5 Things to plan your Hybrid Fundraising Gala

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

I want the Hybrid Event Guide

Virtual Events: How to utilize watch parties to engage donors and raise more money

As we move in to fall with no large-scale in-person events in sight, your organization may be gearing up to plan an epic Virtual Gala to raise money and connect with your donors. Many nonprofits are wondering how they can create better experiences for donors. We know many guests aren’t ready to step into a ballroom with 500+ other people (and there are currently no event venues that would allow it anyway), but at the same time they want to be social and join in a shared experience. So how can we offer a more hybrid virtual experience for guests?

Watch parties are a great way to engage donors are raise more money at your virtual event.

What are watch parites?

A Watch Party is a gathering of people who would watch your organization’s virtual gala together while meeting local guidelines for group gatherings.

What makes watch parties effective?

Watch parties are effective because they hold people accountable to watching your event live and it gives them something to look forward to. When guests are invited to a watch party, they are held accountable by the host to join (think it’s a lot harder to skip when you have to call the host and let them know you won’t be joining). It adds some social pressure. It also gives guests something to look forward to because they get to gather with another family or a group of couples or just as friends.

When people watch together, there is a buzz that’s created and a lot more excitement around the auction and giving moment. They cheer each other on and they encourage each other to give!

Watch parties are fun!

Watch parties add an element of excitement and energy to your virtual events. The galas I’ve done who have had virtual galas, have had the best responses - both in revenue and in guest feedback.

How to set up watch parties

Identify potential hosts

You can encourage anyone and everyone to host a watch party, but you will want to do some of the leg work to ASK some of your more loyal supporters if they would be willing to host a watch party. Have them sign up in advance to host them and empower them to invite their friends. Board members should definitely be encouraged to host watch parties if they can.

Think of Watch Party Hosts as the new Table Sponsor.

Train the hosts on the tech

Prior to the event, train your hosts on how to use the mobile bidding so they can help their guests give during the giving portion of the evening. During a live gala, you would have staff from the mobile bidding company or volunteers from your organization to help tech-challenged donors navigate the technology if they had trouble, but during your virtual gala you just won’t have that option, so use watch parties as a way to connect your more “tech challenged” donors and equip your hosts to help them! Certain organizations have even sent a volunteer to each watch party to help serve and keep things on track so the hosts could just enjoy themselves.

Make sure they have a link to view the watch party and a way to watch it so everyone can see whether that’s a large TV or a projector. Ask them if they need help setting it up in advance so there are no glitches at the time of the event. These watch parties will likely have some big hitters in the rooms, so you want to make sure they can actually see the event you are working so hard to produce!

Equip them to host a great watch party

Create a branded watch party guide. Send them a suggested timeline, invitation templates, a signature cocktail recipe and possible food ideas. If you want to charge tickets for people attending host parties, you could have catered meals delivered or available for optional pickup for the hosts to have and easily set up. This is a great option to offer (but not require). Many hosts will take you up on it, but some of your hosts will want to personalize their watch party and make it their own, which is so fun to see! We love when donors take ownership and partner with you in ways that fits their gifts!

Recognize the hosts during the virtual event

Take time during your virtual gala to recognize the hosts and watch parties! If they can gather prior to the virtual event starting, you could have them send a photo or video to share live during the event. The parties love to hoot and holler when they see their party recognized. It’s a great way to engage them and thank them as you put on your event. It also adds to the “live” feeling of the event. This recognition is so important in building community through virtual events.

Enroll NOW! Don’t cancel your event, instead learn to plan an engaging and profitable virtual gala. This $67 course walks you through my consulting process and provides technical tutorials to produce your own virtual gala.

Start recruiting watch parties now!

You should be recruiting and creating buzz about your watch parties prior to even sending out invites to your virtual event (yes, send out physical invites for virtual events!!!). Allow this to be an integral part of your event because you can create a more unique hybrid experience. This is a fun way to empower supporters to bring new people into your organization in a more casual setting and open up their homes for a good cause.

What questions do you have about watch parties? Pop them in the comments below. I’d love to see your event be successful!!

