Five years ago this week, I began writing and photographing the Out & About column for The New York Sun, to chronicle the social engine that raises money and promotes the work of nonprofits, artists, writers, and dreamers (as well as fashion designers, decorators, real estate brokers, wealth managers, and deal makers). Crashing a party or two every night (I think my record is five in one evening — and I’m nearly always invited) has taught me a thing or two. While my little black dresses are lovely, I can wear my formal black suits with flats. The world I cover is much more open than outsiders (like me) assume: Even the most closed sets understand it pays to be polite to the press (such folks take particular pleasure in referring to me as a member of the fourth estate). That is not to say that all the courtesies extended to me are superficial: I’ve seen a good deal of genuine interest and compassion, too.

Despite the glamour, who you are and what you are wearing and even how you behave are not what make an event meaningful. The most critical, enduring aspect of fund-raisers is their demonstration of the commitment of New Yorkers to be good public citizens. Parades and elections happen only so often. But almost every night in New York, one of the city’s 30,000 or so nonprofits is holding an event, bringing people together to help our city’s great institutions and its less fortunate citizens.