Charities Benefit From Mayor’s Gala

Mayor Richard Berry and first lady Maria Berry presented Art in the School, Keshet Dance Company, and United Way of Central New Mexico with a check for $195,000 on Wednesday, proceeds from this year’s Mayor and First Lady’s Charity Gala, according to a city news release.

“This is the first time in gala history that we’ve had the event on a Friday, but despite the day change, Albuquerque really stepped up and gave so generously to these worthy nonprofits and helped us reach our funding goals,” Gala Chairwoman Maria Berry said. “The benefiting organizations are consistently contributing to our community, so we’re honored to help them continue their inspirational work.”

Mayor Berry thanked event supporters. “This is a community-wide effort and I am so honored to be mayor of a city that gives so selflessly,” he said. “In the three years that we’ve been hosting the Charity Gala we’ve been able to give more than half a million dollars to local nonprofits — that’s an amazing gift for us to be able to provide.”

After each charity gala, the donations are divviedup between the selected nonprofits. Once the nonprofits have received their requested amount, and all the bills have been paid for the event, the surplus money is given to the runnerup. The 2012 Gala Committee has high hopes that there will be surplus money to give the third-tier nonprofit.

Every year prior to the gala, a request for proposals is sent out to local nonprofits so they can apply to benefit from the donations garnered at the gala. The 2013 RFP is slated to start accepting qualified applicants in early September 2012. The date for the 2013 Charity Gala is Saturday, May 18.