8 steps to prepare for your nonprofit’s fundraising gala events.

Planning a fundraising event can seem daunting at first. But don't worry—or worry a little less. We've developed a few steps your nonprofit can take to ensure your fundraising gala event preparation phase runs smoothly.

Before we dive into the list, let’s define your fundraising goals. Think about the central message of this year's gala, the amount you need to raise, or the number of new donors you would like to sign up for your event. Once that's done, follow these eight steps (or download our handy planning a fundraising gala checklist) and start planning your next fundraising event to accept donations.

‍

What is a Fundraising Gala?

A fundraising gala is a formal event to raise money for a cause, nonprofit organization, or charitable project. These events typically include: 

• Dinner

• Entertainment

• Speeches highlighting the organization's mission or goals 

‍

A fundraising gala often attracts donors, supporters, and community members interested in supporting the cause.

Attendees at a fundraising event usually pay for tickets. Additional funds can be raised through activities like auctions or soliciting local businesses' sponsorships. 

Fundraising galas can be an effective way to engage supporters in a festive and inspiring environment while helping to secure significant contributions.

‍

Benefits of a successful fundraising gala include:

• Generate donations in ways that are good for the community

• Raise awareness for your cause

• Build meaningful relationships with donors

• Celebrate your nonprofit's achievements

‍

Before Your Fundraising Gala

Fundraising events take some time. Plus, you’ll need some upfront investment. The good news is that the earlier you start, the more opportunities you’ll have to accept donations — hopefully large ones. 

Now, what you do with that time matters. Your organization’s impact must be memorable and unique to keep donors engaged and continue to raise awareness for your cause.

‍

Questions to reflect on before you meet with your event committee

• Will the event's theme correspond to your fundraising ideas for the year?

• Will you have extras like branded merchandise?

• Can you partner with local restaurants, art galleries, or other organizations for one big event and save money?

• Have you researched how to plan a fundraising gala?

• What kind of help will you need, specifically when it comes to expertise? 

• How many committee members do you think you’ll need? 

‍

How to Plan a Fundraising Gala in 8 Steps

Zeffy has been helping people and organizations plan fundraisers for many years, and there are a few key components. The biggest things to remember for your fundraiser gala are to get started early, communicate to the point of overcommunication, and align your plans with your goals. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun!

‍

1. Make a fundraising gala budget

Setting a fundraising goal and budget for your gala event is so important that we've made it the first step on our checklist. You should establish your budget to guide your decision-making while planning your fundraising gala.

‍

Your budget should include all expenses such as:

• The right venue rental

• Catering service

• Entertainment (live band, DJ, etc.)

• Decorations to match your gala theme

• Marketing materials

• Staff or volunteer costs

• Liquor licenses

• Silent auction items

‍

It should consist of everything and anything that will contribute to the overall cost of your event so you can raise enough money to offset that amount and have enough left over to meet your nonprofit's needs.

Once you know how much you need to spend in order to have a successful gala event, you can create your fundraising goal and continue building on ideas to raise funds as you plan.

‍

2. Form a formal event committee

Assemble a committee of volunteers and involve your stakeholders as soon as possible. This will help you delegate tasks, seek advice, and save your sanity. 

A team can help you develop an event theme. You can also collectively determine more gala fundraising ideas for individual tickets that stand out from other formal events attendees might have attended.

Forming a gala committee for a nonprofit requires assembling a diverse team of dedicated volunteers who can bring various skills and connections to the table. 

Start by identifying individuals passionate about your cause. Look also for those who have experience or interest in event planning, fundraising, or community outreach. 

‍

Ideally, your committee should include people with a range of skills, such as:

• Marketing

• Budgeting

• Networking

• Project management

• Volunteer organization

• Sponsorship/ community outreach

‍

To get started, define specific roles, like Event Chair to ensure that responsibilities are clearly outlined and manageable. Hold an initial meeting to align on the event's goals, timeline, and budget. Then establish a regular check-in process to keep the team organized and motivated. 

Engaging local business leaders, board members, and enthusiastic community members can also help expand the event's reach and increase its overall impact. 

By forming a solid and well-organized gala committee, you can set the stage for a successful event that maximizes support for your nonprofit's mission. You’ll also build a strong network for every gala you have moving forward. 

‍

3. Choose a date and a venue

Next, figure out when and where you want to host your fundraising event. Maybe you have a venue in mind. That venue's availability may determine the date of your nonprofit's gala. Or maybe you host your fundraising gala on the same evening on the same weekend every year. Either way, booking your venue about a year in advance is a good idea.

‍

There are a few other things to keep in mind when choosing a date and a venue:

• Ensure the date is separate from any holidays or other significant events in your area.

• Double check that all the executives, members, volunteers, recurring donors, and other key players in your nonprofit organization are available. Remind them to book the date in their calendar. (These folks all have essential roles, and you don't want them to be double-booked.)

• Make sure the venue has the appropriate amenities and is the right size. If it is too big, your event will feel lacking; if it is too small, your guests will feel crowded and uncomfortable.

‍

You can also host your gala event online to raise funds from virtual attendees. Adding a silent auction and using your online fundraising tools is a great way to engage people and garner donations virtually. Choosing to do an online or hybrid event can also help you save money on event costs.

‍

4. Set deadlines for budgeting and planning

Creating clear deadlines for every step of your fundraising gala plan will help bring your event together, flag issues well in advance, and keep you on budget.

