“Toward the Light: Artists for the Ali Forney Center,” an exhibition at David Zwirner gallery in New York, was only on view at the gallery for four days, but during that short time, it raised $950,000 for the Ali Forney Center, a nonprofit that runs a 24-hour drop-in center for queer youth and offers assistance with housing, education, job training, and medical care.

Its curator, art adviser Stephen Truax, initially had the goal of raising $350,000, slightly more than was raised at last year’s benefit exhibition. He more than doubled that amount.

The previous two iterations of this event were co-organized with Sotheby’s auction house, and were smaller in scope, with six works by six artists available in each sale. Those sales raised $545,000 (in 2023) and $373,000 (in 2024), including fees. This year, Truax told ARTnews, he wanted to partner with a gallery in order to have more control over who is buying the works, and for how much. This shift allowed him to bring in many more artists, including high-profile ones like Ross Bleckner, Marlene Dumas, Jenna Gribbon, Julie Mehretu, and Wolfgang Tillmans.

Truax saw the gallery model as more of a “win-win-win,” benefiting the gallery, the charity, and the participati...