Home / Plan Your Visit / Special Experiences / Beastly Ball 2024

Featuring actor, comedian, and host Joel McHale

Beastly Ball Honorees: Esther S. M. Chui-Chao and Angela Collier Foundation, Mohammad Virani, President 

The “best party in town” returns on June 1 with special animal experiences, dazzling entertainment, culinary delights, an incredible silent auction, and more. It’s the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s largest and most important fundraiser of the year, bringing in critical support for our work on behalf of the Los Angeles Zoo and its efforts in wildlife conservation, public education, and creating innovative experiences to connect people with nature. 

Ways to Participate

Anyone can join the excitement and purpose of the Beastly Ball!

SECURE A BALL SPONSORSHIP AND TICKETS

$1,500 and up

Make it a night to remember for you and a date, your family, valued clients or business contacts, or stellar employees. The ticket price is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Learn more and purchase tickets here.

BECOME A CORPORATE PARTNER OR UNDERWRITER

STARTING AT $500

Connect your company or brand with the Zoo’s wildlife conservation mission and the Ball’s influential attendees. To learn more, email Kevin O’Brien at kobrien@lazoo.org or Oscar Dizon at odizon@lazoo.org

Donate an auction item 

ALL PRICE RANGES

Our popular online silent auction features a range of wild items and experiences. If you would like to donate to the silent auction, please complete and submit this form.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT WITH A CASH DONATION

ANY AMOUNT YOU CHOOSE 

If you’re not able to attend the Ball, you can still contribute to our most important fundraiser of the year. Make a much-appreciated tax-deductible donation.

STAY CONNECTED

FREE

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn for exciting Beastly Ball updates, including the dates for the auction preview and start of bidding.

2024 Ticket Packages

Gorilla Patron (Contributing Sponsor) $100,000

  • 20 tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on signage and digital screens throughout the event, plus event website and Beastly Ball invitation (deadline for invitation recognition is February 24, 2024).
  • Early access to the event for you and your guests. Enjoy a head start on all the exciting activities offered at the Beastly Ball.
  • Leave a lasting legacy by naming a select animal at the L.A. Zoo and celebrate this memorable moment with breakfast for 10 at the Zoo, joined by one of the Zoo’s curators. You will receive a tour of the Zoo and watch a special feeding at your named animal’s exhibit, accompanied by a GLAZA photographer to capture memories of the experience for you.
  • $98,500 is tax deductible.

Condor Patron $75,000

  • 16 tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on signage and digital screens throughout the event, plus event website and Beastly Ball invitation (deadline for invitation recognition is February 24, 2024).
  • Early access to the event for you and your guests. Enjoy a head start on all the exciting activities offered at the Beastly Ball.
  • L.A. Zoo Director & CEO Denise M. Verret will join 10 guests for lunch and a private show in the Angela Collier World of Birds Theater. A GLAZA photographer will capture memories of the experience for you.
  • $73,800 is tax deductible.

Elephant Patron $50,000

  • 12 tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on signage and digital screens throughout the event, plus event website and Beastly Ball invitation (deadline for invitation recognition is February 24, 2024).
  • Early access to the event for you and your guests. Enjoy a head start on all the exciting activities offered at the Beastly Ball.
  • Cocktails for eight guests and a private training demonstration at the L.A. Zoo’s Elephants of Asia exhibit with Director of Conservation Dr. Jake Owens. A GLAZA photographer will capture memories of the experience for you.
  • $49,100 is tax deductible.

Jaguar Patron $25,000

  • 12 tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on signage and digital screens throughout the event, plus event website and Beastly Ball invitation (deadline for invitation recognition is February 24, 2024).
  • Early access to the event for you and your guests. Enjoy a head start on all the exciting activities offered at the Beastly Ball.
  • Insider’s tour of the L.A. Zoo for six people in a motorized cart, including a special jaguar feeding and keeper talk. A GLAZA photographer will capture memories of the experience for you.
  • $24,100 is tax deductible.

Rhinoceros Patron $15,000

  • Eight tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on event website.
  • A private tour for six people in a motorized cart to get an insider’s look at the L.A Zoo. Tour options include: “Hooves and Horns,” “Birds Around the World,” “Great Apes,” or “A Look at the LAIR.”. A GLAZA photographer will capture memories of the experience for you.
  • $14,400 is tax deductible.

