Exactly one year ago, I opened up my inbox and found it full with emails from my contracted clients telling me they needed to cancel their fundraiser due to the pandemic. My heart sank, first for me as I watched my entire business disappear in an instant, but I knew I wasn’t the only one suffering a loss. All of my clients were having to give up their biggest revenue generator of the year, so I knew we couldn’t let that happen. For many of my clients fundraising galas are the only way they are able to do the work that they do. We had to do something - anything - to help them.
Enter Virtual Galas
Over the past year my clients have successfully transitioned their in-person events to Virtual Galas. It was scary and overwhelming for them at first, but then as we continued to see more success and figure out the tried and true processes for what made them work, it became a breeze! I even launched a course to help smaller nonprofits produce their own virtual galas on a shoe string budget!
Will virtual gala’s replace in person events?
Absolutely not! While we learned that virtual galas had many MANY benefits to them (lower overhead, more attendees, similar or increased net revenue, increased sponsorship opportunities, ability to attract new donors, less volunteer management, etc), nothing can replace the energy of a live event. We saw a lot of success with virtual galas last year, and they will continue to be profitable going forward but at some point as vaccines are rolled out, and people start to take off their masks, guests and event planners alike will be ready to party.
Enter Hybrid Events
What is a Hybrid Gala?
A Hybrid Event or Gala is similar to a live in-person event that offers a virtual option to engage guests from home.
5 things you need to know when planning for a successful Hybrid Fundraiser:
Choose a venue with GOOD and reliable internet. Live streaming an event takes up a lot of bandwidth and will require reliable internet for it to work.
Invest in a good event producer. Having a professional who can call the shots and keep the program on track and flowing well will bring your more money than you will ever know. Or maybe I should say NOT hiring aa professional event producer will to cost you more money than whatever their fee may be.
Hire a professional Fundraising Host (hint: that’s what I do). A traditional emcee or a volunteer charismatic emcee will not know how to engage both a live in-person audience while also engaging an audience through a screen.
Focus on Quality over quantity during the in-person event (and let the ticket price reflect it). Because the event can be open to anyone virtually, don’t be afraid to make it feel exclusive and charge a premium ticket price. Then, allow the people watching virtually join in on the event for free.
Find ways to engage your at-home audience in the live event. They want to be recognized and they want to know that the in person audience knows they are there! Thank virtual gala attendees by name during the fund-a-need! Involve them in the raffle. Work to engage them in the live auction.
Hybrid events are going to be the trend through at least 2022
So it’s time to start brainstorming and get planning on the event.
Was this helpful? Sign up to be the first to receive my FREE Hybrid Fundraising Event Guide when I release it! My Virtual Gala Guide helped THOUSANDS of nonprofits plan profitable virtual galas over the past year, and trust me when I say that the Hybrid Guide will be just as jam packed with tactical tips and tricks.
