by Cheryl Oliver

Created on: September 05, 2008

As with any special event, the first step in planning is to do a feasibility assessment. In other words, ask yourself honestly if your organization can pull off an event of this magnitude. Other questions to consider during this assesment phase:

1. Do we have the money to invest in items we will need up front, such as printing?
2. Do we have the volunteer power to make it a worthwhile event?

3. How will be financially sustain the event over the course of many years?
4. Do we have a way to secure sponsorships funds & how much do we need?
5. Who is our competition?

Your next step should be to form a special planning committee. If your board of directors is small, it may take the entire team and/or additional folks brought on specifically for this event. If your board is large, make sure the people you assign to the gala committee are indeed committed. It will take some hard core dedication from each team member if you are to have a successful event. Try to look for team members than can be helpful in multiple ways - such as someone who owns a print shop, or is connected to a caterer; maybe you have someone on the board that can secure a keynote speaker that will help draw a large audience.

Once you've formed this committee, decide when and how often you will meet, who is in charge of what, and how you will hold each person accountable. Other things to consider:

1. Who will be the Chair of the committee? This person is ultimately responsible for the success of the event and should be someone that can handle that pressure.
2. Decide what will benefit your event the most - for the chair person to be highly visable in the community and able to attract ticket buyers and the media, or should it be someone that has event planning experience and will be able to keep the troops motivated when the going gets tough?
3. What do you ultimately want your event to look like, and what is the over riding purpose? A gala is intended to be used as more than a fundraising tool. It should also be an opportunity to attract new members to your organization, and perhaps for some public education as well.

Finally, you will need to break the tasks down into smaller tasks that can be managed by teams or individuals, depending on the size of your event and your volunteer power. Some tasks that you should start with would be:

1. Set a budget. You should certainly have your treasurer involved in this. Decide where your income will come from - existing funds, ticket sales, sponsorships? And how much

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>