The BCE Fundraising Gala is on Saturday, April 16, 2022 

Our first in-person fundraising gala in 3 years is on Passover & Easter weekend which is unfortunate but unavoidable.

 

In 2020, we were forced to cancel our fully planned March gala just 2 weeks ahead of the event, and it greatly impacted our fundraising that year.  We didn't make our grant goal as a result.

 

In 2021, we planned a fully virtual gala and while it was a relative success, it was missing elements our community enjoys in our typical gala such as in-person socialization.  Fundraising was impacted and we narrowly made our grant but only by relying on our reserves to cover a small gap.

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As is the norm, we began planning Gala 2022 a year in advance in spring/April 2021.

At the time, there was a great deal of pent-up event planning (weddings, B'nai Mitzvahs, corporate events, etc.) which was in full force during the spring dip in the pandemic.  Our team researched venues up and down the Peninsula for viable Saturdays in March and April, eventually expanding to late February to early May and even briefly exploring a Friday or Sunday event.  Options were VERY limited within our budget and geographic location especially when you factor in BSD breaks including President's Week and Spring Break which eliminate the weekend before and after.  Made even more challenging because we needed to find a venue that had flexibility in cost and space to allow for a smaller, physically distanced event or a slightly larger event due to the unpredictability of the ongoing pandemic.  

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In the end, we had 3 options:

1. Hosting the fundraising gala on April 16th, the second night of Passover, and the night before Easter Sunday

2. Hosting a virtual fundraising gala

3. Not hosting a gala in 2022

Hosting a hybrid event is not viable for BCE since it essentially requires planning and funding 2 parallel events and our resources are too limited to justify that.

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Options 2 & 3 have a significant impact on our fundraising and grant and ultimately that is the first goal for hosting a FUNDRAISING gala. 😉

 

We were and remain hopeful that our community, once they understand all the factors and difficult decisions involved, would be understanding and accepting of this less than ideal situation. We know that some of our BSD families will travel or have other family commitments due to the religious holidays; we only ask that if you can make it work, you join us in this in-person fundraising opportunity.  If you can't make it work this year, then we hope you will still support our schools with a financial contribution that is personally meaningful, and we hope to see you at Gala 2023!