Human-rights support group WITNESS strikes a balance to keep its mission in focus at its galas.

FS: How do you balance the party atmosphere of a gala with your mission?
SF: I think that we’ve found a way to put on a professional event that raises a significant amount of income while still making our guests feel intimately connected to the work like we did before with the house parties.

Last year we focused on our ongoing work to put an end to the human-rights atrocities perpetrated by the military dictatorship controlling Burma. We had one of our partners from Burma Issues [a project of The Peace Way Foundation dedicated to empowering grassroots movements to lead the struggle for change in Burma] fly in from Thailand to talk about the campaign and also heard some incredible music. It’s a delicate balance to strike, but I think we’ve managed to do it pretty well.