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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Selling tickets to virtual galas
Jun 30

Selling tickets to virtual galas

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

Charging at virtual gala ticketsCan you sell tickets to your virtual gala?

Can you charge people to attend a virtual fundraiser?  Will they come?

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When virtual galas started in March 2020, they were an emergency response to statewide lock downs.

Those events scheduled early in the COVID-19 crisis (March through early May) were actively selling tickets and tables to their gala fundraiser.

When nonprofits cancelled the gala or shifted to a virtual event, most reached out to ticket-holders to offer refunds. Overwhelmingly guests said, “No refund needed; keep my money.”

In contrast, galas planned for late spring and beyond had not yet sold tickets. Nonprofits have had to decide whether they can sell a ticket for an event when there’s no “in-person” experience to enjoy.

Is it possible for nonprofits to sell tickets to a virtual gala fundraiser?

Here’s what I’m seeing.

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Free tickets to the virtual gala

Nonprofits are banking on higher attendance and reduced gala expenses to generate the income lost from ticket sales.

This could be a banner year for groups whose ticket price never covered the cost of their gala expenses anyway.

Guests are invited to register online.  Though the event tickets are $0, guests might be invited to make a contribution, buy a raffle ticket, or take some other action that requires them to pull out their credit card.

Reduced priced tickets to the virtual gala

If a nonprofit was charging $150 to attend the gala, the new ticket price might be $25 or $50 to reflect the new gala style.

Tiered priced tickets to the virtual gala

Some tickets are free or reduced price; other tickets are a premium price and offer an enhanced experience.

For instance, $350 might get you a dinner delivered to your door and other goodies, along with the full live-streamed gala.

But a free ticket is limited to viewing a portion of the fundraising event.  You might only be able to participate in the online auction, or watch a portion of the live-streamed gala.

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Have you seen creative ticket pricing strategies for virtual galas?

Post your ideas in the comments below.

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About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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