The economic crisis is prompting even wealthy and relatively unscathed donors to scale back what have been big-ticket, high-glitz annual charity galas, reports The New York Times.

“It’s somehow considered kind of gauche to be too aggressive” about the décor and price of charity galas, said John Dobkin, vice president of Wilderstein, a Victorian house museum in upstate New York.

The article offers practical tips on cutting galas’ costs, such as soliciting food and wine donations and substituting balloons for flowers.

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