2023 White Elephant Sale Raises $2.1 Million

(OAKLAND, CA) March 21, 2023— The 64th annual White Elephant Sale (WES), held over five weeks throughout February and through the first weekend of March 2023, raised over $2.1 M to support the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). The White Elephant Sale, organized and presented by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, is the biggest annual fundraising event benefiting OMCA. A substantial portion of these proceeds supports OMCA exhibitions, programming, and operations each year.

“We were so excited to welcome shoppers back to the warehouse for our 64th White Elephant Sale, and continue our mission to support OMCA,” said Renata Dowdakin, President of the Oakland Museum Women’s Board. “I’m so proud of our Board and our dedicated volunteers for their commitment to this Oakland tradition.”

“We are so grateful for the Oakland Museum Women’s Board’s extraordinary commitment to OMCA throughout the past 64 years,” said OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty. “As the single largest donor to OMCA, the Women’s Board and their White Elephant Sale are absolutely essential to the success of the Museum. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the leadership of the Women’s Board and the hard work of hundreds of volunteers who make the White Elephant Sale possible each year.”

In 2021, due to the impacts of COVID-19, the Sale took place entirely online for the first time in its history. For 2023, organizers offered  the Sale’s cherished in-person shopping experience, while prioritizing the safety and comfort of shoppers and volunteers with guidelines and safety protocols, resulting in a significant increase in raised funds, totalling $2.1 M.

Made possible by donations from the public, the Sale accepts donations of gently used, good quality items year-round. For the latest updates and more information on how to donate —including a list of items that cannot be accepted—please visit WhiteElephantSale.org.

About The Oakland Women’s Board

The sole purpose of the Oakland Museum Women’s Board (OMWB), a dedicated group with 114 year-round members, has been to raise money to support the Oakland Museum of California acquisitions, exhibitions, educational programs, capital improvements, and more. Since 1959, the OMWB has contributed over $27 million to the Museum. With the help of a thousand dedicated volunteers, they work year-round to organize and present the White Elephant Sale held annually during the first weekend in March which attracts shoppers from the Bay Area and beyond.