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Where to Start if Your Organization is New to Galas

By  Michelle Gienow
February 27, 2015

What makes a gala so special—and worth all that work?

“A gala is one moment in time where you can get in front of an attentive, sympathetic audience that is there to do nothing but sit and listen,” says Kristi Meagher, an event planner at the Chicago firm Jasculca Terman. “If you present your story in a compelling way, they will leave engaged and energized—ready to donate, to volunteer, to spread your message to others. There’s true power there.”

She says the gala fundraiser model is “so popular and enduring” above all others because of the opportunity for “quality one-on-one together time.”

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What makes a gala so special—and worth all that work?

“A gala is one moment in time where you can get in front of an attentive, sympathetic audience that is there to do nothing but sit and listen,” says Kristi Meagher, an event planner at the Chicago firm Jasculca Terman. “If you present your story in a compelling way, they will leave engaged and energized—ready to donate, to volunteer, to spread your message to others. There’s true power there.”

She says the gala fundraiser model is “so popular and enduring” above all others because of the opportunity for “quality one-on-one together time.”

“You don’t know if someone will read a mailing or click on a video link, but you do know they are there in their seat at your event,” says Ms. Meagher. “As long as you can manage it on the staffing and financial sides, a gala truly can be a great opportunity.“

Determine if a gala is right for your group

Despite this opportunity, she and many other planning professionals caution that hosting a gala may not be the right move for every organization. Deciding whether a gala is a good fit for your group starts by defining goals for the event, event experts say.

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“You need to precisely articulate the purpose and hoped-for outcomes of this event: why you want to hold it, who is the audience,” says Andrew Zill, senior design director for Feats, an event-planning company in Baltimore. “And, most importantly, what you are you trying to accomplish—attract new donors, reconnect with existing supporters, recruit new volunteers?”

Once you have your organization’s goals on paper, he says, it may become clear that a gala isn’t right for your organization.

While Mr. Zill specializes in designing large galas, he says that other types of fundraising events—such as casino nights, fun runs, and golf tournaments—can have “just as much fun factor” as a gala, while also raising money and awareness with less up-front investment.

However, he and other event professionals argue that there is prestige associated with hosting a formal event and that they attract high-dollar donors who may not be interested in attending, say, a walkathon.

The Morris Animal Foundation, for example, launched its signature fundraising gala, Black Ties and Tails, in 2011 after realizing its walkathon events, while successful, were not attracting wealthy donors.

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The decision whether to launch a gala fundraiser often comes down to money.

“Whatever your financial goal, you need to spend at least 10 percent of that number to bring in that gross,” says Petra Compel, a planner with Feats. Unfortunately, she says, there are no guarantees: “You can’t promise somebody that if you spend $10,000, you’ll raise $100,000.”

So the ability to weather a possible money-losing event—when costs exceed gross revenue—is a key factor in deciding whether to hold a gala.

“Big events can lose money, particularly in the first couple of years,” Ms. Compel says. “But the potential for big rewards means that some risk is inevitable.” Careful planning can go a long way to reducing that risk.

Figure out who’s going to do the work

Nonprofits have to think about the balance between employees’ mission-related responsibilities and the possible redirection of staff time and resources to plan a large event.

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Rather than take time away from existing programs, many charities hire a professional planner with nonprofit event experience. An event specialist brings informed opinions and contacts that can make the planning process faster and easier. Even better, a planner’s established relationships with service providers often means discounts, says Ms. Meagher, the events planner. She says a charity can potentially save enough money to cover the planner’s fee.

But an event pro will still need help, says Ms. Meagher.

“One event person cannot run the entire thing single-handedly,” she says. “Even with a professional at the helm, a successful event still takes the the entire organization, including volunteers, staff, and board.”

The following players make important contributions to the event-planning process, she explains:

  • The volunteers are “boots on the ground” detail wranglers, handling on-site details like decorations and the silent auction.

  • The board is invaluable for contacts and connections to build the “right” guest list and find sponsors.

  • At least one staff member generally coordinates all of the above, plus handles the presentation portion of the event.

Get organized

If your nonprofit decides to hold a gala, you’ll want to start by creating a detailed timeline for event planning. It will include deadlines for tasks such as securing a venue, recruiting a volunteer committee, and getting invitations designed, printed, and mailed—as well as who is responsible for completing each task.

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“The timeline keeps people on track, especially if you’re relying on volunteer committees to carry out a lot of the work,” says Kate O’Brien, events specialist at the Morris Animal Foundation in Denver.

She recommends updating the timeline regularly and sharing it “abundantly” with everyone involved with the event.

See a sample event timeline.

Set the budget

Many charities contemplating a first gala begin the budget by identifying how much money they can afford to earmark for the event, according to event-planning experts.

“Working backward from your overall number, you can identify places where you put more of your money—‘bang for the buck’ items like, say, a great band, if for example that is important to the group you’re hoping to pull in—and other places you can skimp or even skip,” says Ms. Meagher.

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Creating a budget for a new event is difficult because there are so many unknowns.

“Revenue sources can be a real question mark going in, which makes it tough to develop a realistic budget—particularly for a first-time event,” says Ms. O’Brien.

She advises talking with contacts at other nonprofits who have held similar events and asking them to walk you through the process. Many will be willing to share planning aids like budget templates and contacts with vendors.

A sample gala planning budget, supplied by New York Cares, can be found here.

Select the venue

Hotel ballrooms are a traditional gala venue and provide many advantages. A central location, experienced staff, and reliable on-site services are often combined in a convenient package. However, this one-stop-shop approach can also be expensive—and, planning professionals say, ho-hum predictable.

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Alternative venues can cost less to rent and help a fledgling gala stand out in the social calendar.

“Think about an interesting alternative location that fits with your message,” advises Mr. Zill. “If you’re in education, for example, consider contacting local universities. They will have conference-center and event space.” He also suggests local museums as interesting and surprisingly affordable locations.

Or—depending on your charity’s circumstances—consider your own premises. The Maryland Food Bank, for example, used its own warehouse to host its successful Blue Jeans Ball galas.

Get ready for the big day

To head off gala crises big and small, planners recommend creating an event bible, a detailed, minute-by-minute schedule of the event itself, from the first vendor beginning to set up until the last person turns out the lights.

“The idea is if something terrible happened and I could not make it to this event I’d been working for a year to organize, someone could still pick up this document and run things,” says Ms. Meagher.

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An event bible contains a complete list of contact names and phone numbers, as well as a roster of vendors, with bulleted break-outs of exactly what each is providing and when it’s supposed to be in place.

The event bible also works as a “great briefing and troubleshooting tool for staff and volunteers working the event,” says Ms. Meagher. ”Be sure to run through it with them regularly, to see what questions come up.”

Unfortunately, this is one document that needs to be created from scratch for each event. Checklist format is best, and it should be ready two to four weeks ahead of the event, Ms. Meagher says.

The bottom line: Experience matters

Ultimately, there is no substitute for what you learn by actually planning and carrying out a formal event.

“Sometimes you just need to do it and see how it goes,” advises Mr. Zill. “You might even have to do it for a couple of years before you get a feel for what works—or if it even works at all.”

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Despite the demands—and even risks—of hosting a sizable event, he concludes, there is always at least one guaranteed benefit: “People coming to a party, and then going home at the end of the night feeling good, in conjunction with your group, your story—that’s always going to be a net positive.”

Read other items in this How to Plan and Put On a Fundraising Gala package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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