One great example of how to do this is to create a spreadsheet with your list of steps to accomplish. Be sure to include who is responsible for leading each step and when you want to have contracts signed, promotions started, branding completed, communications sent out, and ticket sales opened.

If you're looking for financial assistance to raise as much money as possible with your gala, consider partnering with a corporate sponsor who can help you save funds, donate auction items, arrange catering companies, or provide keynote speakers.

Be sure to leave some extra buffer time in your spreadsheet. Life happens, and the best thing you can do is cut yourself and your team slack by preparing for the unexpected! Check out our other ways to maximize your event fundraising.

‍

5. Negotiate

Everyone can negotiate, even for-profit businesses, but as a nonprofit organization, you are in a much better position to ask people and businesses what they can do to help. That means that you can negotiate the price of certain services or even have some services donated. 

Negotiating can help you save money for your event and build relationships with other organizations. These relationships will become part of your network, with people across industries doing what they can to help. They may even volunteer to become event staff or members of your committee. At the very least they will usually become attendees.

This doesn't mean they'll always say yes or that you won't need to offer something in return (such as tickets to the event), but you should never feel bad about asking. You’re raising money for an important cause, and you’re asking for a contract. In fact, contracts are your new best friend when planning a fundraising gala. Be sure to read them all and get them signed well in advance.

Hosting a successful gala is ensuring you can put as many dollars as possible into your impact and sell enough gala tickets to reach your fundraising goals without spending more than absolutely necessary. A corporate partner might boost your fundraiser to raise funds like never before.

‍

6. Keep communication strong

Around six months before the fundraising gala, start telling donors, volunteers, sponsors, and anyone else you want to attend about your fundraising event. Now is the time to start spreading the word and getting others to do the same. 

Advertising for a gala fundraiser means you should have your invitations and tickets designed and printed, programs thought out, emails written, posters ready to go, and other marketing materials designed and ready. (Think social media posts, radio announcements, updates to your website, etc.)

In addition to communicating your gala fundraiser to potential attendees, start reaching out and confirming potential sponsors. The earlier you do this, the better. 

Sponsors can help you cover event costs, give you ideas for entertainment, and spread the word. They can also share how much they donate to build positive word-of-mouth for their own business. 

‍

A few ideas to promote your gala event include:

• Use social media to announce your event and link online ticket sales

• Send out an email as a formal invitation to your gala fundraiser

• Share education about the impact of reaching your fundraising goal. Consider using a fundraising thermometer to visualize donations and progress during the event

• Offer early bird incentives to attendees who registers before a specific deadline

• Send a direct mail invitation to your most loyal donors or major donors

• Host a countdown campaign on social media stories that build excitement as a form of engaging entertainment 

‍

Good to know: Depending on the size of your event, you should start sending out invitations anywhere from six to three months in advance. (The sooner, the better, so potential attendees can reserve the date on their calendars.)

‍

7. Choose an online event management and ticketing platform

This one could have been step 4 or 5 on the list, but we would have felt terrible about plugging Zeffy that early on. But to be honest, choosing your event management and ticketing platform early will help:  

• Generate and send invitations and tickets

• Process your payments

• Send tax receipts

• Organize and track your invitees and confirmed attendees

• Keep everyone on your team in the loop

• Stay in touch with everyone

‍

Choosing your event management and ticketing platform early will help you generate and send invitations and tickets, process your payments, send tax receipts, organize and track your invitees and confirmed attendees, and keep everyone on your team in the loop.

There are platforms out there that you can pay to use, or there's Zeffy, which is the only 100% free online fundraising platform. Zeffy can help your nonprofit organization save thousands of dollars on platform and transaction fees, all while streamlining your fundraising event ticketing and communication process. (Plus, you can use Zeffy for much more than your yearly gala event.)

‍

8. Remember to say thank you

We've said it before and are about to repeat it: saying thank you is a critical part of this whole process. 

If your fundraising gala is an annual event, raising funds will depend on the meaningful relationships you build with attendees and donors. In your planning process, include communications you can send directly after the event begins, as it concludes, and in the following weeks and months.

‍

Ideally, appreciation communications will include:

• Gratitude for attending an online or in-person gala

• A reminder of the impact their contributions

• Kind words that encourage supporters to continue giving

• Alternative ways you accept donations throughout the year

• Photos that make your gala a memory they'll never forget

‍

Zeffy can help with our donor management software. We've written a blog post on the importance of saying thank you, including a few templates to get you started.

‍

Bonus tip: Learn from your fundraising galas

This step is the most important one. Every fundraising gala your nonprofit hosts will teach you something. So, collect as much data as you can every year:

• Event attendee names and contact info

• Ask for fundraising gala feedback to inform your next event

• Specific feedback for virtual guests to find ways to engage more virtual audiences

• Keep track of any sponsors

• Note any partners that you loved or not (and jot down why)

• Was the venue the right size for your gala's fundraising goals? Did it have all the amenities you needed?

• Were there any other events around the same time that affected yours?

• Which months were most impactful to raise money for your fundraising gala?

• What would encourage attendees to come back to your next fundraising gala?

‍

Throw a Gala Like You Mean It with Zeffy

Planning your big night? Don’t do it alone. Zeffy’s 100% free event fundraising platform helps you rally your team, track donations, sell tickets, and run the whole show without losing a cut of your earnings.

Sign up now and start planning your gala the smarter way—free, fast, and stress-free.

‍

Frequently Asked Questions: How to Plan a Fundraising Gala

‍

‍

‍

‍