Launching a New Gala in an Old Theater

C. Elliott/The Rialto Theatre

The Rialto Theater, in historic downtown Tucson, began life in 1919 as a vaudeville house and silent movie theater. The building went through many subsequent incarnations—including a stint as a furniture warehouse—before being abandoned for more than a decade.

After extensive restoration, the theater now operates as a nonprofit performance venue under the auspices of the Rialto Theater Foundation, which was founded in 2004.

It was nearly a decade later, however, that the organization held its first annual gala fundraiser.

Kristin Evans, the Rialto’s marketing director, says the idea arrived in 2012 along with new executive director Curtis McCrary and a revamped board of directors. The new leadership had the twin goals of establishing sponsor relationships with local companies and spreading the word that the theater is a charitable institution.

“Since we are the city’s premier rock-music venue, it seems many people, even those who come to our shows, don’t realize that we are also a place they can target their philanthropy,” explains Ms. Evans.

The inaugural gala was held in February 2013 and was, according to Ms. Evans, a “very fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants” event thrown together in less than three months.

“Since we are in the business of putting on shows, we do have some advantage in terms of pulling together all the elements of an event—but in hindsight, 11 weeks was clearly not enough time,” she says.

Even with only three months of planning time and a budget of $12,000, the event brought in $24,000, for a total of $12,000 raised. “It was a success despite the fact that we had no idea what we were doing,” she says.

Those results were encouraging enough to inspire encore performances: The organization held a second gala in February 2014 that cost $15,000 and brought in $36,000, raising a net $21,000. The goal for the third gala, to be held in February 2015, is to bring in $75,000 before expenses.

“We didn’t have very defined goals going into that first year, and we are still refining both the process and more targeted objectives for future galas,” says Ms. Evans. “We are definitely learning as we go.”

Ms. Evans shared the lessons Rialto has learned so far as it enters the third year of the event:

Use your connections. Many of the theater’s employees, from bartenders to sound and lighting techs, work there for fun in addition to having other jobs. When preparing for the second gala, the nonprofit asked theater personnel to take donation packets to their other places of employment and ask for auction donations or sponsorship support.

Work with what you have. The drawback of holding a gala event in a classic 1920s theater is not being able to offer the typical seated dinner. Ms. Evans says that Rialto’s leadership discussed moving the party to a hotel, turning it into a bigger, fancier—and more traditional—event to raise more money.

“In the end, we decided that we need to keep the event on site so people can see what they’re supporting,” she says.

So in place of a formal plated dinner, the event features small-plate offerings from local restaurants. There is also a midnight taco bar, because the Rialto’s gala runs much later than most traditional fundraising soirees.

“We are, after all, still a rock-and-roll venue!” Ms. Evans says.

Don’t undersell yourself. Ms. Evans says that a major first-year mistake was to treat the event like a music show that also happened to be a fundraising gala.

“We structured admission so that you could buy these upgraded tickets where you could come to the auction, get the drinks and the food, for $100—or just pay $25 to see the band,” she explains. “Guess which option the majority of people picked.”

Find creative ways to appeal to your target audience. The theater has the advantage of a built-in connection with people who attend its music shows. This group, however, tends to be younger and less philanthropically experienced than the older, wealthier demographic typically courted for gala fundraising events. The organization’s newest target market for the gala is 28- to 45-year-olds, with the hope of increasing attendance as well as widening the circle of potential donors.

To get their attention, Ms. Evans says, the organization is “using social-platform marketing and also our own personal networks—most of us who work here are actually in the target age group—to reach out to Tucson’s young professionals.”

To create buzz around the event, the nonprofit is also planning to give away a number of gala tickets through promotions and contests.

“The challenge here is that the younger demographic knows us primarily as a place to go see music, rather than a nonprofit entity, and they don’t necessarily have an easy $75 to blow on a gala ticket,” says Ms. Evans. “So first we have to educate them: show how that money is not just one night’s entertainment, but goes to support a good cause all year long.”

By the Numbers

February 2013 event: $24,000 in gross revenue, $12,000 in expenses, three months of planning

February 2014 event: $36,000 in gross revenue, $15,000 in expenses, five months of planning