Most lists of fundraising gala ideas stick to the room itself, the theme and the auction especially, and this one covers those too. A gala is also the 1 night of the year when an organization thanks its honorees, sponsors, table hosts and volunteers in front of each other, and most planning guides say very little about the people being thanked.
The list runs in 5 stages. Along the way there is a gift for each role, and near the end a short note on how tickets and auction wins affect what your donors can deduct. If you are planning gifts for honorees and speakers, our page on donor and volunteer appreciation gifts for nonprofits shows what we make for foundations and charities.
A fundraising gala raises money and thanks people in 1 night
A gala is a formal evening built around a dinner and a program, with several ways to give: tickets, sponsorships, an auction and a paddle raise. Many organizations also send guests home with something to remember the cause by.
The 18 ideas, in 5 stages
- Before the night: ideas 1 to 4
- The program: ideas 5 to 8
- The auction: ideas 9 to 12
- Gifts for every role: ideas 13 to 17
- After the night: idea 18
The best gala ideas start before the night
1. A gift sent with the invitation fills the room with the campaign's colors
Send a wearable gift with the invitation and ask guests to wear it on the night. They then arrive as part of the campaign, and the photographs from the evening all carry its colors.
Lurie Children's Hospital did this for the launch of its For Every Child campaign, with a pashmina and a silk tie in the campaign's design. The gifts went out with an RSVP invitation to the kick-off, and donors were asked to wear them to the event. Our gifts for hospitals and health foundations show more campaign pieces like it.
2. A theme drawn from the mission beats a costume theme
Masquerade and Gatsby nights are popular because guests know how to dress for them. We would rather take the theme from the institution itself, such as its building or its founding story, so that the decorations and the gifts both point back to the cause.
Lurie Children's commissioned a silk scarf and tie with whale and hand motifs, designed with an Art Institute of Chicago student, and the Smithsonian's silk scarf and tie were built on the Smithsonian sunburst for the Smithsonian Campaign. Either design could set the look of a whole evening, down to the invitation and the table cards.
3. Table hosts fill the room
Recruit hosts who will fill a table of 8 to 10 with their own friends and colleagues, and offer them a group ticket package. Those guests are often people you would never have reached by mail. Hosts who enjoyed the night tend to come back the next year, so give them their own thank you gift, which idea 15 covers.
4. A 12 month plan leaves room for gifts made to order
Start a year out if you can. Book the venue first, then line up the honorees, the committee, the sponsors and the table hosts. Bespoke gifts need their place in that timeline, because most of our projects take 8 to 16 weeks from the first hand-drawn sketch to delivery, with samples for approval in between. Brief the gifts once the venue is booked and the honorees are chosen, and ask us about timing for your date. You can read how a bespoke gift is made first.
The program keeps the mission at the center
5. A beneficiary's story belongs before the ask
Ask a patient family, or a scholarship student, to speak for 3 to 5 minutes. Put the speech just before the paddle raise, while guests are still thinking about what they heard.
6. An awards ceremony gives honorees a moment on stage
Present the honoree's gift on stage in its box, so the room sees it opened. Honoree gifts can be made for a large group as well, as when Emory Goizueta Business School marked its centennial with brass coasters for 100 honorees. For a single honoree the gift can carry their own words. Purdue's silk scarf and tie for its Dean of Engineering, Leah H. Jamieson, were printed with her final remarks and her own signature.
7. Sponsors want moments that feel like hosting
Give a sponsor something to host on the night, such as a lounge with their name on it or a short speaking slot. Then add a gift the sponsor's principals will use long after the evening. MIT Sloan gave its top donors an embossed leather passport holder and luggage tag, which go along on every trip. Our guide to sponsorship gifts and thank you letters covers sponsors in full.
8. A livestream brings in donors who cannot attend
Stream the program with a giving page for remote guests, and send them the guest gift by courier so they feel part of the night. A short stream of the beneficiary's story and the paddle raise is enough.
Gala auction ideas work best when the lots are hard to buy anywhere else
Good gala auction ideas are lots the winner could not have bought anywhere else. Group your lots by kind, and put the rarest in the live auction.
9. Time with leadership is a lot no store can sell
Dinner with the president or the chief physician is the obvious lot. A behind-the-scenes tour of a lab or an archive works just as well, and so does a seat on the sideline of a game. Put these in the live auction, where the room can watch the bidding climb.
10. Mission lots connect the bid to the cause
A mission lot might be art by a beneficiary or a partner artist, or the right to name a bench. The bidder takes home a piece of the cause, and the auctioneer has a story to tell while the bidding runs.
11. Experiences from local partners fill the silent auction
Ask local businesses to donate experiences such as a private chef dinner or a weekend stay, and thank them afterward as in-kind sponsors. A wine pull or a mystery box works well here too. Keep all of these in the silent auction so the live auction stays short.
12. A paddle raise lets every guest give at a set level
Tie each level to what it funds, from the top gift down to the level everyone in the room can reach. Give a small token to each guest who raises a paddle, such as a lapel pin in the gala design, from $15.
| Lot | Best in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Time with leadership | Live auction | Rare, personal and worth watching |
| Mission lots | Live auction | The auctioneer can tell the story |
| Local experiences | Silent auction | Many lots, steady bidding through dinner |
| Paddle raise | After the live auction | Every guest can give at a level they choose |
Winning bidders can deduct only what they pay above the fair market value of the lot, so state that value in the catalog and on the receipt. The tax section below has more.
