Press at nonprofit galas

Every nonprofit does events. Events are a great way to show your supporters what you do and how you are changing the world for the better.

At the same time, every nonprofit believes what they do is so newsworthy that the press will come out in the evening and cover their event.

Often they do, particularly if celebrities are involved.

While we have an enviable track record for press turnout at our client galas, we at the same time know that press is not, and should not, be the primary objective of a fundraising event.

Your target audience is people who are engaged with your organization, and your financial supporters. Those are the people who will attend your event and write checks. Having camera crews there adds to the glitz, but in a media world where news items are 15 seconds long at best, in more cases than not you are not going to grab attention from viewers who won’t remember your organization’s name, and who probably get most of their news from social media anyway.

Keep your eye on the end game. That’s raising money and deepening the involvement of your core supporters who will spread the word to others with similar values and with the financial means to lend a hand.

Promote your events on social media which is just as effective, if not more because it is so targeted. If you get on the evening news that’s great to repost, but should not be the primary focus of your fundraiser.