Gala Event Ideas to Incorporate to Raise the Funds

 

Galas are the number one way to make money for your Non-Profit organization.  Your gala should be a glitzy black tie affair or a theme that will be positively accepted by your guests. Here are some Success Tips and Fundraising ideas to incorporate for a successful event.

• What Type of Gala to have?

Black-Tie– Formal Event that is the most popular.

Fashion Show -fashion event with designs from some of the best designers or team with local stores for a children’s fashion show.

Local Artist Auction -An art auction consisting of work donated entirely by local artists is great for the art museum hosting the event and the culture of the surrounding community as well.

Blue Jean, Heels & Ties-  Semi Formal Events are very popular with the younger crowd.

Chefs Event –  Local chefs donate their time at your fundraising event.

Themes  –  Check out this site for many different themed ideas

• To Do Sucess List

Start early in planning:  Form your committees and delicate.  You can not do this by yourself.

Make a Budget and stick to it:  When you’re early in the planning process, you’ll need to do some projected budgeting to make sure your event won’t cost so much that it detracts from the donations. The fundraising component has to be your first concern. Try to keep expenses low by securing in-kind donations and sponsorships. Reserve your Venue

Reserve your Venue:  You will need to think about logistics.  Know the approximate amount of guests that will be attending, and make your budget work.

Corporate Sponsors – This is a MUST. Corporate Sponsorships will support your organization year after year.  Form partnerships early with each Corporate Sponsor.

Ticket Sales – Sell tickets early.

• Fundraising Options to Investigate

  1.  Golden Trip of a Lifetime Raffle 

Secure a Consignment Experience for $3000 and make $7000.  Sell ONLY 100 tickets for $100 for $10,000.

Sell 100 tickets for $100 dollars apiece weeks before the event. ONLY the FIRST 100 people will have the chance to win. That’s a grand total of $10,000 less the $3000 cost for the trip, providing your event with a $7000 profit before anyone walks into the building that night. Make it fun and competitive by incentivizing your committee selling the tickets that the person who sells the most tickets, gets a free ticket in the raffle drawing. This allows you to sell tickets to anyone even if they aren’t in attendance that night. It also advertises your event. A win-win situation! All of this money is raised BEFORE you doors open for your event.

2.  Live Auction

 Live Auction – A fundraising charity auctioneer will double or triple your fundraising results. Make sure your live auction items are unique with travel.

With a good auctioneer, live items typically sell for equal to or more than fair market value. At silent auctions, you can anticipate raising half of fair market value for each item sold.

Experiences and one-of-a-kind items go over best. Think trips to exotic places, golf with professional athletes, and dinners from celebrity chefs.

3.  Fund-A-Need 

ALWAYS ask for donations with a special appeal! Not every person will win a prize but want to offer help with a donation. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.  Your Charity Auctioneer is the master to making this happen.

4.  Silent Auction

Keep in mind that in order to raise a lot of money, your silent auction will either need to have a large number of items to auction, or a ton of attendees bidding on a few high-end items.

5.  50/50 Raffle

50/50 raffles are cheap and easy, making them an ideal event for nonprofits on a budget.  50/50 raffles can be a very successful fundraising event because they have an incentive built right in. The more money your donors spend on raffle tickets, the bigger the prize will be!

 

---

6.  Charity Wine Pull

A wine pull is a great way to get additional revenue at a fundraiser. A wine pull is a “drawing” for wine at a fundraising event. For a 300-500 person event, you can offer up to 150 bottles of wine. Each bottle should be wrapped or placed in a sealed wine bag, so the label cannot be seen with a number on it.  For a donation or a set amount, guests pick a number.  The number they pick is the bottle of wine they take home.

 7.  Mystery Jewelry Box 

Get a local jewelry store that wants free advertising to donate a piece of jewelry that is retailed for $1000 +.  Sell 100  boxes for $30 each.  Each person that participates holds onto the box until they are allowed to open it in the program.  One person will end up with the REAL JEWElS while others get a thank you card for donating to your cause.

8.  Sell or Ask for Donations for Table Centerpieces

If your centerpieces are donated, make sure to secure a donation or sell them at the end of the evening.

Need more ideas?  Contact Debbie and Ron Hitzel from Impact Auctions for a free consultation.