Hill Country Charity Ball raised a record $222,000 last year — and is now watching the flood drain everyone else’s donations

Hannah Baron has a phrase for what her organization does. The Hill Country Charity Ball raises money at a gala, she said Friday on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week, and donates it back to nonprofits that “change the eyes of others.”

Last year’s ball — held at Sendera Springs with 280 people squeezed into a venue whose normal wedding capacity is 50, dancing moved outside to make it work — raised a record $222,000. The board distributed it across five organizations with a deliberate flood focus: Divinity Family Services, Ingram Warrior Homes, the Kerrville Public School Foundation specifically for the Zunker family scholarships, the Impact Guild’s Arcadia Recovery Collaboration, and the Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department’s swiftwater rescue team.

But when the board opened applications for its 2027 grant cycle, something unexpected showed up in the 22 submissions.

“We noticed is yes we want to help flood-impacted, but we also want to help charities who are also affected by the flood in a different way,” Baron said. “The giving is different nowadays because people are giving so much to the flood — which we are not saying that’s a bad thing. That is great. Please donate to the flood-affected. However, some charities rely on a continuous income of donations and they’re not getting it because the money is going elsewhere.”

Organizations not directly damaged by the flood are quietly starving — not for volunteers, not for clients, but for the unrestricted donations that keep their lights on and their programs running. The same dollars that are flowing toward disaster relief are dollars that previously flowed to arts organizations, youth programs, health services, and civic clubs. Baron called it being “scrapped for the money.”

The board has narrowed the 22 applicants to eight finalists, who will present directly to the full board before September 1, when final recipients are selected.

Baron, now in her seventh year with the association, appeared alongside Vice President and President-Elect Kennedy Smith, in her fifth year. The Hill Country Charity Ball was founded in 1984 — technically its 42nd year as a civic organization — but the upcoming 2027 gala is the official 40th Annual Ball, one year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board has named it accordingly: the Jubilee.

The theme is “French Quarter Jubilee — 40 years of raising spirits and restoring the Hill Country.” Baron’s family has deep roots in New Orleans. The board is deliberately aiming for the sophisticated historic character of the French Quarter rather than the Bourbon Street tourist version — iron balconies, candlelit dining, elegant floral arrangements, Zydeco and live jazz, high-quality New Orleans cuisine, and a beignet bar. No cheap beads.

The logistics of mounting the event are what the board calls “Super Bowl week.” The floral team spends the entire week before the gala crafting custom arrangements in Trisha Vidian Designs’ warehouse near Schreiner University. The full membership convenes at Sendera Springs on Friday for setup, finishing touches on Saturday morning before doors open. Treasurer Kyla Gazelle manages the budget throughout.

Sendera Springs — Kennedy Smith’s family venue at 231 Avery Road — survived the July 16 flood with its indoor facilities intact. The surrounding grounds absorbed the surge from Town Creek, which runs directly through the property, filling the waterfront with heavy debris and washing away a small boat dock. Kennedy’s father has been working to restore the grounds ahead of upcoming wedding season. The venue escaped the municipal water and sewer disruptions that struck their neighbor James Avery.

The membership averages in their 30s and builds through an annual summer discovery meeting where local women learn about the organization before committing. Former members like Allison Buché remain embedded across the community’s civic infrastructure — Buché now serves on the Upper Guadalupe River Center board.

The 40th Annual Ball is Saturday, April 17, 2027, at Sendera Springs. The date was permanently moved to April to avoid conflicts with graduations, end-of-school events, and peak wedding season. Business underwriting outreach begins in October, with sponsorship tiers ranging from a $1,500 table to a $20,000 title level.

Full details and updates: hillcountrycharityball.com. Facebook and Instagram: “Hill Country Charity Ball.”