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Your gala is over, and you know what that means. Everybody has opinions!


Your committee has opinions. Your board members have opinions. Your volunteers and staff have opinions. And they're all going to have thoughts about what went well and what should change next year.


But there's one group whose opinion I really want you to hear before you start making decisions about next year's gala.


Your guests.


Because here's the thing: Your team worked the gala. Your guests experienced it. And those are two very different perspectives.



A Christmas Story About Guessing


A couple of Christmases ago, I woke up to an unusually large pile of presents from my husband.


Now, we're grown-ups. We don't typically have mountains of presents waiting for us on Christmas morning, so I was pretty surprised.


I opened the first gift. A label maker! A beautiful, high-end label maker. Mine had broken a few months earlier, and I'd mentioned wanting a new one. Perfect!


Then my son brought me another present.


Another label maker.


Same brand. Different model.


Okay...


Then I opened a bedside caddy. Something else I'd wanted because I am apparently the kind of person who needs snacks, tea, water, and about 17 other things within arm's reach of my bed.


Then another bedside caddy.


And another.


Here's what happened. My husband genuinely wanted to get me exactly what I wanted, but he also wanted it to be a surprise. So instead of asking me which label maker or bedside caddy I preferred, he bought all the options and figured I could choose my favorite and return the rest.


Adorable, right?


It's a pretty expensive way to plan a gala, though.


And that's exactly what happens when we make planning decisions based on what we think people want instead of simply asking them.


You Experienced a Different Gala Than Your Guests Did


As a gala planner, you know EVERYTHING that went into that evening.


You know which details were carefully considered, which decisions were debated for weeks, and which things didn't go quite according to plan.


Your guests? They don't know any of that.


And I have another story that illustrates this perfectly.


When I got married in 2020, we had to completely pivot our wedding plans. We ended up getting married on a friend's beautiful ranch, where some guests camped and others stayed in nearby Airbnbs and hotels.

There weren't many food options around, so I had this idea to make snack bags for everyone to take when they left.


And I was meticulous about these snack bags.


Protein, something sweet, electrolytes. Everything someone might want after a long night of celebrating. I could just imagine our guests getting back to their rooms, opening their bags, and feeling so loved and cared for.


Well, the next morning, while we were cleaning up, I discovered the entire pile of snack bags sitting underneath a table.


Not. One. Had. Been. Distributed.


I was devastated!


But after I got over it, I realized something.


Not a single guest at my wedding knew they were supposed to receive a snack bag. Nobody was disappointed. Nobody went home thinking, "Wow, beautiful wedding, but where were my electrolytes?"


That was entirely my expectation.


And this happens at galas ALL THE TIME.


We put so much thought and care into creating a wonderful experience. We know what was supposed to happen, so naturally, we notice when it doesn't.


But your guests are experiencing the event without any of that behind-the-scenes knowledge.

That's why you need their perspective, not just your planning team's.



Send a Post-Gala Survey While Everything Is Fresh


This is one of the simplest things you can do to make next year's gala planning easier.

Send your guests a short post-event survey within 24 to 48 hours of the event.


And here's my advice: Prepare that survey before the gala.


Because after the event, you're going to be tired, catching up on everything else in your life, and probably dealing with about a million loose ends. The last thing you need is another project.


Get it ready ahead of time so all you have to do is hit send.



What Should You Actually Ask?


Of course, you want feedback about the overall guest experience.


How was check-in? Checkout? The food? The bar lines? Did the program feel too long or too short?

Did guests enjoy the fundraising activities?


All of that is valuable information.


But it's good to go a little deeper.

The most important thing I want to know is whether your guests connected with your mission.


Because ultimately, that's why you're bringing hundreds of people together in the first place.


Did they leave with a better understanding of what your organization does?

Do they understand why your work matters?

Do they know what their donations will help accomplish?

And, perhaps most importantly, do they feel like they're part of something they want to stay connected to?


You can have beautiful centerpieces, delicious food, a perfectly timed program, and the smoothest checkout in gala history. But if your guests walk away without a stronger connection to your mission, you've missed an enormous opportunity.


So don't let those mission questions get buried under questions about the chicken.



A Few Other Questions Worth Asking


I also recommend finding out whether someone was a first-time attendee or a returning guest. That one piece of information can make the rest of their answers much more useful.

Then get curious about a few things:


That last one is especially important.


Maybe they'd love a facility tour. Maybe they want to hear more impact stories. Maybe they're interested in volunteering or learning more about a particular program.


Remember, the goal isn't just to get someone to attend next year's gala.

The goal is to turn gala attendees into long-term supporters of your mission.

And sometimes all you have to do is ask what that could look like for them.



My Favorite Trick for Getting More Responses


Give away a prize!

Seriously. Have a great basket, gift card, or another desirable prize ready, and include something like:

"Complete our survey by Friday to be entered to win!"


Simple.


You're always going to have people who LOVE giving feedback. They'll respond to every survey you send them, whether you ask or not.


But you also want to hear from the quieter people. The ones who had a perfectly lovely evening, went home, and moved on with their lives.


A fun incentive gives those guests one more reason to spend a few minutes sharing their thoughts.

And the more perspectives you gather, the more useful that feedback becomes.



Look for Patterns, Not Just Opinions


Now, one important thing.


When you start getting survey responses back, please don't redesign your entire gala because one person didn't like the dessert.


You're looking for patterns.


If one guest thought check-in took too long, that's helpful to know.

If 40 guests thought check-in took too long, now we have something to investigate!


The same goes for your fundraising program, your mission moment, and the overall guest experience.

You're not trying to make every single person happy with every single detail. You're trying to understand what worked, what mattered, and where you have opportunities to make the experience even better.


And that's where this information becomes so valuable.


Your committee, board, volunteers, and staff all bring important perspectives. Pair those with what your guests actually experienced, and suddenly you're making decisions with a much clearer picture.



Make Next Year's Gala Better Before You Start Planning It


One of the best things you can do for next year's gala is to learn from this year's while it's still fresh.


A simple post-event survey can tell you what your guests loved, what they barely noticed, where they experienced friction, and whether your mission truly connected with them.


That is incredibly valuable information to have before you spend another year planning.


And it means fewer assumptions, fewer expensive guesses, and more thoughtful decisions about where to put your time, energy, and resources.


Want to know what else you should be doing right after your gala?


Watch my video, Want More Repeat Donors? Do This Within 72 Hours, where I walk through the important steps to take while everything is still fresh.