By Shannon Eason
Are you designing your event around a theme? Or are you designing your theme around your mission?
Themes are fun, but they often dilute or distract from an organization’s true mission. I recommend building your theme around the story your mission was created to tell. That is, start with your mission, not Pinterest.
I recently told a client: “You’re a poster child for storytelling and designing your event. Instead of designing your event around a fun theme and then trying to tie it into your mission, you do just the opposite. You take your mission, share the stories, and design the theme around the storytelling. Brilliant!”
Think about how often gala planning starts with, “What should our theme be this year?” Roaring ’20s? Disco? Midnight in Paris? Under the Stars? There’s nothing wrong with any of those themes. But before asking, “What’s our theme?” ask a better question:
What story are we trying to tell?
Once you know that, the theme becomes much more than colors, centerpieces and décor. It becomes an opportunity to share your mission.
Start with the story
Let’s look at an organization that provides care to women who have been trafficked and/or exploited.
Their stories are intensely personal and riveting. Through counseling, therapy, support, and a safe place to call home, these women are given a hand up and an opportunity to move from surviving to thriving.
When they share their stories, we get a glimpse into their lives — where they were, what they endured, and, most importantly, where they are today.
So when it came time to design their gala, they didn’t start with a Roaring ’20s or Disco theme. They went straight to the stories.
The backdrop, lighting, and colors reflected the organization’s brand — purple — and guests were encouraged to wear purple in support of the mission. The result was spectacular: a room filled with donors visually showing their support.
Throughout the room were large posters featuring close-up images of faces of every color and ethnicity — a powerful reminder that human trafficking does not discriminate.
Each included just one or two lines: a piece of a survivor’s story, words that gave her strength, a Bible verse that carried her through, or a glimpse of how she found the strength to keep going.
Instead of traditional floral centerpieces, they utilized mirrors and photographs to share even more stories. More faces. More journeys. More successes. They weren’t simply decorative centerpieces. They were opportunities to tell a story.
Before anyone ever donated, guests were learning about the people their donations were helping. That’s the difference between decorating an event and designing an experience around your mission.
Make storytelling part of the experience
Storytelling shouldn’t suddenly appear five minutes before the Fund-a-Need. It can begin with the invitation and continue through the entrance, signage, décor, centerpieces, video, entertainment, and speakers. Everything should eventually lead to the most important storytelling opportunity of the evening — the Mission Moment.
At this gala, a lovely young woman walked onto the stage and took our breath away with her story. She shared some of the darkest moments of her past and then told us where her life is today. With the help of this organization, her story had changed. She is now married and the mother of twin daughters. The entire room was captivated. You could have heard a pin drop.
Just like it should be during your Mission Moment.
At that point, we didn’t need to create a reason to give. The reason for giving was standing right in front of us. The audience had seen the faces, read the stories, and experienced the mission. Now they had met someone whose life had been changed because this organization existed. This, my friends, is how to theme an event.
This doesn’t mean every organization needs to decorate with photographs of the people they serve. A cancer organization doesn’t need ribbons everywhere. An education organization doesn’t need a “Back to School” gala. An animal rescue doesn’t need paw prints on every table. Instead, think about the bigger ideas within your mission:
Hope. Transformation. Opportunity. Courage. Home. Belonging. Second chances. Community. Possibility.
You can have creative themes, but these words will inspire stories. Let’s look at some examples:
- Children’s Education — Opening Doors to Possibility
Mission: Give underserved children access to education and opportunity. Imagine branding doors throughout the venue with the inspiration of the evening around the doors education can open. Then, during the Fund-a-Need, invite donors to “Open the next door.” - Cancer Support — Stronger Together
Share stories not only of patients, but spouses, children, caregivers, and support professionals. The fundraising moment becomes an opportunity to make sure another family doesn’t face cancer alone. - Animal Rescue — The Journey Home
Follow the journey: Rescue → Recovery → Trust → Home. Before the Fund-a-Need, introduce an animal whose journey isn’t finished. Donors aren’t simply giving money — they’re helping finish the story. - Housing Organization — It Starts With Home
Tell what happened after someone found stable housing: A child succeeded in school, a parent found employment, or a family finally had a place to call their own. The message becomes clear: So much of life starts with home. - Youth Mentoring — Because Someone Believed
Share statements like, “Someone believed I could graduate.” Reveal the young people and mentors behind them. Then ask the audience: “Who will believe in the next one?”
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You have a captive audience at your gala. Use that opportunity to show them the programs they’re supporting, introduce them to the people they’re helping, and demonstrate the difference they are making. Don’t let your mission become a five-minute video tucked between the live auction and the Fund-a-Need.
Let them experience it.
Before approving your next gala theme, ask: Does it connect to our mission? What story are we telling? Is the story consistent throughout the evening? And does it lead to why we’re asking people to give?
If not, you may have designed a great party. But have you designed a great fundraising event? Don’t design your gala and then figure out where to insert your mission. Design the gala around the story you need to tell.
When donors understand the people they’re helping, the programs they’re supporting, and the difference they’re making, you’re doing more than raising money for one night.
You’re building relationships — and ultimately, legacy donors.
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MEET
Shannon Eason is the CEO and founder of Everything Gala, LLC, a fundraising and consulting firm. Eason is an International Auctioneer Champion and has been conducting auctions for almost 40 years. Along with being an instructor and mentor, Eason conducts seminars and workshops across the country.
