Bette Midler is widely regarded as one of the great all-round entertainers. Yet three years ago, the annual gala of New York Restoration Project, the non-profit she founded in 1995 to conserve green spaces in the city’s five boroughs, was in need of some pizazz.

“The live and silent auctions were not doing as well. There were the same trips and experiences everywhere. It was so stale,” says Drew Becher, NYRP’s executive director. “We raised $100,000 or so but with the amount of staff time and energy expended, it was probably a wash.”