HOW THESE YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR’S ARE CHANGING THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY
The Angel Ball, held every fall in New York City, is an iconic and world renowned charity gala. It’s the type of charity gala that has become a New York institution in and of itself. The Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, founded by Denise Rich, has raised almost $40 million dollars towards cancer research. It was in 2019, that four young entrepreneurs made a proposal to Denise that she couldn’t turn down. Brendan Brown, Julia Moshy, Andrew Warren, and Alexander Ulvsgard launched a foundation within a foundation, the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation’s Young Professionals Committee. The goal of the YPC was to bring philanthropy to the forefront for a younger generation. Emphasizing the importance of giving back from a young age, and making it more in line with their generation.
THEIR FIRST FORAY INTO CHARITABLE SOCIETY
Their first event under the Young Professional’s Commitee umbrella, was the Midsummer Angel Gala in June 2019. The gala was hosted by it’s founders, Brendan Brown, Julia Moshy, Andrew Warren, and Alexander Ulvsgard. They planned the event in just 90 days. Held at the Fleur Room at The Moxy Hotel Chelsea, it was an intimate, but not small affair. The evening was the quartet’s first event, and Town & Country hailed the event as “New York’s Young Elite Give Back.” That evening the committee and the foundation raised over $93,000.00. When they realized the impact they could have in planning an event of that caliber, so quickly, they began planning for 2020. Then COVID hit, and the world, and events hit a hard pause.
Brendan, Julia, Andrew, and Alex had to shift their focus to the relocation of the Angel Ball. Planning their second YPC gala, was put on hold. 2021 saw the Angel Ball being held outdoors for the first time. Luckily the Hamptons provided for plenty of space for the philanthropic set. It was also the first time in over a decade that society’s gala wasn’t held at Cipriani Downtown. Then it was time for their return for the second Young Professional’s Committee Fall Angel Gala. For 2021, they also shifted their date from Midsummer in June to Fall in November.
007 SECURES MASS ATTENTION BRINGS FOR THEIR SECOND GO AROUND
The theme for their second annual Young Professionals Committee gala was James Bond, 007. Black and white, a nice contrast to the summery color scheme of their inaugural outing. For the 2021 Fall Angel Gala Brendan Brown, Julia Moshy, Andrew Warren, and Kyle Lutnick were front and center as co-hosts for the evening. They also shared in all of the fundraising, design, and functional elements of the evening. Thankfully, they also recieved support by their host committee, the Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, and volunteers.
Featured auction items for the gala included a VR Race Car Simulator, custom paintings from Donald Robertson, Domingo Zapata, Gilda Garza, Traeger Di Pietro, and more. There was an Amiri leather basketball bag from Mike Amiri’s runway show, meet and greets with the Skinny Confidential’s founder Lauryn Everts-Bosstick, facials and products from Joanna Vargas, and Gray Malin’s new prints from Bergdorf Goodman.
YPC SMASHES THEIR GOALS
Before the night even began, the Young Professionals Committee with was extremely happy with the turnout. They had SOLD OUT the Classic Car Club Manhattan, their 22,000 square foot venue. They had sold over 450 individual tickets. The private tables had long sold out, and had a waitlist fifteen deep. Over the course of the evening, Brendan Brown, Julia Moshy, Andrew Warren, and Kyle Lutnik had secured four new cash sponsors for their following gala. Before the night officially started, they had succeeded. They outgrown the Classic Car Club, that in the beginning of the planning felt vast compared to the Fleur Room.
The following day they would find out that they had raised over $200,000. This amount did not include the online auction, which continued for five days via CharityBuzz. Once the auction closes, the amount that they raised should be closer to $250,000, if not higher. Despite it not even being a full week since the Gala, the committee is already hard at work planning their third annual gala. It will see them return to form. The gala will return to being held in the summer, and reclaim it’s original name. The third annual Midsummer Angel Gala, will be held in June of next year at Casa Cipriani.
