Galas are a mainstay of the fundraising world for their ability to attract and retain donors, leverage a wide variety of donation procurement channels, and celebrate the impact and community that your organization has created. Many donors look forward to them each year, and nonprofits that host them rely on these events to help hit their annual revenue and engagement goals.
If you’re like thousands of other nonprofits, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 left you scrambling to cancel, postpone, or quickly create socially-distanced alternatives to your annual fundraising events.
In looking back, we thankfully see that the traditional nonprofit gala hasn’t gone away, but rather diversified and evolved.
There are more options than ever for nonprofit galas, thanks to fundraising software and the nonprofit sector’s resilience and creativity. Although these events may come in new shapes and sizes, throwing a celebration to engage your donors and ask for future support will never go out of style.
So what are the changes, trends, and lessons that we’ve learned since the pandemic? We’ve got five key takeaways to keep in mind and incorporate into your next special event.
Mixed events and hybrid galas are the new norm.
Mixed events (aka hybrid fundraisers), where guests can attend either in-person or virtually, have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. We found that this approach grew significantly between 2021 and 2022, with 57% of nonprofits hosting hybrid experiences.
So what does a hybrid event look like? Here are a few common best practices we’ve seen emerge:
Nonprofits should treat mixed-events as dual experiences rather than fully separate events. Equal attention should be given to both the in-person and remote experiences.
In-person invitations are often reserved for major and mid-level donors and community partners for face-to-face engagement and classic gala activities like live auctions.
Remote attendance can be free and open to all supporters to join, or nonprofits might create tiered ticket options that have virtual-friendly perks and rewards.
The event’s main activities should be accessible for both audiences, like livestreamed entertainment and speakers or a hybrid auction run through mobile bidding software.
Virtual-centric activities should also be developed for the remote audience, like interactive chat rooms, prerecorded content, and social media contests.
The key takeaway is that the benefits of dual audiences are undeniable—the ability to engage donors no matter their location, reduced event overhead, and flexible new ways to tailor the attendee experience. We’re unlikely to see this trend go away anytime soon.
Many nonprofits have already invested in the technology and strategies needed to host hybrid events, which makes it even easier for them to create new events of all sizes going forward. If you have yet to go hybrid, it’s never too late to explore your options.
Gala programming is diversifying.
It makes sense that as the gala format evolves, so will the activities and appeals that fill their programs. The range of programming available to nonprofits has grown dramatically as they explore new options and get creative to maximize engagement in mixed-event environments.
Auctions are the perfect example. A traditional gala auction revolves around live bidding as an auctioneer presents items. This approach still works when limited to in-person audiences, but the key to success with hybrid galas lies in ensuring both audiences can easily engage.
Mobile bidding software allows you to host flexible auctions better suited to dual formats. You might:
Host a silent auction open to everyone throughout the duration of the event. Attendees browse items and place bids via your mobile bidding software. Use notifications and live updates to announce bidding closures and keep the energy up.
Livestream a traditional auctioneer presenting your items, and allow both in-person and virtual attendees to place bids via their smartphones.
Open up bidding before your gala to give everyone a chance to explore your items and place bids, then save your showstopper items for livestreamed bidding and mobile bids.
Technology helps you be more flexible as you work to engage everyone no matter where they are.
Note that engagement doesn't have to be simultaneous or look the same for both sides of your event. In-person activities like dinner and dancing can’t be easily replicated, but there are other engaging things your remote attendees could do in the meantime. Mix in a variety of fund-a-needs, bidding activities, video content, raffles, livestreamed entertainment, and more. This will allow you to create engaging programs that overlap in key spots and offer different options in others.
Elevated virtual experiences have increased in popularity.
As virtual and dual audience events become the norm (and perhaps even the preferred option) for many of your donors, it’s important to remember that you can still offer VIP experiences when reaching donors through their laptop screens or smartphones.
After all, one of the benefits of traditional galas is that they allow nonprofits to get valuable facetime with their most important supporters and partners. If you host a purely virtual gala or create a “Virtual VIP” tier for a hybrid gala, don’t let those personal touches fall by the wayside for your mid-level and major donors. Nonprofits have seen success with these strategies:
Partner with a restaurant to deliver dinner to remote attendees.
Provide hand-delivered goody bags and swag to VIP virtual guests before the event.
Recruit “living room captains” or fundraising ambassadors to host other supporters at their homes to enjoy the virtual event together. The ambassadors can then help facilitate activities and lend a personal touch to the event.
This last strategy is particularly useful because it can easily create a competitive spirit as each ambassador tries to generate the most excitement and donations. Live scoreboards and rewards for top ambassadors are a must to make the most of this tactic.
The underlying idea is to find ways to drive more engagement by connecting what’s happening at home with what’s happening at the event, and it can be applied to all remote attendees, not just VIPs. For instance, try showing photos and tweets on your main event screen in real-time as supporters post about your gala and packages they’re trying to win on social media. Everyone appreciates a shout-out!
Smaller, more frequent events can also keep donors engaged.
As nonprofits invest more into their virtual and hybrid strategies, it becomes easier and more cost-effective to launch new events. Many nonprofits will prefer to stick with the traditional big annual gala model, but you have more options!
It’s possible today to host smaller, more frequent events and drive similar levels of engagement. This approach also allows you to more deliberately target specific segments of supporters. For example, you could host:
Small in-person auctions and dinners
Virtual telethon events
Virtual run, walk, or ride events
In-person golf tournaments
Virtual workshops
Whatever types of events most appeal to the different segments that make up your donor base, there are flexible, cost-effective ways to focus your efforts and maximize engagement. Donors can choose the events that best fit their interests and schedules, you can target specific segments to invite, and your sponsors will even have more options to fund events that align with their needs.
For your annual gala, try this idea: Rather than hosting a single, large event as your annual celebration, break it up into a month of celebration. Plan a series of small, targeted events (in-person and virtual) leading up to a main virtual event or scaled-down hybrid event with limited in-person attendance.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a flexible addition to gala strategies.
Peer-to-peer fundraising has been around for a while now, but it’s only increasing in popularity. Social giving is on the rise, with 27% of US adults giving to peer-to-peer-style campaigns between 2020 and 2021. This method brings quite a few benefits:
Expanded visibility and donor acquisition as supporters spread the word online
Deepened relationships with donors who take leading roles in your campaigns
Decentralized approaches that can reduce your direct involvement, particularly for DIY-style campaigns
Integrating peer-to-peer elements into your gala plans can be a gamechanger for both your revenue and donor engagement goals. The main idea is to host a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign leading up to the main event, generating interest, registrations, and donations along the way.
A favorite strategy is to recruit fundraising ambassadors. As mentioned above, ambassadors might host viewing parties for your virtual events, but they can help in other ways, too. Recruit excited, well-connected supporters to create their own campaign pages and compete to generate the most registrations and donations for your gala.
Then, highlight your ambassadors during your program by thanking your top performers, having them complete funny challenges, and giving them time to speak about why your mission matters—the options are limitless. Ambassadors give your campaign and event an even more personal connection for the donors and attendees they’ve secured for your cause.
By getting creative and turning to your supporters to help drive more engagement for your gala, you can see some amazing results.
These are five ways that we are currently seeing nonprofit galas adapt to changing circumstances, donor preferences, and trends. While your nonprofit doesn’t necessarily need to dive headfirst into unfamiliar new strategies, getting a little out of your comfort zone and updating your gala can show donors that your organization is responsive and energetic.