Though some date the “end” of covid to 2021 when vaccines were first available, or to May of 2023 when it was declared “endemic,” I would argue that in many ways we are socially just entering the a “post-covid” state now, at least in terms of theater attendance and charity fundraisers. This year is certainly the first one for me where “gala season” has been back in truly full swing. And I have learned a few things from it.

You don’t need as many activities. Events of the past used to have all kinds of things. Games, photo booths, silent auctions, Heads or Tails,  themed food, dessert bars, specialty cocktails, mission-based activities, fire-walking…You don’t need ALL that now (but please hang on to the mission-based stuff and probably the specialty cocktail). People are genuinely happy, if a little uncomfortable, to be getting back together in person in a space. They need time to process that and to actually talk to each other. Limit the activities to the minimum.

Our attention spans are shorter. Related to the above, make your event shorter. Move the presentation earlier in the event, and make it shorter, but with a bigger punch. People are going to be leaving earlier than you expect. If you have some people you know will want to party the night away, maybe consider tapping some hosts to do “after-parties.”

You will absolutely freak out about attendance. Attendance for everything is lower, as people are pulled in a lot of other directions (including Netflix + couch). AND they buy their tickets later. I honestly don’t believe that discounting tickets last minute or other enticements will swing the needle far on this one. I think we are back to the need for ongoing, required, personal touches and asks, which is going to take more time and energy than you think.

People need some hand-holding. We’ve forgotten how to do a lot of this. The more information that you can give people about parking, dress code, order of events, etc., the happier they will be (and the more they will spend).

Be hybrid without being hybrid. We’re as weary of the term “hybrid” as we were of “pivot.” No one is going to attend your event via zoom. But if you can leave yourself some flexibility (like listing unsold or sluggish silent auction items in an “afterparty” online auction), you might be able to pick up some extra funds.

And, it’s probably time to rethink the role of special events in your contributed revenue budget, since you’ll be rethinking it all anyway….