Fundraising galas are a popular way for nonprofits to raise money...but they aren't always easy to pull together. In this article, we'll walk you through 10 tips to make your gala more successful for you and your attendees.
If you’re a nonprofit professional, chances are that you have participated in a fundraising gala. These events typically include a dinner, some sort of entertainment, and additional fundraising opportunities like live or silent auctions.
Gala fundraisers are a popular way for nonprofits to raise money and build relationships with their donors. However, they’re not always easy to plan and execute. This is where we come to the rescue!
Read on to discover creative and effective tips to raise more at your next gala fundraiser.
For one, gala fundraisers are an opportunity to gather some of your nonprofit’s supporters and donors in one place and present to them your achievements and successes. They are an opportunity for everyone to interact in person – which happens more and more rarely in the nonprofit space unless you’re a small, local nonprofit.
Donors and supporters get to witness the impact their donations have made so far, to see the faces of those they’ve helped, and to celebrate the cause that connects everyone in the room. This usually compels them to give – which is another reason why galas are so popular with nonprofit professionals.
Although nonprofit leaders sometimes stray away from organizing galas because they can be a lot of work, a nonprofit of any size can do it – and do it well.
One of the key fundraising strategies for galas is to raise money through selling tickets, tables, and sponsorships. Donorbox Events makes creating many different types of ticket tiers and managing each of them easy. Plus, it allows you to ask for additional donations on top of ticket sales, getting you even closer to your goal!
Here is a great example of a successful gala event organized by Submersion14, Inc. They raised over $200,000 just with online ticket sales on Donorbox.
Sell Tickets for Your Gala on Donorbox
This fundraising tip goes without saying and applies to almost every fundraising idea out there. Goal setting is an essential step in planning and executing any healthy fundraising campaign or event.
Hopefully, your nonprofit has set strategic goals already. If not, now would be a good time to do it. This is an important step if you want to ensure the success of your nonprofit, especially when it comes to fundraising. Following that:
It’s important to do this to ensure that you’re not squandering your resources on something that’s not the best tactic to achieve your specific goals and objectives.
If you’ve gone through this step and confirmed that a fundraising gala is what you want to organize, ensure that you set specific goals for your gala event.
Consider using the SMART method to set goals.
Bonus: Download our free SMART Goal Setting Worksheet to help you set effective goals for your gala.
Organizing a gala fundraiser is no small task. Oftentimes, a gala fundraiser is the single biggest thing a nonprofit will organize in any given year.
This requires commitment and hard work. And to organize a successful gala that will impress and raise funds – you need a dedicated team or event committee.
Ideally, you would have a team whose sole responsibility for at least a couple of months is organizing the gala fundraiser. It’s very important to distribute tasks among the team members – not only during the preparation stage but also during the event itself.
Consider allocating responsibilities by zone. For example, someone is responsible for the registration zone, someone else for greeting the speakers, and someone else to manage volunteers.
Also, consider identifying one key Event Manager or Event Chair and – if possible – leaders/chairs of the following areas:
Learn more about how to create a fundraising event committee that actually works in this blog.
Choosing the right space for your gala is crucial. Because the venue will be one of the largest items in your budget, it’s important to take the time to get it right and find something that works for your event.
The perfect venue will depend on the following factors of your gala:
Taking all of these factors into account will ensure you find something that matches your fundraising gala needs. Be sure to look early, get multiple quotes, and ask for bundled services to save money.
When organizing any fundraising event, it can be hard to know what’s worth spending money on. After all, isn’t the goal of your gala to raise as much money as possible?
The old adage “you have to spend money to make money” rings true for fundraising galas. To bring in big dollars for your organization, you need to create an attractive event that more people will want to attend. However, that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.
Get creative with your gala to make a nice event that fits your nonprofit branding. For example, if a black tie event isn’t really your speed, save funds and host a picnic-style event instead.
Pro tip: Securing event sponsors is an excellent way to host a nice event without dipping too far into your budget. Learn how sponsorship levels help drive event revenue and start putting together packages.
Digital event management tools are the key to a successful fundraising gala. You can find tools to help you with every step of the planning process, including selling tickets and accepting donations.
Donorbox Events allows you to create customizable event pages and online ticketing forms. You can add unlimited ticket tiers to these forms to fit your event pricing strategy. You can also easily embed this form on your website or link supporters to your Donorbox-hosted page. This online event page and ticketing form make sharing your event easier with a link that you can add to your social media posts, bio, email invitations, and other marketing pieces. Donorbox also gives you a QR code with each event to make sharing even easier.
