Area students. Led by co-chairs Helen
Meyer and Sara Wilson, the fete (featuring a VIP reception and Grace Street Catering dinner in the Field Club of University Stadium) saluted the cultural philanthropy of
Laura Perloff and her husband, Another Planet Entertainment founder Gregg Perloff.
Prior to his start with legendary promoter Bill Graham and more current triumph of creating the Outside Lands music festival, Perloff previously booked Cal Performances’ jazz shows as a 19-year-old Cal graduate student.
“We’re honoring Gregg and Laura for their profound impact on the arts and education in California, beyond and right here at the Greek,” toasted Cal Performances Artistic Director
Matias Tarnopolsky. “For Gregg and Laura, the performing arts are a guiding force in their lives and have inspired the many ways they give back to our community.”
One of those ways is the Greek, where Another Planet and Cal Performances share rights to book concerts at the historic 8,500-seat amphitheater built in 1903.
Prior to that partnership, Tarnopolsky was summoned in 2009 to the chancellor’s office, where he learned the Greek was UC Berkeley’s most seismically challenged building — and required a $10 million retrofit.
His first call was to Perloff. What developed into a mutifaceted philanthropic and business project was established on securing the stage’s stability and preserving the Greek’s historic beauty.
“The first thing Gregg said was, ‘You know, Matias, this is all well and good. But I don’t care about the next five, or even 10 years, of the Greek Theater,’ ” Tarnopolsky recalled. “I care about the next 100.” The Perloffs’ committed and secured lead funding for the $10 million retrofit. Another Planet also established composting and a renewableenergy credits program. Phase three soon breaks ground, expanding the North Plaza with food stands and triple the restrooms.
The Perloffs’ generosity extends well beyond Cal Performances — Gregg serves on the boards of Music in Schools, California Jazz Conservatory and Tipping Point. He was also integral to reopening Oakland’s Fox Theater, where he included a second-story wraparound to house Oakland School for the Arts. Laura was the driving force behind a music therapy program now thriving at Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Music, of all stripes, inspires the beat of their life.
“It’s seldom you awake in the morning and realize later that afternoon, you’re a different person. But Chris, Edgar and Yo-Yo did something extraordinary that you don’t experience every day,” Gregg Perloff enthused. “The only thing better than seeing great artists is to experience them in a great setting. And how amazing today was the Greek?”