The annual Michael Josephson Charity Ball is one of the greatest events to take place in Manchester every year, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity - and while tickets are sold out already for 2023, there's still time to bid on the silect auction.
The Michael Josephson Charity Ball 2022 raised £760,000 for children's charities. Yes, you read that right. £760,000. It’s a vast amount of money, and as every single penny raised makes its way to the charities Michael feels can best deliver help to children who need it, it’s also a life-changing amount of money.
Michael Josephson had a traumatic childhood. Losing his mother at just 12 years old was the first in a series of devastating blows, time spent in and out of care and horrific abuse, emotional, physical and sexual. As he reached adulthood, his natural outgoing and generous personality earned him friends and a busy life, but did not bring happiness, and in an attempt to suppress the pain and trauma of his younger life, he turned, as so many do, to alcohol and drugs. It all came to a head on 28 December 1998, when Michael jumped off a bridge in an attempt to end his life. Life had other plans, however, and despite breaking almost every bone in his body, he survived – and came back stronger.
“Last year we raised £760,000 and we gave to Variety, The Children’s Charity; Rainbow Trust (which helps families with sick children); and Mahdlo, an Onside Youth Zone in Oldham, and then other smaller grants, from £500 up to £25,000 to The Fed (the leading social care charity for the Greater Manchester Jewish Community); The Proud Trust, an organisation that supports LGBT+ young people; START, a charity that has been delivering mental health recovery and prevention services in Salford for many years; and many others.”
This year, Michael has chosen four core charities, adding The Anne Frank Trust, which is dedicated to empowering young people to challenge all forms of prejudice, and will again share funds raised with local organisations in Manchester and nearby where even small amounts can make a huge difference.
“We really work hard on making it the event of the year,” Michael says. “This headline act this year is Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and I have a lot of really exciting things planned and celebrity guests coming, but I’m keeping it all under my hat until the night itself, so guests are just given one amazing surprise after another. In previous years we’ve had acts such as Heather Small, Lulu and Texas, and celebrity guests have included Stephanie Beacham, Joan Collins, Paul Scholes, Torville and Dean...”
It seems that if you want a ticket, now’s the time to act – for the 2024 event.
“The night is about having fun while raising a lot of money. We have a silent auction, which started in September and is hosted at mjcharityball.co.uk. People who are attending the Ball or not can bid for items in the silent auction, or simply make a pledge online. Already, in its first week, that’s raised over £30,000.
“On the night itself there’s a raffle and an auction. The raffle is an ‘everyone wins’ event – people buy a packet of Love Hearts for £20, and each one has a prize attached, ranging in value from £25 to £500 - and there are over 500 of these. The grand auction has real ‘money can’t buy’ lots, really special things."
It seems like a lot of work, and Michael has his own business, Stocks 2015 Ltd, so how big a team does he have looking after it all.
“I don’t employ anybody for this,” he says. “I do almost everything, from selling all the tables to gathering all the raffle prizes and auction lots, and then my team at Stocks handles the administration. On the night, the fundraising is coordinated by the charity partners, who adhere to the fundraising code of practice, and every penny given on the night goes directly to those charities and the smaller ones I select later.
“The best moment of the night is when I stand on stage and announce how much has been raised. And it’s a net total, not the gross before the costs of the event are taken into account. People can know immediately just how much we’ve raised.”
Michael’s attention to detail and determination to get the funds raised to where it will do the most good is reflected in his work in choosing those charities he goes on to help.
“I meet with every single charity. I sit down with them, I look at their books, I take time to understand how they work and how their work impacts children. Then, when a donation is made, I stay in touch with them, to see how that money has been put into action and how we might work together again.
“I work 12-to-14-hour days, which is how I manage to do it. The Ball for example this year, we have over 100 lots in the silent auction and 15 in the grand auction. The charity partners will contribute some of the prizes, but I bring in 90% of these. There are no admin or personnel costs that impact how much the Ball raises.
"I am so passionate about actually making a difference I do my full research and people trust that every single penny goes where it’s needed. Every single penny.”