With Donorbox Events, you can set ticket quantity and a deadline to purchase gala tickets. You can also set the tax deductibility of each ticker tier. This helps boost transparency and sales. Additionally, Donorbox enables you to choose the currency in which you want to sell tickets, allows buyers to cover the processing fees, and accepts additional donations from the ticketing form. Plus, all your event tickets and purchasers’ data get stored in the Donorbox database for you to track.
Learn more about Donorbox Events in this quick video:
Once you have your fundraising goal, how are you going to meet it? Accepting donations during your event is a crucial opportunity to reach – and surpass! – your goal.
There are many ways to accept donations during a gala event:
Often, choosing a few methods together so your donors have as many ways to give as possible is the best practice for fundraising galas.
Donorbox Text-to-Give lets you easily set up text-giving so that your donors can access your online donation form by simply sending a text from their smartphones. Every Donorbox campaign receives a free QR code that you can share with your event attendees. Donorbox donation forms are mobile-optimized with a speedy checkout so that everyone has access to give to your nonprofit at all times!
Finally, setting up a donation kiosk at your gala event can be super easy with the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app. All you need is an iPad or Android tablet and a card reader device. Our app will quickly turn your tablet into a donation kiosk that you can use at the event to accept swift cashless donations and collect donor information so you can follow up. Learn six ways to use a donation kiosk at your next event in this blog!
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk - Learn More!
An important way to ensure you meet your fundraising goals and enrich the experience of your attendees is to include interesting fundraising activities.
Traditionally, these activities can include:
And more. Get creative and use the following tips to make your fundraising gala a big success!
Although gala fundraisers present a wonderful opportunity to talk more about your nonprofit, your initiatives, and your successes, don’t forget to create a memorable, enjoyable experience for your attendees!
This means entertaining in addition to sharing more about your organization’s mission. You can also take this opportunity to recognize and appreciate your donors and showcase what their support allows you to do.
In addition to this, consider the dietary requirements of your attendees. Especially at large international events, there are bound to be vegetarians, vegans, or people with dietary restrictions for religious or health reasons, etc. Cater to those preferences and requirements.
Finally, although gala fundraisers are often specifically created by nonprofits to solicit donations – they should be about celebration too. Get that spirit across through your decorations, your words, and your agenda. This can help reinforce the commitment your donors and supporters already have.
Even if your attendees have supported you for years and really believe in the mission of your organization, fun is the essential ingredient of a successful gala fundraiser.
If your attendees don’t have fun, they are less likely to donate, less likely to stay a supporter, less likely to come again next year, or less likely to spread good words about your nonprofit.
In addition to enriching activities like auctions and galas, consider having a theme for your gala fundraiser. Here are some ideas:
A thoughtful theme paired with legendary entertainment and great food will make for a memorable – and successful – night.
In the euphoria and tiredness that follows the organization of a big event, nonprofit professionals often forget about the “after.”
To get an objective assessment of how it all went ask participants to complete a printed or online survey after the event.
Ask them to assess various aspects of the event: logistics, speakers, locations, and the work of the organizers. This information will help you avoid mistakes in the future and improve the quality of your events.
Send ‘thank you’ emails to all the attendees and share ‘thank you’ messages on your social media profiles.
Also thank sponsors, speakers, VIPs, etc. by mail, phone call, or email – whatever is most appropriate for your specific relationships.
Post photos, short videos, and testimonials on the event website to keep interest alive and encourage attendees to tag themselves.
Reconcile all accounts. Have a meeting with your team to go over what went well and what could have been done better. This will help you start planning the next edition.
Organizing gala fundraisers can be a stressful and resource-consuming endeavor. However, in addition to being a great platform for raising funds, gala fundraisers are also an opportunity to build strong, lasting, and meaningful relationships with donors and supporters.
Now that you’ve read our top 10 tips and ideas for organizing a gala fundraiser, you’re ready to start planning!
Don’t forget to set goals, think about the venue and the logistics, consider the budget, go digital, decide how to accept donations, enrich the event with activities, make the attendee experience a priority, create fun, and pay attention to the time right after the event.
Donorbox Events and other powerful features of Donorbox such as Text-to-Give, Online Donation Forms, QR codes, Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, Peer-to-Peer, and more will help make fundraising with your gala easy and effective. Sign up to get started right away!
Check out our Nonprofit Blog for more nonprofit resources and tips.
Ilma Ibrisevic is a content creator and nonprofit writer. She’s passionate about meaningful work, sustainability, and social movements. If she’s not working, she’s obsessing over coffee or cooking. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
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Ilma Ibrisevic