The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised nearly $120-million since it was created in 1992. Much of the money has come from the proceeds of high-profile annual parties, dinners, tennis matches, special events, and products that are sold by companies that share revenue with the Elton John organization. Following are some of the most lucrative approaches.
ANNUAL FUND-RAISING EVENTS
The Academy Awards Viewing Dinner and After Party
Sir Elton’s annual bash for Hollywood stars on Oscar night, held for the past 14 years, stands out among the dozens of parties that are thrown during and after the award ceremony: People actually have to pay to get into this one. Co-chairs of the most recent event included Sheryl Crow, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Donatella Versace. Celebrities also participate in an auction of donated items that this year included a red grand piano owned by Sir Elton and two new luxury cars. This year’s event raised nearly $3-million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. What’s more, “the event keeps the issue of AIDS alive and vibrant to the top-notch Hollywood crowd that attends and has resources to give,” says Thomas J. Coates, a research professor at the medical school at the University of California at Los Angeles and a board member of Sir Elton’s foundation and the National AIDS Fund.
Smash Hits
The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual tennis fund-raising event, held last summer for the 14th time, is produced by the tennis players Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, who are board members of the foundation, and World Team Tennis. The event — which to date has raised more than $8-million, some of which goes to AIDS organizations in each city that plays host to it — features matches that have included tennis players such as Andre Agassi, Martina Navratilova, Andy Roddick, and Pete Sampras. One annual participant on the court is Sir Elton himself, who loves the sport.
“He’s really into it, he’s competitive, he likes to win,” says Ms. King. “And winning to him in this sense is the foundation truly making a difference in people’s lives. Otherwise, Elton says, it would all be just fluff, just using his name to perpetuate himself, and he doesn’t want that.”
An Enduring Vision
The Elton John AIDS Foundation’s benefit dinner and auction is held each fall and features a short concert, which this year included a seven-song set by Neil Young and a spur-of-the-moment performance by Elvis Costello. But the evening’s highlight each year is a speech by Sir Elton in which he, in his role as board chair, thanks donors and describes his foundation’s recent accomplishments and future goals. “Our programs are vital and important,” he said at last month’s fifth annual event, which raised nearly $2.5-million. “But truthfully, our funding is a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous need that already exists.”
White Tie and Tiara Ball
This lavish event, which garners substantial attention from news organizations, is hosted each summer by Sir Elton and his partner, David Furnish, at Woodside, their estate in Windsor, outside of London. The theme of each year’s party is inspired by a country in which the foundation works. This year, the eighth time the ball has been held, India took center stage, as “sitar players and the tinkle of temple bells on the dancers’ ankles provided the background music for 620 designer-dressed, 3,000-pounds-a-head [about $5,700], jewel-incrusted guests,” according to The Daily Telegraph of London. But the actress Sharon Stone, who has hosted the charity auction that takes place during the ball, says the fun should not be mistaken for frivolity.
“The party is stunning, spectacularly produced,” Ms. Stone says. “But when I’m there, fun is not at the top of my mind, because we have an intention to use the opportunity to do more, to give more.”
Ms. Stone adds: “When people see Elton and they see a lavish lifestyle, or his joie de vivre, they could very easily mistake that for someone of a very different ilk. I just don’t think people have any idea how hard he works as a humanitarian, period.”
CORPORATE MARKETING
Home fragrances
Last month, the Elton John AIDS Foundation took a big step in reaching American shopping malls. Limited Brands’ Bath & Body Works announced it was selling a collection of candles and home fragrances — designed with Sir Elton’s help — in its 1,800 stores and through its Web site.
The foundation will get more than 10 percent — more than $1-million — of total sale proceeds, as well as the chance to reach millions of shoppers with its message about HIV/AIDS. Previous collections of candles designed by Sir Elton raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his foundation but were sold in only a handful of exclusive stores out of the range of the average shopper.
“Elton is involved in every aspect of this: He picked the scent, he was involved in the packaging, and if he didn’t believe in the product, he wouldn’t do it,” says Harry Slatkin, president of home design for Limited Brands who first sold home-fragrance products for Sir Elton’s foundation 10 years ago. “Selling the candles helps him make sure that people realize that AIDS is still alive and out there, no matter how quiet it gets at times.”
Fashion Rocks
Last summer, Sir Elton hosted the Fashion Rocks concert at Radio City Music Hall, which is sponsored by Condé Nast to kick off New York Fall Fashion Week. The Elton John AIDS Foundation received $1.6-million in proceeds of ticket sales and related events, and in between music acts Sir Elton asked the national television audience to donate to his charity and help fight HIV/AIDS.
Products and big donors
The Elton John AIDS Foundation has also benefited from sales of products from a variety of companies, including designer eyeglasses from Oliver Peoples eyewear, crystal from Lalique, Christmas ornaments from Christopher Radko, and T-shirts from Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe.
The luxury jewelry company and watchmaker Chopard of Switzerland has designed several collections of jeweled timepieces whose sales help Sir Elton’s foundation, and has sponsored the organization’s White Tie and Tiara Ball, the Academy Awards dinner, and other events.
“I have been able to bring a lot of our very influential private clients to the foundation’s events who end up really supporting the organization,” says Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, who is co-president of the Chopard company. “So all of a sudden it’s like a snowball effect as more and more people at a certain level — politicians or economic leaders or company officials — suddenly get involved.”
SPECIAL EVENTS
Elton’s Closet
In April, Sir Elton and Mr. Furnish set up a temporary shop in New York’s Rockefeller Center to sell 10,000 articles of their clothing and accessories, including stage costumes, to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The five-day sale — which was managed at no cost to the foundation by Saks Fifth Avenue — was aimed in part at people who are not in the upper-income brackets, giving fans the chance to purchase outrageous items owned by Sir Elton, such as a polka-dot suit that he wore during a performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards and a black suit from Versace that had, woven into the fabric, titles of Sir Elton’s songs, including “Rocket Man.” More-ordinary items, like jackets, coats, and sweaters, were also scooped up as the event raised $750,000.
Neiman Marcus
Last year, Sir Elton decided to sell himself for charity — at least temporarily. For $1.5-million that would go directly to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the holiday catalog of the retailer Neiman Marcus offered shoppers the chance to buy a 90-minute performance by Sir Elton anywhere in the continental United States for as few as five guests or as many as 500. A couple purchased Sir Elton’s performance for their wedding.