Are Charity Galas Facing Extinction?
By Layne Gray - February 1, 2010The earth evolves and the world turns.
The poor old dinosaur hit a brick wall due to the ice age…or was it a meteor? Or both? Whatever you believe one thing is for sure, they ultimately couldn’t survive the resulting dramatic climate change.
So is the lavish black-tie Charity Gala in for its own abrupt end? A storm of factors are causing fundraising organizations from Newport Beach to Palm Beach to re-evaluate the scale and grandeur of black-tie galas.
What are the signs they may be doomed to extinction?
1. Shift in Economic Climate. Most fiscal conservatives are familiar with the red hot recessionary terms of L, U, V, and the wicked, double dipping W. When did an avalanche of single capital letters, except for the optimistic on-the-rebound V, send such shivers up people’s spines?
Yes, there are some women who will continue to spend like its 1999. But the closets with dime-a-dozen couture gowns are melting away. This little thing called recession has created a hurricane force of personal scrutiny as to what’s important in life: buying yet one more gown or, alternatively, giving an extra something to the people of Haiti?
Granted, we all love a good party but philanthropists of all ages and socio-economic level are rethinking how they should make their donations: whether to attend a lavish Gala where much of the money is spent on flowers, décor, food and drink –or- donate to the organization so all dollars have a direct impact on the nonprofit’s mission.
2. Meteoric rise of social media. The Internet has produced an effective way to build nonprofit awareness as well as donations. The huge success of social networks like Facebook, not to mention the burgeoning success of Vivanista, has produced efficient vehicles to reach potential donors.
Nonprofits and foundations are getting into the act. For example, Chase Giving just finished a Facebook contest where they donated a total of $5 million to one hundred nonprofit organizations. The charity which received the most votes won $1 million with each of the nonprofits being awarded a minimum of twenty five thousand dollars. No caterers, no questions as to whether anyone will show up; just a little effort to get friends to spread the word. What did Chase Giving get out of it? Over two million Facebook fans.
So what’s it all mean?
If dinosaurs conformed better to their surroundings evolution may not have forced their extinction. Volunteers who plan black-tie Galas need to embrace the current climate and think outside the box, whether downsizing their expectations or shifting to a more modest style of event, so the world does not turn away from their Nonprofits.
About the author: Layne Gray
As the Founder of Vivanista, Layne is not only an entrepreneur but one of San Francisco's most dedicated volunteer fundraisers who has raised millions for Bay Area charities.
thank you for addressing the topic of galas and their uncertain future. on spot insight that gala planners need to plan responsively to their changing donor environment, change, adapt and think outside the box. the word gala conjures up immediate expectations which can be unrealistic and certainly disappointing if not managed well.
perhaps a helpful way to approach this question is to rethink ways the gala can be utilized by the organization – a piece of the fundraising plan, a marketing event, a cultivation opportunity, etc. each way can deliver different outcomes and move the needle forward in many areas, all to the benefit of the organization.
my gala experience with social media can be summed up with an equation:
offline>online
a million emails cannot beat physically twisting an arm to sell a ticket.
cheers, hoong yee
http://www.hoongyee.com