Our community gathered at the CUNY Graduate Center where we had the extraordinary opportunity to hear from Dr. Fareed Zakaria and engage with him about the most commanding issues of the day. By partnering with CUNY’s Promise and Perils of Democracy Project in the lecture portion of the event, we were able to secure the celebration space without any charge and thereby greatly reduced our production costs. Several individual and corporate donors, Lauren Teestel, Iris Software, Vijay and Kshama Kedia and Estreich & Co. among them, made early leadership contributions that encouraged us to bring our vision of a thought-provoking and festive fundraising event to fruition. Dr. Zakaria’s scintillating analysis and warm personal presence captivated the almost 150 guests in attendance that evening and nearly $150,000 was raised to support the vital programs of Seva Mandir.
