Holly Madison is once again lending her name and her own story to Southern Nevada's biggest autism fundraiser. The television personality and bestselling author is returning as event ambassador for the Grant a Gift Gala, according to the Las Vegas Sun, which posted photos of Madison posing at Allegiant Stadium ahead of the event.
Madison previously attended the 2025 Grant a Gift Gala, and her renewed role as ambassador carries personal weight: she revealed in November 2024 that she had been formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult, following seven evaluation sessions conducted over Zoom, according to Newsweek. Her involvement gives the fundraiser a direct line to the community it serves, rather than a purely ceremonial celebrity presence. Photos of Madison at the stadium were published by the Las Vegas Sun.
A Foundation Born From One Family's Search for Help
The gala benefits Grant a Gift Autism Foundation, a Las Vegas nonprofit founded in 2009 by Lynda Tache after her son Grant was diagnosed with autism at age six. Tache started the organization to fill what she saw as a gap in diagnostic and support resources for Southern Nevada families, per the UNLV News Center.
That mission expanded significantly in October 2016, when the foundation partnered with the UNLV School of Medicine to open the UNLV Medicine Ackerman Autism Center, creating what the university's news office described as Nevada's first unified facility for diagnosis, research, and family support. The center was named after Andrew Ackerman, the son of Gary Ackerman, who remains a founding donor tied to the organization. In June 2021, Grant a Gift assumed full operational and administrative control of the center from UNLV Medicine while keeping an ongoing clinical affiliation, the foundation says.
Thousands of Families, Rising Diagnosis Rates
Today the foundation serves more than 8,000 families and delivers over 15,000 hours of therapy annually across Southern Nevada, according to figures reported in January 2025 by Charity Charge. Services include diagnostic evaluations, ABA therapy, and vocational training for families navigating what can otherwise be a long and confusing process.
The need has only grown more visible on the policy level. During Nevada legislative hearings in November 2025, foundation executives cited updated CDC figures showing that 1 in 31 children is now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, testimony that came as foundation leadership pushed lawmakers to remove diagnostic barriers, per records from the Nevada Legislature.
Fundraising Muscle Behind the Milestone Gala
The gala itself, alongside the foundation's Race for Hope 5K, generates more than $1 million combined each year for patient care and support programs, the foundation has said. The 5K drew a record 967 participants and raised $122,000 at its 15th running at Town Square Las Vegas in April 2024, an event that also included 36 resource fair vendors offering information to attending families.
This year's gala carries extra significance. The 16th Annual Grant a Gift Gala, set for October 22, 2026, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on the field at Allegiant Stadium, will run under a “Patterns & Prints” theme and marks the ten-year milestone of the Ackerman Center's operation. The stadium connection traces back to February 2021, when former Las Vegas Raiders President Marc Badain joined the foundation's 14-person Board of Directors, cementing the civic relationship that now brings the gala's live and silent auctions onto the Allegiant Stadium field each fall.
