Charity galas are amazing for raising awareness and money whether it’s for a good cause or directly giving it to another non-profit organization. But how do you plan one to make people enticed to attend? Well, you need some planning and some professional vendors and event rentals to make the event a success.

Charity Gala Planning Guide

Do You Have A Theme?

First things first, you need to have a theme for your charity gala. You can go for a gala without a theme, but a theme is what’s going to make the event that tad bit attractive. And if it’s something trendy and up people’s alley, then you better believe that they will attend this gala as opposed to one that is theme-less.

Therefore, scour out different options for a theme. Is there a holiday coming up? Can you go for a Halloween-based charity gala? Is December around the corner? Can you make it kid-friendly? There are so many options to choose from. So, narrow down your list and get to work because the theme isn’t going to choose itself.

The Cause

A charity gala is essentially done for a cause. Whether it’s a gala to spread awareness about a widespread disease, social issues, or anything else, the point is that your gala needs to show the cause everywhere the guest looks. You can’t just rely on emotional speeches.

Try to incorporate the cause in different things like the invitations, and the food and even have small reminders dotted throughout the décor. This doesn’t sound like much, but it will make a difference like no other. So, while considering the theme, keep the cause in mind too.

Set A Budget

Next up, and probably the most important thing out of all during the planning phase, is the budget. You need to have a budget for the event you’re hosting because without a budget an event has no boundaries. You don’t want to overspend or underspend on anything, so a budget will give you a good marker as to when you should stop and maybe look back on all of the planning and filter things out.

See, you don’t need to be super extravagant when it comes to charity galas and the best ones are those that are planned meticulously. You don’t want to make your wallet scream or the sponsors unhappy, so create a budget.

The easiest way to do so is to list out all of the things you want for the event, and then list the prices down on the other side. The total will be your budget, which can be tweaked as you go.

Find The Right Venue

The next thing that you want to do, once you’re done with the initial planning of the charity gala is to start looking for that perfect venue where your event will be hosted. This is the time when things are starting to get real, so you might want to set a date as well, just so you have something to give the venue management as a guide.

You want to look for banquets, restaurants, and even houses for rent so that the space is big enough to accommodate the guests.

The Right Décor

You can’t forget about the décor now, can you? You might think that it’s unnecessary, but décor is going to add that breath of fresh air throughout the event and you’ll love the look of it in the end.

The best thing to do is find inspiration on the internet and then personalize the things that you love and make your unique décor layout. If you have a theme, then make sure to incorporate it in the décor because that is going to tie everything together beautifully. You can take some help from the venue management as well because they can give you many ideas that you can use for your charity gala.

The Guest List

Now that you have most of the things out of the way and the event is crawling closer and closer, try to get the guest list done as soon as possible. You can get started on the guest list as you’re looking for venues because you already have a rough number in mind.

You also want to include the guest speakers and sponsors in the guest list so that everyone is on one list and that you’re not forgetting anything. Once you have the initial guest list, you can add or remove people as you go.

The Invitations & Dress Code

Now that the guest list is done, it’s time to tackle the invitations. For a charity gala, you want the invitations to look fancy too, so no, a text message in your group won’t suffice.

Try to go for invitations that match the theme as you include the venue and timings for the gala in the invitation, you should also consider adding the dress code in the invitation. You’ll be making things easier for yourself and your guests.

The Food

No event, whether it’s for a good cause or not, is complete without food. The menu also needs to be finalized at some point after the invitations are sent out. Since this is a bit more of a fancy dinner event, you want to go for a course of meals and make it as sophisticated as you can.

Also, keeping the menu in coordination with the season is going to be the cherry on top. If the gala is being held in the winter months, then comforting foods, gravies, and warm cheesy goodness need to be on your priority list, and vice versa for summertime.

The Entertainment

You can’t expect people to attend a charity gala and not have any entertainment to keep the guests occupied now, can you? An event without entertainment is like dancing with no music and that’s not fun at all.

You can have gala-appropriate activities for the guests to keep themselves busy, like card games, performances, stand-up comedy shows, and even a dance floor to bust out some moves. The rest can be handled by the guests, but you need entertainment if you want your charity gala to be remembered for years to come.

The Plan

You need to have a plan as to how the charity gala will flow, from start to finish. Once you have done everything from the planning to expenses and the execution, you can’t expect that everything will fall into place just like that. You need to steer the gala in a way that shows how one activity blends into another.

If you want to be safe, then having backup plans is going to be a lifesaver. The point is that you need to have a timeline of sorts to let everyone know how the charity gala will unravel.

Conclusion

Charity galas are just like any other event, but they can be made even better if you plan things right. For perfect planning, you should first discuss things with the stakeholders and then hire an event planner who will can suggest venues, vendors, and party rentals Clarksburg who will help you turn your vision of the charity gala into reality. It can anything. For example, if it’s summer and you want to hold an outdoor event, they can do it perfectly.