A Timeline for Organizing a Black-Tie Fundraising Gala

The following checklist is for a formal event featuring a cocktail reception and seated dinner with presentation, followed by entertainment.

This checklist was compiled from interviews with six event planners—three special-events consultants and three staff members who plan events for their nonprofit organizations. It was devised as a blank template adaptable by any charity, drawing from these experts’ experience, advice regarding best practices, and their own proprietary planning materials.

It is primarily designed for an event hosted at a large hotel or conference facility that can accommodate several hundred guests, but can be adapted for alternate venues. Auctions, either live or silent, would also be optional in this scenario.

12 Months in Advance

• Choose a chair for the event and nominate a steering committee. This group will make initial decisions regarding the event’s location, theme, budget, and more. The gala chair coordinates with a designated staff member from your organization—often the executive director—to approve and finalize major decisions. The chair should be given responsibility to make decisions regarding smaller event details. Name subcommittee chairs who report to the gala chair, as well. Recommended subcommittees include print and promotions (for creating invitations and advertising), decorations, auction, food and drink, and entertainment.

• Set the date. Do research to make sure your date does not conflict with any annual festivals, parades, or other large events in your area. Also check for competing charitable events scheduled for the same day.

• Decide on a budget. Non-negotiable basic budget categories include venue, decorations, food and drink, entertainment, and printing and promotion costs, along with other costs specific to your organization and event. Creating a budget for a first-time event can be tricky because there are many unknowns, including how much revenue the event will generate and whether sponsors will be found to pick up some of the costs. For more details, see the sample budget worksheet provided by New York Cares.

• Decide on the desired number of guests.

• Identify additional fundraising activities for the event. Silent auctions, raffles, or other activities can bring in additional revenue.

• Choose a theme. A theme for the event gives the planners a “hook” to organize the evening and helps guide decorations, invitations, entertainment, and even the dinner menu. Classic gala event themes include “casino night,” “masquerade” (with masks encouraged), or a disco-themed “Saturday night gala.” An Internet search can turn up many more fun ideas.

• Choose and reserve a central, convenient, and well-known venue for the party. Location options will be dictated in part by the planned number of guests. Ask what is included in the venue rental, because many include linens, votive candles, some table decorations, lighting, and other decor that can cut costs from the decorations budget.

• Hire entertainment. Consider the event theme when choosing the musical act. Typically, you’ll want a live band for dancing after dinner, but also consider music during the cocktail reception.

• Reserve audio-visual equipment. Invest in the rental of a high-quality setup; guests may not notice a good one, but they will certainly remember a bad one.

9 Months Before the Event

• Recruit subcommittee volunteers. Subcommittee chairs can be in charge of finding their own volunteers and delegating tasks.

• Compile a list of potential major sponsors for the event and begin speaking with them. Local companies, firms that have previously supported your organization, and major individual donors may elect to cover targeted budget items, such as the entertainment, or simply give a blanket amount toward event expenses.

• Set table and ticket prices based on your fundraising goal. Be realistic regarding your community and their expectations about ticket prices, but sell whole and half tables for more than individual ticket rates.

• Select a caterer, if the venue does not come with in-house catering services.

• Begin sending letters requesting donations for significant auction items, such as the donated use of a guest home or airline tickets. If your venue is a hotel, don’t forget to ask for the donation of a weekend getaway package.

• Order decorations. If rentals are required, make reservations now. Be creative and look online for ideas, as well as potential discounts for volume purchases. See what the venue has for use at little or no cost. Keep in mind that tabletop decorations could be auctioned off or given away as prizes during the event.

6 Months Before the Event

• Develop sponsorship packages for smaller donors. These allow small businesses and individuals to support the event at different, affordable levels. Sponsorship opportunities can include tables, half tables, or ad space in the program book.

• Choose the food and drink for the event, keeping in mind the gala’s theme for menu inspirations. Remember to provide vegetarian and vegan options, as well as multiple wine options. Have the caterer provide a tasting.

