Attendees can look forward to an elegant evening filled with inspiring stories, exciting entertainment, and opportunities to support an organization that helps local children reach their full potential at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County’s 2025 Dream BIG Gala on Friday, July 25, at the Madison Marriott West.
”This year, it’s all about glamour, glitter, and giving — it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. It’s a celebration that mentorship is golden,” Tracy Anderson, the community partnerships manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, tells Madison365. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The 2025 Dream BIG Gala will “honor the life-changing relationships between mentors and youth and the lasting impact these connections have on the community,” according to a press release from BBBS of Dane County announcing the event. BBBS encourages attendees to wear something golden to the event if they can. 
“We have one of the biggest silent auctions in town – there’s usually over 200 silent auction items at this event,” Anderson says. “We will have wonderful stories from matches — the Bigs and the Littles — which I know people really enjoy a lot. Those stories really give people a great idea about the organization and what we do, and the impact that we have.
“I think this is why we’ve chosen this year to celebrate that mentorship is golden, because you do hear the impact that it has on the kids, and we just actually had our [Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County] graduation at the [Wisconsin State] Capitol just a few weeks ago, and just hearing where all the kids are going and what they’re going to be doing … it’s amazing; it’s awesome.”
The Dream BIG Gala is also a chance to let the community know about everything BBBS does and the power and joy of being a mentor to a young person. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County serves around 500 children each year across the greater Madison area and throughout Dane County, according to its website.
“We just got done with the Big Draft Campaign that ended in April, and that was very successful, “Anderson says about the BBBS of Wisconsin partnership with NFL Inspire Change on a football-themed recruitment and marketing campaign to tackle the need for mentors statewide. All told, 14 Wisconsin BBBS organizations participated in the campaign. “Our goal was 100 new volunteers [locally] who were interested in becoming a Big, and we actually exceeded the goal by getting 141, so we were very pleased with that. The goal statewide was 700, so we met our goal statewide, as well.”
“We’re still looking for men, as always … Bigs of color, as always. We have seen an impact, though. We’ve noticed that the number of Bigs of color has doubled since we started the different campaigns that we’ve been doing,” Anderson says. “I think nationally, across the board, at any BBBS agency, you’re just going to hear the same thing: We need more men, and we need more Bigs of color.”
Anderson adds that mentorship is very fulfilling both for the Bigs and Littles.
“It’s really just all about that one-to-one mentoring, and we’ve seen that it truly makes a difference with the young person’s education. The young people are more likely to go to college if they have a mentor in their lives. They’re less likely to partake in alcohol or drugs. According to national statistics, kids are more likely to get a better-paying job when they become adults if they have a mentor in their life, which is giving back to our society.
“But, remember that it’s also rewarding for the Big, as well. We hear a lot of stories from Bigs, including myself, about how being a Big has really changed their lives, too,” she adds.
The host for the 2025 Dream BIG Gala will be Brandon Taylor, anchorperson for WKOW-27 here in Madison. The cocktail reception and silent auction will be held at 5 p.m., followed by the dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. Cocktail attire is suggested for the event. There are still sponsorships available. For more information on that, click here. To donate an item to the silent auction, click here.
Anderson says there will be fun surprises at the event and that it is going to be “very interactive.” “People are going to love it,” she says.
“The goal of the Dream Big Gala is to raise money … it’s our biggest fundraiser. We fundraise all year, every year, constantly, because we want to keep our programs free to our matches, our parents and Littles,” Anderson says. “So it is essential. Our fundraising events make up about 30 percent of our annual budget.
“We want people to come and support the mission and help us raise money to keep the programs free, and just to learn more about the organization,” Anderson continues. “It’s a great way to learn about us and to learn if you might be interested in becoming a Big. It’s a great opportunity to network and to connect with the community. We do get over 600 people who attend this event. So it’s a great networking space … lots of great community members.”
For tickets to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County Dream BIG Gala, click here.
