Behind the Scenes: Bringing a Society Gala to Life
Written by Carmen Garcia
Thumbnail & Banner Photo by Andrew Knechel on Unsplash
With the winter semester starting, we will begin to see the various galas, which have been long in the works by SMUSA Societies, come to life. These incredible end of the year events, as enjoyable and community engaging as they are, are only made possible through extensive planning and promotion. In order to assess how to deliver such an experience, I will go through the steps needed to bring these highly sought after gala’s to life. If you're anything like me, planning a gala is unlike any other project I’ve taken on. Luckily, with the assistance of SMUSA’s executive team and full time staff, I’ve been guided to plan out and ensure a successful gala for the SMU community.
Planning
When a society or societies in collaboration decide they want to hold a gala, their first step should be meeting with Khuloud Saqib, SMUSA’s VP of Societies. She will be able to provide you with the contacts of individuals you’ll need to reach out to in order to get the ball rolling and assist you in reserving a room for a tentative gala date. This is very important, as rooms get quickly booked up in light of the various end of the year events we see the SMU community put on. Now, with a tentative date and a room reserved, you can begin reaching out to those contacts Khuloud shared with you, which will include: SMUSA’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing, SMUSA’s Operations Manager, and SMUSA’s Accounting and Payroll Manager, for further assistance.
Money plays a big factor in bringing a gala to life, and with no reserve of money to pull from, there is no chance of a gala. You’ll be able to get a better idea of what your finances will need to look like upon consultation with Terri Timmons, SMUSA’s Accounting and Payroll Manager. For a gala intended to hold 100-150 people, to cover the costs of food/beverages alone, you’re looking at roughly $7500 using Aramark as your caterer. If you’re planning on serving alcohol at the event, you’ll also need to consider the cost of security. What was quoted by Terri Timmons, upon consultation with SMUSA’s Operations Manager, Graeme Mackenzie, was around $400 for the night. For liquor services however, the fee is waived if alcohol sales exceed around $1500; if not, a maximum charge of $250 will be added to your gala expenses.
Now, these are the base costs of a gala. To create an experience like no other you’ll need to take into consideration various other costs associated with decorating and the possible inclusion of a DJ or Guest Speakers to make a more engaging event. This can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on what you’d like to put forth.
With that being said, it is clear that a gala is in no way a cheap event to bring to life, but by planning far enough ahead, society fundraising can help alleviate some of these costs. SMUSA also gives societies the option to apply for Special Event Grant Funding (SEGF), which you can receive a maximum grant of $2000 from. What will also help in stomaching these costs is the addition of sponsors.
What you’ll need to do before reaching out to sponsors is to brainstorm a list of banks, businesses or organizations that align with your society’s values and the SMU community. You will then send this list to Amaan Ahmed, SMUSA’s Vice President of Marketing and Communication. He will approve these for you before you can go ahead with creating what is called a sponsorship package. You’ll need to come up with a few donation options for the banks, businesses or organizations that will be reached out to to determine what donation you’ll be receiving and what benefits will come as a result to them. This can be done in tiers, and can look something like this:
Tier A: $1000 donation
Logo placement on all event-related material, a table at the event showcasing them, as well as tagged mentions on social media.
Tier B: $750 donation
Logo placement on all event-related material, tagged mentions on social media.
Tier C: $500 donation
Logo placement on all event-related material.
Your sponsorship package will be submitted with your Society Event Risk Management Form (SERM) and later used to reach out to your banks, businesses, and organizations of choice when seeking donations. Just like any event, a SERM form must be filled out and submitted, but rather than the typical 14 days in advance being required, for a gala specifically, Khuloud let me know 10 weeks in advance is what they ask.
Promotion
You’ve spoken with those needed to ensure the proper steps have been taken, your SERM form has been submitted and approved. You’ve been granted donations from various banks, businesses and organizations, and have created a pool of money sufficient to cover your expenses. What follows now is the promotion of your gala. What myself and fellow contributor to the Journal, Leah Oake, can agree on, is that this is arguably the most important step. You’ve already put endless work into planning your gala, so what a shame it would be to see a low turnout due to lack of promotion. What you’ll need to decide going into the promotion of your event is ticket pricing. Let’s say you’ve decided on $40 for students, and $50 for general (any non-student) attendees, like Enactus decided on last year. To encourage ticket sales, you can offer limited time discounts such as early bird ticket prices, in which you cut $5 off the original ticket prices. You can promote your ticket sales and gala in numerous ways until ticket sales close or you sell out. Some examples that come to mind include: social media posts, emails, and posters put up across campus. If you decide that you want faculty and alumni present at the gala, I also suggest reaching out to their respective Department Heads and more than likely they will extend their help in promoting the gala as well.
Ultimately, money is what can make a gala possible, but collaboration amongst SMUSA’s executive team and full time staff, as well as your society executives, is what will make a gala successful. The goal of a gala is to bring the SMU community together, but it also involves getting the SMU community excited about your event. Think about utilizing your society executives within the process. Your presidents and vice-presidents can lead in ensuring proper steps are being taken, your secretary can send out emails, your treasurer can budget your finances, and your social media coordinator and event planner can use their experience in past promotion of previous events to reach your target audience effectively!
It would be unfair to say that what I’ve laid out here is a one size fits all approach. It can, however, serve as a guide for those looking to plan a gala of their own. There is always the possibility of alternative catering and off campus venue spaces that may alter these numbers and the steps you’ll need to take. What my experience may not offer you in answers, the SMUSA’s executive team and full time staff can. To bring a gala to life, you’re looking at more than planning alone but promoting as well. With these two alongside one another you can bring those highly sought after gala’s to the SMU community.