By: Shannon Eason, Fundraising Auctioneer

“Ok, our goal is to keep our program mission focused, the timeline tight, a fabulous guest experience, and break records in our fundraising!” said everyone in the nonprofit world holding a gala. But then, there’s a slight mention of a “KEYNOTE SPEAKER”.

“Wait, did you just say you’re having a keynote speaker?”(Insert shocked face)
“Did we mention we’re handing out several awards….and allowing them to make speeches.” (Insert Pained face)
“We’re also doing a buffet with one line for our 300 guests and doing a dessert bar afterward.” (Insert slow death emoji)
“And last but not least, we need you to finish your auction and paddle raise in 15 minutes so the band can play because we know our entire crowd will want to stay, party and dance until dawn.” (Insert The Impossible Dream theme)

OK, don’t get me wrong…some of these elements can be inserted into a timeline successfully. I apologize for the drama and exaggeration. But….bear with me here.
  1. Sometimes, it’s better to just not. It’s better to just not have a keynote speaker and instead have someone make 3-5 minute remarks.
  2. It’s better to pre-record thank you’s and not risk an awardee going rogue and rambling for 20 minutes. Yes, it’s happened. Yes, it happens more than you would think. And yes, an awardee has gone on longer than 20 minutes.
  3. It’s better to just not have a single buffet line for 300 people and instead go with 3 stations and 6 lines.
  4. And if you’re having a buffet, it’s better to just not have a dessert station. If you’re having a buffet, then preset your dessert and you’ll save a good 20 minutes. Once you get everyone seated, it’s so hard to start over again if they are getting up for dessert.
If you want to keep your program mission focused, a tight timeline, a fabulous guest experience and record fundraising, those four tips will go a long way. But here are a few more:
For a mission focused program, less is more.
  1. A few well thought out pull up banners with stats on how you are changing the world one child, one pet, one job or one student at a time will go a long way.
  2. Using statistics to educate your donors at each level during the paddle raise is a great investment in time and will not only educate, but fascinate your attendees.
For a tight timeline:
  1.  Again, less is more. The less people on stage, the less time you’ll spend in transitions.
  2. Utilize the end of dinner/beginning of dessert to start your program.
  3. Have volunteers/fundraising team ready to help move people into the next area to save precious time. Remember, in the gala world, each minute of the evening has a dollar value assigned. $$$$
For a Fabulous Guest Experience:
  1. Keep the evening moving…but make sure you provide time for your guests to visit. If you don’t, they’ll find the time during the program.
  2. Do something DIFFERENT!
  3. Make sure they have fun and make sure they know why they are there.
Record Fundraising:
  1. Keep evening mission focused
  2. Keep the timeline tight
  3. Create a fabulous guest experience
See what I did there? By keeping those three things in mind, the fourth will come!  Utilize your summer to see how you can shake things up at your event this year!

Happy fundraising!