How to Plan a Profitable Virtual Gala

If you are a nonprofit leader who has had to cancel your event due to, oh let’s say, a global pandemic, you have probably heard the term “Virtual Gala” be thrown around. You’ve likely been scouring YouTube for examples. But you are probably wondering, how the heck do you actually plan one?

I have been helping organizations just like yours transition from their in-person events to virtual galas since March of 2020 and have seen what works and learned to make them profitable. What if your organization could raise $50,000 or $100,000 or even over $500,000 through a 30-45 minute Virtual Gala streamed from your home or office?

These results are 💯 possible (and actual results of clients of mine).

The work your organization does is so important and I want you to be successful and meet your goals so you can continue to serve our communities, so in this post I am going to share some tips on How to Plan a Profitable Virtual Gala.

This post may contain some affiliate links. See my affiliate disclaimer if you have questions.

How to Plan a Profitable Virtual Gala

Select a Date

When will you hold your event? Is it going to be on the same night as your in-person event was or are you picking a new date all together? If you have announced the date for your gala and your guests already have that night set aside for your event, stick with the original date if you can. However, if your initial event has already been postponed, select another date. The good news is that based on what I’ve seen in the industry so far, it doesn’t matter if your event is on a weeknight or a weekend. In fact, you will probably have less competition on a weeknight to get your donors to come to your event. My advice is to pick a date and move forward confidently planning.

Decide the level of production you want at your event

Are you going to try to produce it on your own or hire a professional production company? You can produce your live event on a DIY basis with nothing but a Mac and a $25 Live Streaming Program or you could go with a professional production team which would run anywhere from $5,000-$20,000 depending on your vision for your event. Either way, whatever you do it will be for a fraction of the cost of your in person event (and that’s amazing news)!

Select a Mobile Bidding Company

There are so many amazing Mobile Bidding Companies out there and to be honest, after several months of running Virtual Events I have seen them evolve and adapt to this new way of fundraising so well. In fact, if it weren’t for our Mobile Bidding partners, we would never have been able to move to Virtual Galas so quickly. You can do your research on which company to choose, but the companies I see and work with the most often are: OneCause, Greater Giving, Clickbid and Auction Harmony.

One thing you’ll need to decide before meeting with and selecting these companies is if you will want your live stream embedded in the mobile bidding platform, because some companies do this and others don’t. The benefit to it is that it’s all in one spot and people don’t have to have multiple tabs open. Many clients are fine streaming to YouTube and asking their donors to go a different website for the bidding and giving. It comes down to personal preference.

Hire an Auctioneer experienced in Virtual Galas

Virtual Galas are a lot faster and a lot more focused than an in-person event, so you will need to find an auctioneer that is:

1. Comfortable with speaking to an audience through a camera (it’s a different skill than leading a live crowd)

2. Specialized in Fund-A-Needs. Many auctioneers will have an excellent chant and can sell items, but all items are being sold via mobile bidding, so your main focus should be on an auctioneer who is a true fundraiser and can effectively communicate your message to donors and call them to action

3. Able to help you set your goals and help you craft your organization’s message in an engaging way

4. Willing to host or emcee your event as needed. An auctioneer’s role in Virtual Galas is essentially to maintain the energy throughout the entire event, and take each element of your program and continue to bring it back to the heart of your organization and use it to call donors to action. This will help you increase revenue at your event.

Pick your streaming platform

Where will your donors see this livestream? Will it be on YouTube, Facebook Live, embedded on your mobile bidding platform or website? My recommendation is to plan to stream it on YouTube. Donors won’t need an account to watch it. They simply follow a link you send them via email and they are there! Selecting YouTube also allows you to have the option of easily embedding it onto your website or a mobile bidding platform.

Determine your Fundraising Focus

What are you raising money for? I know your organization does a lot of things, but pick one thing to focus on that night. Virtual Gala’s are fast and furious. Extensive studies in people’s interaction with digital media tells us that their attention spans are shorter online than they are in person (you know when you feed them and close the ballroom doors so they can’t get out). So you won’t have time to share every part of what your organization does. Pick one, set a goal based on how much that will cost to fund, and…..

Build your program around your Fundraising Focus

When you build your program around your Fundraising Focus you can effectively tell your story so guests will feel connected and more inclined to give in this format. What stats can you share about your Fundraising Focus? What stories can you share that help emphasize your Fundraising Focus? Your program should be built around this so you can engage donors and inspire them to action.

