The Crowd: An and Kang can teach a few things about benefits

photographer for Friday’s Crowd is Laurel Hungerford Photography.

1.American Idol finalist Macy Gray, Elizabeth An, event co-chair and Heather Dubrow

2.Event co-chair Soogie Kang and Elizabeth Segerstrom

3.SPIN executives Kim Frazier and Jean Wegener

4.Newport and Aspen real estate mega-seller Adrienne Brandes models for the SPIN camera.

5.Piaget model shows off multi-million jewels. Piaget is presenting sponsor of the 2015 SPIN gala.

6.OC philanthropist Betty Huang and Tina Chen at Piaget cocktail reception at AnQi for SPIN

7.Victoria Cacciamatta in a glamorous Oscar de la Renta creation with AnQi’s Guiseppe Accardi

Attention, community activists: If you ever thought about obtaining a valuable degree with an emphasis in nonprofit community fundraising, forget college. Just call Elizabeth An and Soogie Kang.

The dynamic duo, An, proprietor of the chic AnQi Restaurant, South Coast Plaza, and Kang, close pal and confidante, have both made major noise over recent years putting their enviable support behind OC nonprofits.

One major example several seasons ago, An and friends assisted Court Appointed Special Advocates taking their annual fundraising dinner to a never before ever dreamed of tally of more than $1 million in one night. This is just one example of the power and importance of passion meeting purpose with connections. There are many more stories.

The latest foray into making a difference by An, Kang and friends involves a small yet respected Costa Mesa-based nonprofit agency known as SPIN for Serving People In Need. Now in its 27th year serving local individuals and families on the verge of homelessness, offering housing, counseling and other life-saving services, SPIN came to the attention of An and Kang several years ago.

Toward the end of the recent financial recession, a neighboring family known to Soogie and Don Kang fell on desperate times and did not reveal the level of hardship until it was too late. This family with children in local schools lost their home and everything along with it. About to live in their car, they were advised of the work of SPIN and were eventually rescued from not only losing a place to live but potentially the break-up of the family in order to survive.

This very personal story, one that touched Kang to the core, inspired her to find out more about SPIN. What she learned is that SPIN has one of the tightest fiscal budgets of any agency in the OC. Some 92% of every dollar raised goes to client services, and close to 90% of clients served return to self-sufficiency.

Impressed by the concept and the results of the agency led by the same executive director, Jean Wegener, for more than 24 years, Kang enlisted her formidable friend An, one of the O.C.’s elegant, trend-setting business women who has turned South Coast Plaza’s AnQi into one of the region’s most fashionable and talked-about bistros.

An joined the SPIN team two years ago as the charity’s “guest executive chef” supervising its annual dinner held at the Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach. It was the beginning of a close friendship that has evolved and translated into greater support.

This year An and Kang will co-chair the 2015 SPIN gala, set for Oct. 3 at AnQi. The party will close the restaurant and the dinner committee is planning to create an event that will be talked about all over town.

“We want to create an evening that is a fabulous party that people will love to attend,” An said recently at a pre-event held in her bistro. “Our goal is to do all the important fundraising in advance so that we are not just asking for money the night of the party.”

Those who attend charity dinners are well aware of the often tedious and uncomfortable segments of such dinners dominated by auctions, fund-a-need asks, and outright soliciting for donor dollars.

“We are not going to have that. Instead, we will network for fundraising in advance and we will use electronic media to pre-sell a few fabulous auction items,” An said.

“Our most exciting concept comes as a result of a partnership with presenting sponsor of the party, Piaget,” she added. “Mark Gavranovic, Piaget’s amazing West Coast regional director at South Coast Plaza, has graciously and generously arranged the donation of a spectacular diamond ring, appropriately called the ‘Spinning Ring,’ valued at more than $21,000.

“This gorgeous ring along with several other over-the-top prizes will comprise a SPIN opportunity drawing. Our committee will sell just 200 tickets at $500 each raising $100,000 in underwriting before the party debuts.”

To launch this effort, An hosted two events at AnQi over the last two weeks. The first was a midweek cocktail party in the private dining room known as the Q Lounge, to introduce the partnership with Piaget to both SPIN VIPs and potential new supporters of the charity.

High-profile guests attending included the philanthropic Betty Huang, R.J. and Adrienne Brandes, Paul and Lilly Daftarian, Minh and Brigitte Bui, Steve and Daryl Nelson, Angela Hsu, Danilo and Victoria Cacciamatta, Wendy Tenebaum, Ann Smyth and Beril Akay.

The Q Lounge was shoulder-to-shoulder with the young, hip and decidedly glamorous as Champagne Veuve Cliquet filled the tall flutes. Piaget models, tall, very tall, very thin and exquisite, paraded around the lounge showing off an astounding $150 million in diamonds and precious jewels. Security guards were discreetly positioned around the room, acting nonchalant.

Then this past Monday, a luncheon unfolded at AnQi welcoming some 50 guests to introduce the new gala concept.

An and Kang, in addition to creating a party that will remake the tired hotel ballroom tradition, want to honor past donors and champions of SPIN who have sustained the charitable concept for some three decades. At the same time, their desire is to attract the support of younger members of the community who have not known of the important work of the group.

This is the genius of their purpose and it is also a lesson, a veritable wake-up call to the other OC nonprofits that must grow, change and reach out in order to survive and prosper in increasingly challenging times.

SPIN VIPs, being called “Pillars,” included Executive Director Wegener, Kim Frazier, Melanie Salata Fitch, Mary Lou Shattuck, Dick and Kim Crawford, Frank Listi, Keith Smith, Karen Nichol, chairman Al DeGrassi and Stan Frome. Sharing a gourmet four-course luncheon at handsome floral laidened and candlelit tables, the “Pillars” mingled with many of the O.C.’s most prominent citizens who had come to hear the SPIN message.

Offering their support were Elizabeth Segerstrom, Britt Meyer, Analisa Albert, Donya Dobkin, Faye Hezar, Heather Dubrow and Lisa Heil. Also front and center were Grace Chen, Jessica Lu, Kiki Tran, Margaret Rhee, Michelle Girard and Minji Clark. An publicist and close friend Elaine Sense in from Paris, chatted with movers and shakers Suzy Elghanayan, Tsion Chudnovsky and New Yorker Sabina Gerjatowicz.

Toward the end of the affair, the talented vocalist and “American Idol” finalist Macy Gray arrived. Gray will be among a select group of performers set to entertain the SPIN dinner crowd Oct. 3.

To learn more about SPIN, to reserve tickets to the dinner ($300 per person), or to purchase an opportunity ticket ($500) for the Piaget diamonds, contact development director Kim Frazier at kimF@SPINOC.org or call (714) 751.1101 ext. 19.

THE CROWD runs Fridays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.