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This is a new record: €100,500 were raised at the recent Private Real Estate Dinner hosted by Sascha Moayedi, long-time Senior Investment Consultant and multiple award-winning top agent at Engel & Völkers Commercial Berlin. Organiser Moayedi is thrilled: “A great result that will help many children.” The money will go to two institutions dedicated to the research and treatment of rare diseases.
Around 80 international guests from the real estate industry gathered at the sixth “Private Real Estate Dinner” in Berlin’s trendy Mondo Pazzo restaurant. “Originally, the event was just a thank-you to long-standing business partners and customers,” Moayedi says. But quickly the idea developed to do some good together. “Every year since then, I pick one or two organisations that are active in the Berlin region and could use our support.”
Donations will go to two institutions
This year again, part of the donations will go to the ACHSE association under the patronage of Eva Luise Köhler. The former First Lady was present herself and symbolically accepted the funds. The “Alliance of Chronic Rare Diseases e.V.” (ACHSE) is an association of more than 120 patient organisations. The association pools knowledge in the field of rare diseases and acts as an advocacy group.
The other part of this year’s donations will go to the Paediatric Neurosurgery Unit of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin under the direction of Prof. Dr Ulrich-Wilhelm Thomale. The aim there is to purchase a surgical robot for brain operations on children as soon as possible. For the little ones, minimally invasive surgery with robots means smaller wounds, a shorter anaesthetic period, and a lower treatment risk.
New this year: the silent auction
The particularly high donation amount came about this year thanks to an innovation, says Sascha Moayedi. “Not only did we ask for monetary donations, we also held what is called a silent auction.” This actually does happen relatively quietly: Each guest has an auction catalogue on their table from which they can choose an item or event and bid on it in writing. “Among other things, we had signed football jerseys from Messi and Ronaldo and concert tickets for the Elbphilharmonie.”
The highest auction price was achieved by a signed photograph of former South African President Nelson Mandela: “It went under the hammer for an amount well into five figures.” For the silent auction, Moayedi had brought on board the agency Event Fundraising Behm, which specialises in charity events and had acquired the items in the auction catalogue.
And next year?
“There will of course be a Private Real Estate Dinner again,” promises Sascha Moayedi. After all, at six years and counting, it is already something of a tradition.
