What does the future hold for virtual galas – and possibly in-person galas – in 2020? It’s the $64,000 question on everyone’s mind right now, and while our crystal ball may not be crystal clear, we have some solid guesstimations. Based on what we’ve seen so far and conversations with our virtual gala partners The Lux Productions and Beth Sandefur Events, we envision four phases of virtual galas.
And though these virtual galas may differ in implementation, they all share one key component: the ability of your at-home crowd to interact with you and your auctioneer in real-time. Fundraising in a virtual environment works best when a crowd has a sense of community and feels a sense of urgency to their participation. Pre-recorded asks and online-only auction lots with no live encouragement raise between 30-50% less than a truly live, interactive virtual gala.
Phase One: 100% Virtual Galas
We are currently in Phase One of virtual galas: completely virtual galas, conducted 100% remotely by people sheltering-in-place. Initially, these productions were very last-minute and produced solely on a single platform, like Zoom. As organizations have more time to plan and start utilizing offerings like The Lux’s virtual studio solution (link), we will see more virtual galas that look like a TV show – but are still 100% virtual with every participant broadcasting from their own home/office.
Phase Two: Soundstage Productions
Once the shelter-in-place orders are shifted so that we can gather a small group (say, ten people) in the same room, we’ll see Phase Two of virtual galas: soundstage productions. Staff and a production team will gather at a soundstage, hotel ballroom, school stage, or some other setting with a/v, cameras, and so forth and put on a gala to broadcast to an at-home audience.
We actually saw some examples of this in the first weekend of the outbreak, before social distancing protocols put an end to gatherings of any size. As soon as we are permitted to have a small group of people in the same room again, we’ll start utilizing this type of production again.
Phase Three: Micro-Galas
When we are able to slightly larger crowd, perhaps 50 people, we’ll start having micro-galas. The protocols are yet to be determined, but it is easy to imagine 60-inch round banquet tables being converted from ten-tops to six-tops. An organization could then hold a micro-gala with eight tables of six attendees per table – bringing their largest supporters into the room, and broadcasting the proceedings to an at-home audience.
Phase Four: Full-Blown Galas
Once all social distancing protocols are lifted, there will probably still be some donors who do not feel comfortable mingling in a crowd of 500 people. Plan on it. Plan on keeping a virtual component to your gala, so you can enable attendees who choose to stay at home to participate in a way that still makes them feel part of your community, and expand your reach beyond the ballroom doors.
There could be variations on any of these themes. Tom at The Lux envisions Satellite Galas, where small crowds of 50 in ballrooms across a city, county or even state are linked together. Either way, a virtual gala needs to have two components: the broadcast of “the show” and an interactive “bidding and pledging” component for the live auction and fund-a-need.
As for when this will all come to pass, estimating that is way beyond our crystal ball’s capabilities. We simply recommend that every organization planning a gala for the foreseeable future plan on a virtual component.