Every role at a gala deserves its own gift
We would design 1 gala collection so the pieces belong together. Our minimum is 125 pieces per design, so decide early which roles will share one.
| Role | What the gift should say | A Harris Made option | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honorees | This was made for you alone | Silk scarf or tie printed with their words, medallion badge or brass paperweight | $65, $52 or $58 |
| Sponsors | We see you all year | Card holder, luggage tag, leather coasters, tote or messenger bag | $32, $28, $35 or $95 |
| Table hosts | Thank you for filling the room | Enamel cufflinks and a matching brooch | $45 and $38 |
| Committee and volunteers | You made this happen | Lapel pin in the gala design | $15 |
| Every guest | You are part of the campaign | Silk pashmina gift set, silk tie or lapel pin | $90, $48 or $15 |
13. Honorees receive a piece nobody else gets
An honoree gift should be made for that person, or for the small group being honored that night.
A silk scarf or tie printed with their words
A bespoke silk scarf can carry a speech or a signature, as Purdue's scarf and tie for Dean Jamieson did. From $65.
"Thank you Harris Made for providing remarkable quality silk scarves and ties that were gifted with pride; recognition gifts that are still being talked about with excitement and enthusiasm!" Hadley Thomas, Director of Alumni Relations, College of Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation
A medallion badge in gold and silver wire
The medallion badge we made for Boston College is handmade in gold and silver gilt metal wire thread, the same bullion thread used for the Guards' uniforms at Buckingham Palace. Its magnetic, felt-covered back makes it easy to put on and take off, and when it is not being worn it works as a paperweight. From $52.
An engraved brass paperweight
A cast-brass paperweight engraved with your crest is built to outlast a career, and it will sit on the honoree's desk long after the gala. From $58 in the coasters and paperweights collection.
14. Sponsors keep a gift they use every week
A sponsor's principals travel and meet clients, so give them leather they will carry. A card holder starts from $32 and a luggage tag from $28, with embossed leather coasters from $35, and for a presenting sponsor there is a tote or messenger bag from $95. MIT Sloan gave its top donors an embossed leather passport holder and luggage tag, and Emory Goizueta Business School gave leather goods to its top donors too.
"We cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary heirloom-quality gifts that reflect our deep appreciation for our Benefactors. With your help, we have created unforgettable memories that they will carry with them and share within the Notre Dame community. Collaborating with you has been a true delight!" Jessica Reasons, The University of Notre Dame
15. Table hosts often come as a couple
Enamel cufflinks from $45 with a matching brooch from $38 thank both hosts at once, in the same design. The University of Notre Dame commissioned exactly that pairing as gifts for its donors and alumni.
16. Committee members and volunteers wear a pin
Give a lapel pin in the gala design, from $15, at the final committee meeting or on the night itself. If volunteers wear it to the next event, guests can see who to ask for help.
17. Every guest can take home the campaign
At a campaign launch you can give every guest something to wear in the campaign design, such as a pashmina and silk tie or a silk scarf and tie. For a large dinner, a pin or a leather coaster costs less and still carries the design. The value of a guest gift does reduce the deductible part of the ticket unless it counts as a token item, so check it against the tax rules below.
The night ends with stewardship
18. A thank you within a week keeps the night going
Every guest should get a thank you within a week, with photographs, the total raised and what it will fund. Major donors deserve a call or a handwritten note sooner, within 2 days. If an honoree or sponsor could not attend, send their gift by courier with a note.
Our gifts arrive hand-wrapped in a foil-embossed presentation box branded for your institution, often with a notecard that has your thank you on the front and the provenance of the gift on the reverse. For the months after the gala, see our donor stewardship guide, and our stewardship gifts page for giving societies and major donors.
Gifts and auction wins change what donors can deduct
When a guest pays more than $75 and receives something in return, such as a dinner, a gift or an auction lot, the charity must give a written statement. According to the Internal Revenue Service, it tells the donor that the deductible amount is limited to what they paid above the value of what they received, with a good faith estimate of that value. Items of insubstantial value can be left out, under limits the Internal Revenue Service adjusts each year and sets out in Publication 1771.
Put the fair market value of the dinner on the ticket and the value of each lot in the auction catalog. This is general information and should not be read as tax advice, so confirm the details for your gala with your own tax adviser.
If your gala is already on the calendar, start a project and tell us the date. Our gifts for nonprofits and foundations show more of our work, and donor appreciation event ideas covers smaller occasions.
Frequently asked questions
How do you run a fundraising gala?
Set a goal and form a committee, and book the venue 6 to 12 months out. Then recruit sponsors and table hosts and plan the program and the auction. Order gifts 8 to 16 weeks ahead, and follow up with every guest within a week of the night.
What are the most profitable fundraising events?
Galas tend to raise the most in a single night because they stack several sources of revenue: sponsorships, tickets, an auction and a paddle raise.
What should you give gala honorees?
A piece made for them alone, such as a silk scarf or tie printed with their words, a bullion medallion badge or an engraved brass paperweight. Present it on stage in its box.
What are good gala auction ideas?
Time with leadership, behind-the-scenes access, mission lots and experiences from local partners, followed by a paddle raise with set levels.
Do gala guests need a gift?
Not always. At a campaign launch, a wearable gift sent with the invitation does more than a bag at the door, but the value of any guest gift affects what guests can deduct.
How far ahead should we order gala gifts?
Most bespoke projects take 8 to 16 weeks, with a minimum of 125 pieces per design. Brief the gifts as soon as the venue and the honorees are set.