• Make a floor plan. Evaluate the venue space and determine placement of key areas like reception, check-in, dance floor, band stage, and video screens.

• Start the guest list. Compile names of possible attendees and firms to target. Remember to ask board members to use their own contacts for lists of potential guests, and request that board members consider buying tables themselves.

• Get the word out. Add the gala to your organization’s website and calendar.

• Design, print, and mail “save the date” cards. Typically, these go out four to six months ahead of the event date. If your date falls on or near a major holiday or over a three-day weekend, a longer lead time is better.

• Select software. Choose the software or app you will use for event-management tasks like guest registration and auction purchases. Get the software up and running to make sure there are no system glitches and that everyone working the event knows how to use it.

• Confirm equipment to be provided by the venue and determine if any supplemental rentals are needed.

• Develop a publicity plan. Figure out which platforms your organization will use to promote and advertise the event through mail, social media, television, and radio.

• Line up a host. If a live auction is part of the gala, consider hiring a professional auctioneer. A good auctioneer can also act as a master of ceremonies for the event, help with ideas for the auction, and provide suggestions for securing auction donations. Otherwise, consider tapping a charismatic board member or staff member to host the program portion of the event, make announcements, etc.

• Prepare auction-item contract forms for vendor and volunteer use. Put them on your website. Recruit board members to gather auction donations, and give auction forms to all board members, staff, and volunteers.

• Hire a photographer, if you want one and the budget allows.

3 Months Before the Event

• Design and print invitations. Be sure to include information on acceptable attire, the tax-deductible portion of the ticket price, major sponsors, and marquee auction items.

• Draft and send out press releases and community notices announcing the gala.

• Make sure all vendors are confirmed, contracts signed, and deposits paid.

• Finalize decor. Make a final version of the floor plan and make sure all decor items are chosen, orders are placed, and decorations scheduled to arrive on time. Plan storage for items arriving before the event date.

• Check in with sponsors. Review all committed sponsors to date, and assign additional sponsor-recruitment duties to board members or well-connected volunteers.

• Set up the organization’s website to accept online payment for tickets and sponsorships.

• Set the lineup for the evening’s presentation. Decide on content and begin to create slides, videos, and other materials. Invite any guest speakers now. Don’t forget to find ways to tell your nonprofit’s story.

• Design the program book. Lay it out in a draft format, but don’t print yet to allow for late additions. Remember to thank sponsors in print.

• Design and print any banners or other signage desired for the event. Major sponsors are often thanked on one or more banners displayed in different areas of the venue.

6 to 8 Weeks Before the Event

• Personalize and mail the printed invitations. Make sure the online registration and payment site is working.

• Develop the event-night schedule. Work up a timeline that describes the flow of the evening’s activities: for example, cocktails and silent auction at 6:30 p.m., begin moving guests into ballroom for dinner at 7:30 p.m., and cue the first video for presentation at 8 p.m. A sample schedule for a typical evening gala, provided by New York Cares, is available here.

• Gather all sponsor names and logos and insert them into the program book.

• Begin gathering auction items.

1 Month Before the Event

• Finalize the event-night schedule. Break this down to be as minute-by-minute as possible and use it to create an “event bible” checklist for all tasks to occur during event-day preparations and the event itself, including vendor-arrival times.

• Complete and edit the program and auction books.

• Generate bid sheets for the auction items. Follow up on any auction items not yet in hand. Create certificates for any intangible items donors are offering, such as services, travel, or the use of a vacation property.

• Follow up on any promised table sponsors who have not yet paid for their full or half tables.

• Arrange transportation. A truck or van will likely be necessary for transporting auction items and other materials to the event site. Reserve a rental for the day if needed. Recruit a volunteer to be in charge of loading, driving, and unloading items.

• Check in with vendors one last time.

2 Weeks Before the Event

• Print the menu, program, and auction books.

• Develop seating charts.

