Anyone been to a fancy non-profit's gala? If so, what's your take on them?
I'm not a fan of glitzy affairs (aside from going to the opera) so I don't think I'll go. I give to charities and non-profits already, and don't like that if the cost of attendance is $100, maybe $40 of it is tax-deductible with the rest going to cover the expenses for the gala. I personally think it's a way for people to applaud themselves for being charitable, though of course people can spend their money however they wish.
Am I being too judgmental?
I've attended my share, and I've help set up and run a few. The successful ones all have a few things in common.
First, attending a gala isn't about the overpriced wine or the rubber chicken catering. Everyone there is attending to network and only partly to be seen. Not one person there is paying for the food or the entertainment, and not one person there has a goal of hanging out with friends. They already hang out with friends whenever they want to, and frankly the dollar value of the meal you serve isn't on par with what they could get at a similarly priced restaurant.
A charity gala is about pure, unadulterated power dynamics. If stuff like that gets you off, you'll have a good time.
Logistics first. The ticket price you set will mostly be eaten up by expenses. Catering and venue are the two biggies, but you also need to budget for an open bar (the reason why will be apparent later). Provide live entertainment. A pianist will be the cheapest for before and during dinner; you will want some after-dinner speeches but please don't try to make anyone listen while chewing. If you bring in an outside speaker that goes under your entertainment budget. You may if you wish combine the after-dinner dancing (think jazz band) with a silent auction. Otherwise, set up a gaudily yet expensively decorated donation box put somewhere discreet enough to require people to look for it but obvious enough that every single human in the hall will see it. Include some pens and envelopes to collect addresses so you can send the appropriate tax deductible receipt.
If you can't offer your attendees a networking opportunity, don't bother to throw a gala. You need to pull in at least one local politician, at least one judge, at least one reporter (you have to give that pair of tickets away for free) and at least two successful local entrepreneurs. Besides that you need a handful of professionals, and some color. For color you want local celebrities: athletes and entertainers will do. If you've got a conservative angle, you need some military guests ranked at or above major and representatives from at least two corporate employers that favor what you do. Get a token representative from the local United Way and a couple other main charities (because you trade... they attend your gala and you attend theirs). Most importantly get someone from each of the local old families. The rest of the guests can be social stuffing: Realtors, insurance agents, car dealership owners and such. They show up hoping to troll for new customers and hoping to be seen.
Guest-wise, you pull in powerful people by offering them the opportunity to network with somebody with more power still. The trick is to pull in people with power from different domains. The judge doesn't care about the lawyers who will be kissing up all night, but would love to kick it with the reporter, the military guests perhaps, the politician, and the head of the local United Way. The politician will be sucking up to the car dealers, entrepreneurs, and insurance agents. The military guests will be playing who's-got-the-retirement-strategy with the corporate representatives, and the athletes and local celebrities will be playing sponsor-me-please with the local entrepreneurs. So everyone will have someone who covets association with them, and everyone will see someone they'd like to meet and get to know. Remember that gaudily decorated box I mentioned? Sometime before the end of the evening, everyone will drop off a check for an amount proportionate to the size of the big, wet, sloppy power-gasm you gave them that evening. The dollar value will be amplified of course by alcohol from your open bar. Booze is a well known loosener of tongues and purse strings. They don't call it a social lubricant for nothing.
To grease your biggest donors, seat them next to your most prestigious guests. Have a few of them speak for a few minutes before bringing in your main speaker of the evening. Basically, what you're doing is throwing a power brokering theme party, with your charity as the theme.
Fuck, I ought to put that in my book.