Tipping Point Raises $12 Million at 8th Annual Fundraiser

Tipping Point CEO and Founder Daniel Lurie and auctioneer Lydia Fenet of Christie’s hosted a record-setting fundraiser on May 9 for the Tipping Point Community. The event raised an unprecedented $12 million to fight poverty in the Bay Area, an investment that comes at a critical time when roughly 20% of Bay Area residents are too poor to meet their basic needs.

The eighth annual fundraiser, co-chaired by Devon and Pete Briger, Abigail and Egon Durban, and Heather and Jony Ive, attracted support from a number of notable guests including Rupert Murdoch, Marissa Mayer and Zach Bogue, Gail and Ron Conway and Jennifer and Gavin Newsom.

A Bay Area under construction theme greeted guests at Pier 48 where they enjoyed cocktails, followed by a seated dinner and live auction. One of the many auction highlights included a private cooking lesson with James Beard-appointed teachers April Bloomfield, Tyler Florence, and Michael Tusk. Special sports packages included the 49ers’ Opening Day at Levi’s Stadium and batting practice at AT&T Park were popular items.

Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, founder and CEO of BUILD, a Tipping Point Community grantee since 2005, spoke at the event that focused on the 80,000 children waiting for pre-school in our community, the families being pushed out of their homes, and the 40% dropout rate in Oakland. “When Tipping Point began funding us in 2005, we had a handful of school sites in the Bay Area and were serving 190 students,” said McKechnie Klahr. “Today, BUILD is a national organization that has served thousands of young people and incubated over 500 youth businesses in the Bay Area, Boston, Washington, D.C. and soon New York City.”

The Tipping Point has served the bay area’s impoverished community since 2005. More than 365,000 Bay Area residents have been served by Tipping Point grantees, and 100% of the $12 million raised at this event will go directly to the most effective education, employment, housing and health organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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