Market your Virtual Gala

One of the biggest success factors in virtual galas is an organization’s ability to get guests to show up to their event. Seems obvious, but it is important to state. Because you aren’t reserving a ballroom and paying for catering, the ability to get donors to commit to coming is more challenging, which is why you need to take a multi channel approach to marketing your event. Mix traditional and digital methods of marketing and empower your biggest supporters to reach out and get people excited about it.

NOTE: Nonprofits are seeing unprecedented levels of NEW DONORS come in through these virtual events. It’s very cool, and it’s likely because nonprofits are needing to invest more in marketing and advertising. It’s also because virtual galas are sharable. Meaning your supporters simply share a link and BOOM their entire social network can be involved too. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to spread your message and acquire new donors.

Have a plan to engage your “Tech-Challenged” donors

The biggest hurdle for clients to transition to Virtual Events is that they assume their supporters are too “tech-challenged” to figure it out. While this may have been true back in March, now even our oldest community members have been thrust into digital communications. They talk to their grandkids through zoom. Their daughter got them set up on a Facebook account to keep in touch. Digital platforms are the best way we are keeping our more mature (or the people you think are “tech-challenged”) community members safe and engaged! So, while you might fear they won’t be able to figure it out, I encourage you not to doubt them. However, I recommend coming up with a plan to make it easy for them and to teach them how to register, bid and give through your digital platforms. This will help you involve some of your more “mature” donors and ensure you don’t leave any money on the table.

Assume it will work

Finally, I want to let you know that mindset is important here. I know this sounds a little cheesy, but it really does matter. If you go into it with a “let’s see what happens” attitude, your donors will pick up on that and it won’t feel as inspired or motivated to attend or support your organization. However, if your plan and mindset is that this Virtual Gala is going to succeed because there is no other option, you can move forward in planning with confidence and treat it like it’s a BIG FREAKING DEAL and your donors will catch on to that energy and follow you into the unknown. You’ve got this!

Need more help?

Maybe you're not sure whether or not virtual galas are right for your organization and worry that no one will show up. Perhaps you wonder if your donors are tech-savvy enough to join in a virtual format.

Imagine if:

• You could create a 30-40 minute Virtual Gala that was engaging AND profitable

• You had a marketing checklist that helped you reach your donors

• You had tools and techniques to engage even your most tech-challenged donors so you didn't miss out on any revenue

All of this is possible for your Organization with The DIY Virtual Gala Course

How to get people to attend your Virtual Gala

So you are thinking about taking your gala virtual. Good for you! There’s a lot to learn, but you can do it. I have been helping transition clients from traditional to virtual galas since March, and have seen so many wonderful success stories!

There is one thing that can make or break a virtual gala though: attendance.

No matter how highly produced or how much money you spend of videography or which celebrity you got to share a quick message on your organization’s behalf, your event will not be successful if people don’t show up to it.

So the question remains…

How do you get people to attend your Virtual Gala?

Marketing, baby.

You will have to invest in marketing your event. You will want to invest in time, but you’ll also want to set aside some money in your planning budget on digital advertising.

You will want to use all the channels at your disposal. Because a Virtual Gala is a digital twist on a traditional event, you will want to employ both traditional and digital marketing methods. Chances are your existing audience is used to RSVPing to your paper invitations and personal phone calls, but the cool thing about virtual galas is that they are a great way to connect with NEW donors and start building relationships with the lower-level donors who will be your big donors in the next decade.

At a loss of what ways work best to market you virtual gala? Don’t worry!

I want you to cover all your bases, so I’ve created a Virtual Gala Marketing Checklist for you!

This checklist will be your guide to make sure you’ve covered all of your bases and can create a well-rounded marketing strategy leading up to your event. A good rule of thumb is to start these methods about 30 days out from your event to begin building awareness. You won’t see registrations right away (in fact about 75% of your registrations will come in the last couple days before your event so don’t have an heart attack if it’s a week out and you’ve sold 12 tickets), but it will build awareness and a sense of FOMO as the date approaches. You will engage your current supporters and pick up some new ones along the way. That’s the dream, isn’t?