• Get the final headcount of guests to the caterer and venue.

• Finalize videos and other presentation elements.

• Review remarks with the event’s host or master of ceremonies.

• Inspect auction items. Check items against contracts and forms, and finish gathering any not yet in hand. Doublecheck bid sheets. Create baskets or displays for combined auction items.

• Request the names of all guests seated at sponsored tables, rather than “John Smith and nine guests.” This allows bid numbers to be assigned in advance for speedy check-in. In addition, if a sponsored table is not full, ask if you can place other paying guests at the table to enable last-minute ticket sales and a full room.

1 Week Before the Event

• Finalize seating charts and print table cards. When guests check in on event night, they receive a card with their assigned table number written on it. An actual card, rather than a verbal reminder, helps guests remember their seating assignment.

• Confirm the arrival times of the entertainers.

• Confirm volunteer arrival times and assigned duties.

• Rehearse any presentations.

• Prepare electronic devices and software that will be used during the event. Make sure everything is functioning perfectly. Decide what forms of payment will be accepted for auction items, and make sure those are supported.

• Prepare payments for vendors.

The Day Before the Event

• Move decorations and auction items to the venue, if possible. Most locations will provide a secure space for storing these overnight.

• Begin to decorate, if possible. Even if the venue will not allow access to the site until the day of the event, many locations will allow you to come in the night before to decorate and set up silent auction tables. These will be staged in a holding area and moved into place by hotel staff. Do not place valuable auction items on tables until the day of the event.

• Pack supplies. Fill a box with scissors, clear tape, duct tape, cord, push pins, permanent markers, and plenty of pens for the check-in and auction tables. You should have at least twice as many pens as auction items.

The Day of the Event

• Be the first one on site. Arrive before the vendors, to begin setup and decorating and to be on hand to direct vendors as they arrive.

• Ensure the check-in table is ready and staffed.

• Prepare the check-out table. This is where guests will pay for auction items.

• Once everything is set up, walk through the venue, pretending you are an attendee. Look for anything missing or set up wrong, or event flow that doesn’t work.

During the Event (Sample Times)

• Check-in starts at 6 p.m. Give guests their auction number, drink tickets, etc.

• Start the happy hour and silent auction. Typically this portion of the evening runs for 60 to 90 minutes, with an open bar.

• Open the doors to the dining room at 7:30 pm. Silent auction ends. This encourages guests to move to the main event space, allowing event staff and volunteers to begin preparing items for checkout. It can be challenging to get people who are enjoying themselves to move into the dining area. Consider temporarily or permanently closing the bar to encourage them to move in to dinner, where wine will be served.

• Begin dinner at 8 p.m. The first course may already be on the tables and opening remarks begin as soon as most people are seated.

• Time the program to begin when dinner has been cleared but before dessert is served. That might be as early as 8:30 or 8:45.

• Start the live auction, if you are having one. Dessert is often served now to keep people in their seats.

• Dance floor opens at 9:30 or 10 p.m. Many people begin to leave after the program portion of the evening concludes. Be sure auction checkout is open and ready for business. Offer a cash or open bar.

• Event concludes midnight.

Immediately After the Event Ends

• Clean up and stow any unclaimed auction items in a safe place.

• Check out vendors as they finish their pack-out to be sure they have left things clean.

• Return all rented or borrowed equipment.

Within 2 Weeks After the Event

• Write thank-you notes to all attendees, volunteers, and sponsors. Make these personal, when possible, and consider calling significant sponsors in addition to sending notes. Sending flowers or another small gift to anyone who helped out significantly during the planning process—say, the personal assistant of a major sponsor who coordinated many of the details or helped solve problems when they arose—is a good way to solidify relationships for future events.

• Send tax-deduction information. Auction donations and purchases, sponsorships, and table purchases may all qualify for a tax deduction.

• Evaluate the event. Meet with volunteers and staff to discuss how things went, lessons learned, and changes for next time.