An Event Day in the Life of a Fundraising Director

Event day is a long, exciting, fun, and draining day. Whether you’re hosting a distinguished gala, cocktail party, or golf event, it is a major undertaking for staff and volunteers.  

After you’ve done your committee building, planning, and auction item gathering, it is finally time for the big day. Let’s look at what event day looks like for a fundraising director, from her perspective.  

Looking for fundraising event technology that can do more? Talk with a GiveSmart expert about your upcoming fundraising auction, peer-to-peer campaigns, annual appeals, and more. 

Pre-Event 

5:30 a.m. — Wake up and get ready

Today is the day! After I get ready for the first time today, I have to remember to mobile order the teams’ mobile coffees. I really have to remember the event day binder with today’s timeline and all of the contracts. 

7:30 a.m. — Last-minute pickups and unloading the car

We left the iPad chargers at the office, so I have to run there first. It’s better than needing hefty clipboards for check-in and reprinting bid sheets in the morning. 

I cannot wait to unpack my car. It is amazing what fits in a sedan, but I’d prefer if the front seat were not so packed that the sensor thinks it is a person who needs a seatbelt.

9:00 a.m. — Room and auction setup 

Flowers came early, and we have to wait until the linens are down in the ballroom, so we have them placed in a convenient middle-of-the-floor location for now. The linens are on the auction tables, and we have a few extras, so we can get them set up. Truly, so thrilled we won’t have to worry about spacing with bid sheets and pens, too. Plus, we didn’t have to pay for the carbon copies! 

I had time to order another coffee delivery AND eat lunch because all I really had to do after noon was upload some photos and videos of the last-minute baskets and items we got. 

4:00 p.m. — Get READY

must double-check that the AV team is set so we can have the displays ready. People love seeing their names, and that live thermometer is hopefully going to make a difference for the paddle raise. 

Then I have to lightning-speed curl my hair.  

4:30 — Volunteer Training and VIP Cocktail Hour

We’ve trained our volunteers on check-in and answering the few bidding questions we expect to get. Gratefully, most of the volunteers watched our recorded Personalized Training session from the GiveSmart Services team. 

The VIP Happy Hour for our higher-level recurring donors and honorees is underway, too.  

Event 

6:00 p.m. — Start

Check-in starts and the auction opens! It is already so much faster, and people have more time to browse items. 

7:00 p.m. — Program

We asked our Remote Tech to open all live auction items at the start instead of one by one as we had discussed at our pre-meeting. It was no problem. 

The program was great, and WOW did the live thermometer make a big difference in the paddle raise. 

10:30 p.m. — Checkout

We sent the checkout link immediately when the auction closed. It was so nice to not mess with bid sheets.  

Most people checked out on their own, so when we ran cards, it was just for a few people. It was so easy for folks to show us their phones with their receipt at item pickup. 

Post-Event

12:01 a.m. — Success!

We hit our goal! It felt like a stretch, but GiveSmart made a big difference for us. Now is the time to throw everything in the ballroom side closet, and it will all be Monday’s problem. 

1:00 a.m — Head hits pillow

I am exhausted, and I will be asleep in a flash. I have already asked myself a few times, “Where did that bruise on my calf come from?” Got to laugh about it.  

You’ve got the double coffee runs, expert car packing, and event day logistics set. Let our GiveSmart team support your mobile bidding, online ticket sales, and your year-long fundraising campaigns. Get started with GiveSmart today.