Green auction earns $2.4 million for environment
(New York – Reuters) A Green Auction of fine art, celebrity experiences, luxury travel and high fashion took in a total of $2.4 million to benefit the environment.
Organizers said the Green Auction: Bid to Save the Earth held for a second year in March and April, raised $1.4 million at a live auction at Christie’s and more than $750,000 from an online auction, led by a three-night private yacht cruise in Cannes which sold for $100,000.
Cash donations from corporate sponsors as well as $10 donations via text message, added to the total, while sales from the Runway to Green pro-environment fashion initiative and collection will generate further proceeds.
Four environmental nonprofits will benefit from the auction — Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and The Central Park Conservancy.
Oceana board member Susan Rockefeller, one of the auction’s co-hosts along with husband David Rockefeller Jr., praised the event for its ingenuity and creativity.
“It’s multi-tiered — really thinking outside the box,” said Rockefeller, a documentary filmmaker who has worked on several projects with environmental themes.
“Art, philanthropy, music and fashion can all transform the way you see something and make it come alive. All these people from different walks of life, with different talents, scientists, lawyers, all working toward protecting the environment.”
Bidders at the live auction paid as much as $100,000 to spend a day with former President Bill Clinton or a trip to Hollywood to attend the hottest Oscars parties.
A one-hour tennis lesson with John McEnroe fetched $26,000 in the online auction which ended on Thursday.
Nicki Minaj at the Christie's Green Auction