Flamingo Patron $10,000

  • Six tickets to the Beastly Ball.
  • Reserved seating for you and your guests at Treetops Terrace.
  • Name or corporate logo listed on event website.
  • $9,550 is tax deductible.

Alligator (Individual) Tickets $1,500

  • One ticket to the Beastly Ball.
  • $1,425 is tax deductible.

For event information or to make your reservation, please contact Natalie Poveda at (323) 486-4253 or npoveda@lazoo.org.  

Corporate Partnership & Underwriting

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Individuals and corporate partners can enhance their presence at the Ball and their support of GLAZA through corporate partnership or underwriting.   

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP

Connect your company and brand with the Los Angeles Zoo’s wildlife conservation mission and the Beastly Ball’s influential supporters. This unforgettable evening of philanthropy offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate community leadership and corporate social responsibility. 

To learn more, email Kevin O’Brien at kobrien@lazoo.org or Oscar Dizon at odizon@lazoo.org

UNDERWRITING

With opportunities ranging from $500 to $5,000, underwriting event elements or entertainment offerings demonstrates a heightened commitment to the Ball and its mission. Watch this space for details coming soon.

Ball Committee

Courtney Appell  

Shainaz Donnelly Burg  

Wendy Denham   

Brian Diamond   

Robert J. Ellis 

Sam Enoch 

Brian Hodous  

Dawn Petersen-Amend, GLAZA Interim President 

Erika Aronson Stern 

Franco Terango 

Denise Verret, Los Angeles Zoo CEO and Director 

Jennifer Thornton Wieland  

Conservation Impact

The Beastly Ball has raised millions of dollars to support the L.A. Zoo’s local and global conservation and education efforts. 

In this era of rapid global species loss and disappearing habitats, the leadership role that the L.A. Zoo is taking to save species while inspiring the next generation of conservationists has never been more important. Your support of the Beastly Ball is key to ensuring the success of the mission. Join us.  

Beastly Ball 2023

A History-Making Event

People at a silent auction
The evening’s thrilling paddle raise in support of Betty White’s Zoo Pals helped make the 2023 Ball one of the most successful ever.

The 2023 Beastly Ball fundraising gala was a roaring success! Bringing in more than $1.6 million, this Ball was the second highest-grossing event of its kind in the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s history.

Many thanks to everyone who attended the 2023 Beastly Ball and participated in the silent auction, and, of course, to actor, comedian, and host Joel McHale, Beastly Ball 2023 honoree and longtime GLAZA trustee Diann H. Kim, and the family of Tom LaBonge, the late Los Angeles city councilmember who was posthumously honored with the 2023 Betty White Conservation Hero Award for his fierce, unwavering advocacy and support of the Zoo and Griffith Park.

The evening’s moving and inspirational program ended with a rousing Fund-a-Need paddle raise benefiting the Zoo Pals scholarship program, which provides students from under-resourced Los Angeles schools with opportunities to experience the magic and wonder of the Zoo. Guests enthusiastically raised their paddles to donate, knowing that each contribution would be matched dollar-for-dollar by the estate of the late Betty White. In tribute to Betty’s lasting and loving legacy of support for the Zoo, animals, and the communities of Los Angeles, it was announced that the scholarship program that she held so dear would be renamed Betty White’s Zoo Pals.

Auction items donated by Betty’s estate—including personal jewelry, clothing, and signed memorabilia—generated tremendous excitement among fans around the globe.

2023’s Beastly Ball was truly a magical and unforgettable evening. Words cannot express how thankful I am to all of the generous donors, friends, and supporters who came together not only to support the Los Angeles Zoo and our mission… but also to honor the legacy and dedication of our friend, late Councilmember Tom LaBonge, and GLAZA Trustee Diann Kim.

CEO & Zoo Director Denise Verret

While the Beastly Ball is GLAZA’s biggest and most important fundraiser of the year, it’s just one of the many ways you can support the Zoo’s mission. Learn how you can make an impact by visiting our Donors page.

About GLAZA

For 60 years, the nonprofit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) has funded exhibits, capital projects, field conservation efforts, education and community outreach programs, and more at the Los Angeles Zoo, an international leader in the preservation of wildlife and care of animals.

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