Palm Beach Charity Galas Suffer a Fund-Raising Challenge
June 23, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
The recession and the Bernard Madoff investment scandal took a major toll on this year’s Palm Beach charity gala season, The Palm Beach Post reports.
Ten of 12 well-known organizations that hold annual events in the wealthy Florida community did not reach their goals, with many falling several hundred thousand dollars short of their 2008 tallies. The American Heart Association raised less than half of the $2.3-million it had collected at last year’s fund-raising event, and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County saw a decline from $4-million to $3-million.
Organizers had expected a difficult season, with past sponsors such as AIG and Lehman Brothers out of commission and Palm Beach benefactors suffering significant losses due to Mr. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
