Live events are starting to come back and you are excited, I’m excited - we’re all excited. However, we know that it will be a while before we can hit the scale of events we had prior to 2020. Many event venues are still only able to accommodate 25%-50% capacity in their spaces. So this means your gala that used to be 800 people is now shrinking down to 200-400 people, but you and I both know we can’t afford to raise half the amount of revenue at your event. So what do we do?
Enter Hybrid Events
A hybrid event is a live event that has a virtual component streamed for viewers at home, similar to the successful virtual galas you may have hosted last year. Your organization would get to have a live in-person event, but could include people who didn’t feel comfortable attending or who can’t typically afford the ticket price. Here’s where it gets tricky…
Who should you invite to your hybrid fundraising event?
Who makes “the cut” for an in person invite and who will be welcomed as a virtual guest?
First let’s take a look at Types of Gala Guests:
The Corporate Sponsor
These are the big wigs from who helped sponsor your event. They gave thousands of dollars of towards your organization and in return got their name on some things and a bunch of tickets to the event (which they hand out as rewards to their staff). Sometimes sponsors are personally involved in the organization and have a close tie to the work your organization does. More often than not, they don’t. It is usually a charitable write off for the organization and, like mentioned above, they tend to send their employees to fill their tables rather than their C-Suite executives.
Should they be invited to your in-person event? It depends (see below)
When they should get an invite to the in-person part of your event: When your corporate connection is because of someone who is personally involved in your organization (I find that they tend to also be a board member though) and they are passionate about the work you do.
What should you offer them instead of extra tickets or tables at your event? Get Creative! Give them more visibility. Name a volunteer award after them. Name a fundraising game after them. Name the virtual program after them. Publish their logo on the bid cards. The list could go on and on. There are so many more ways to add value to your sponsors that is more visible than a table and tickets.
The Corporate Sponsor Guests
These are the people that the corporate sponsor’s actually fill their front seat tables with. When I’m not at the employee table, this is usually where clients stick me, so I’ve spent a lot of time talking to these guests. What I’ve learned from them is that they are excited for a free date night out, they love the open bar, they have no idea what the organization does, about 30% of them give during the fund-a-need at the $25- $50 level and more often than not, they leave the event early.
Should they be invited to your in-person event? Nope. If you can avoid filling your precious seats with these guests, that is best. These are “cold” prospects who probably won’t donate or bid and you’ll have a hard time building a long term donor relationship with them.
What to do instead? Encourage the sponsor company to host a watch party at their company and get their employees involved this way. They could even send a company video or stream in from their site to say hi (hello, sponsor visibility).
Board Members
Board members are usually asked to sponsor a table and fill it with their most influential friends. These are people who are personally invested in the growth of your organization and have already invested time, knowledge, energy and money in the work you are doing. Some organizations will have more involved board members than others, but we can all agree they are valuable to your organization.
Should they be invited to your in-person event? Yes! Absolutely! They are going to be some of your most invested people in the room, and are likely to be some of your higher donors or even volunteer to be momentum donors for the evening.
Big Spendas
You know who these people are. These are the guests who give large donations year after year and are often the ones throwing their paddles up in the air to raise the bids on the auction items. If you don’t know who these people are , simply pull the last 3-5 years of reports from your events and take a look at the names and you’ll be able to see who is consistently winning auction items and giving at the higher donation levels.
Should they be invited to your in person event? I’m sure you know that the answer to this is: Yes. These high level donors are worth inviting and bringing to your in person event.
Low-level Consistent Supporters
These are people who consistently give to your organization and believe in the work you do, but they never give more than $500. They are probably active in the revenue generating games like heads and tails or the wine pull and definitely bid in the silent auction, but can’t spare much more than that at your event.
Should they be invited to your in-person event? It depends. These are loyal supporters and are committed to making an impact through your organization and that is worth celebrating and they should definitely be nurtured as if they are high rollers, because someday they may be your biggest donors! However, what this group lacks in financial resources they make up for in passion so another option would be to….
Personally invite these donors to be virtual gala ambassadors. Their role would be to host a virtual watch party and invite people to join them FOR FREE to watch. They are your organization’s hype people. Ask them to share on social media prior to the event, during the event and after the event. Ask them to forward the link to loved ones. Ask them to share in advance WHY they care about your organization and feature them in the preroll for your event or in the slide show at the personal event. This is a high honor position for them and will do a lot for your organization.
Employees and Volunteers
God bless the people who make your organization work day-to-day. They are the heart and soul of what you do. They deserve to be honored and I’m sure they deserve a night on the town, but the question is should they get a seat at your in-person event?
Should they be invited to your in-person event? No. I hate saying this, because they are so valuable to your organization, but when your goal is to raise as much money as possible, these are not the people to be filling your seat.
What to do instead? Volunteers and employees who will be at the event, should definitely be fed! I actually usually prefer the food that’s offered for the volunteers over what is served in the ballroom anyway. In the volunteer room, create a mini watch party that fits the parameters of the event. As the fundraising host of an event, I personally would give them and all the watch parties a shout out, “Give it up for all our watch parties who couldn’t be here with us, especially our amazing volunteers watching down the hall!”
If they aren’t at the event, I recommend an employee/volunteer appreciation event. Something of a smaller scale that costs less per head and celebrate them. Offer awards and prizes. This will cost your organization far less than the opportunity cost of giving those seats away in your in-person fundraising event.
Everyone else
Then there is everyone else. Maybe they donated once. Maybe they just found themselves on your email list or follow one of your social media channels. Whoever they are, they are likely cold to luke-warm donors.
Should they be invited to your in-person event? Nope. These all make great candidates for the virtual viewing. Invite them to join virtually. One amazing benefit we’ve learned from virtual events, is that they are great for people who wouldn’t normally shell out the big bucks for the ticket for the in-person event, but they are willing to take an hour out of their busy life to watch and can afford to bid in the silent auction or give at a lower donation level. Virtual events are great for obtaining new donors or education cold prospects on what your organization does.
Hybrid events force us to focus on quality over quantity.
With headcount restrictions, we can’t have the same number of people we used to, so make sure you are inviting donors that are invested in the success of your organization.
