The CDC recommendations released on Sunday, March 15th effectively cancel all in-person fundraising auctions until mid-May. For the many galas who were holding out hope that the social distancing efforts recently implemented would be lifted in time for your event, this recommendation feels like the final straw in a crazy, unprecedented series of events.
But it doesn’t mean that you can’t still engage your supporters and raise much needed funds. Now is the time to pivot to a Virtual Gala. A Virtual Gala can maximize everything that you and your team have worked so hard to build: the auction lots your committee has solicited, the messaging your team has worked to hone, the focus and attention of your supporters, and the goodwill for your cause.
A Virtual Gala might not be for every crowd, event, or organization, but we have always been advocates for honest and engaging fundraising. If your organization needs the funds from your gala immediately and cannot postpone until next year or roll the dice on when social distancing recommendations will be removed, you can achieve solid results online. We have already seen multiple events across the Pacific Northwest hold successful Virtual Galas, in some instances surpassing the goals they had set for their in-person gala.
A Virtual Gala enables you to utilize the reality of the moment to engage your supporters, tell them your story, and enable them to support you. A Virtual Gala will never replace the sense of community and camaraderie created by an in-person event, but it will help you raise enough money to make your cancellation less painful, and keep your organization top of mind with your supporters. It will also provide your supporters with a way to feel competent again, to feel like they are making a difference in the face of uncertainty.
There are two approaches to a Virtual Gala: live, and pre-recorded. In a Live Virtual Gala you put on an extremely scaled-down version of your gala in an event setting like a live-stream ready event space, your school’s theater, a hotel conference room, or your offices and simulcast it to your supporters. You have your program, speakers, testimonial, live auction, and fund-a-need happen real-time, online. Guests at home participate on two screens: one (hopefully large) screen to view the livestream, and a smartphone to bid and make pledges. Two schools in Portland had Live Virtual Galas this past Saturday night, including the Caitlin Gabel School.
A Pre-recorded Virtual Gala is similar, but instead of happening in real-time, the speeches, testimonial, fund-a-need pitch, etc. are all pre-recorded and uploaded to YouTube or some other video on demand site. Upaya, in Seattle, was forced to have a Pre-recorded Virtual Gala and was able to exceed their original live-event goals with it. Their blog post offers excellent insight into the ways a Virtual Gala can make the most of the moment and rally your crowd to your cause.
We are working with numerous clients to implement both live and pre-recorded Virtual Gala solutions. We have secured a set-price of under $4,000 from an event space that is livestream ready with multiple cameras, a professional sound system, video switcher, and high-bandwidth internet.
If your gala was scheduled to happen between now and June 1st, let’s chat about ways we can make the most of the current situation and help you raise some needed funds. We are ready to do whatever it takes to work with you to find successful fundraising solutions. If that means wearing a tux to your offices to record video introductions for auction lots, we’ll be there; just let us know the color scheme, so we don’t clash.
