Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts raised $9.4 million at its spring gala on Thursday night, a record for the organization. The gala honored Lincoln Center’s president, Reynold Levy, who is stepping down in December after 11 years. The evening started with the total at $8.2 million, but during the speeches Katherine Farley, Lincoln Center’s chairwoman, announced that an additional $1.2 million had been raised for the creation of the Reynold Levy Fellowship for Harvard Business School graduates interested in nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Levy, who is known for his dogged fundraising skills, said in his remarks that his middle name was “gala†and that he was grateful for the fellowship created in his honor. “$1.2 million I didn’t have to raise,†he said. The gala featured Audra McDonald, who performed in a packed Avery Fisher Hall before the seated dinner for 1,200 in a tent on Damrosch Park. Those in attendance included the actress Anne Hathaway, the talk show host Kelly Ripa and the late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon.
