Reflections on DIGNITY Photo Auction & Benefit (Part III)

Part Three of the series that muses on YP Acumen's DIGNITY event, is from the Nuru Project. Nuru's mission is to leverage photography to act as an agent for social change in the developing world and founders Omri Bloch, Chris McAleenan, Daniel Murray, J.B. Reed and Matt Watson were in attendance and offer their insight into the event.

When Nuru Project approached Acumen Fund over a year ago about the possibility of hosting a photography auction event to raise money and awareness for their organization, we could not have hoped for a better evening than what transpired on July 30th. Thanks to the overwhelming support from the Young Professionals for Acumen Fund, Acumen Fund, and our generous sponsors/donors, “Dignity” was an amazingly successful evening. We hope that all attendees came away from the evening inspired: inspired by the provocative images, inspired by the work Acumen does, and inspired by the enthusiasm and support of the other attendees around them.

Over the course of the evening, more than 250 people viewed striking images and socialized with other attendees in the beautiful gallery space at Tribeca Cinemas Gallery. The evening began with a VIP reception which featured an exclusive tour/preview of the images hosted by Nuru Project and a chance to chat with Acumen Fund senior executives. As the crowd swelled, the audience was welcomed by members of YP, Acumen and Nuru Project. These welcome speeches reminded everyone about what made this event so special – it provided the unique opportunity for a socially-conscious audience to learn about issues in the developing world, to learn how Acumen Fund seeks to address those issues and to help fund Acumen’s effort to alleviate those issues.

We were very pleased with the images we presented and encouraged by the audience's response to them. The event featured an engaging live auction of 4 images alongside a silent auction of the remaining 25 images. Bidding activity was very high in both. Every print was sold and 100% of the money collected from print sales went to Acumen to help fund their efforts to produce sustainable, scalable enterprises that serve the communities and the individuals depicted in the images.

The evening wrapped up with celebratory drinks and a live DJ spinning in the background. It was truly a great event to be a part of. We hope that all attendees enjoyed the evening as much as we enjoyed hosting it. Nuru Project looks forward to working with Acumen Fund in the near future.