Fundraiser gala run of show
A single-evening gala run-of-show you can copy, edit, and share with your emcee, AV team, and board. Works for nonprofit annual dinners, hospital foundations, arts fundraisers, and school auctions — swap the program moments with your own.
Example run of show — a nonprofit annual gala
Below is a realistic 6:00 – 10:00 PM gala. The rhythm — cocktails, welcome, dinner, program, auction, dessert — is the shape most successful annual dinners follow.
| Time | Session | Speaker | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:30 PM | Vendor & Volunteer Call Time | Event Manager | Backstage |
| 6:00 PM | Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction Opens | — | Foyer |
| 6:45 PM | Guests Move to Ballroom | Ushers | Ballroom |
| 7:00 PM | Welcome & Board Chair Remarks | Board Chair | Ballroom Stage |
| 7:10 PM | Dinner Service Begins | Catering | Ballroom |
| 7:45 PM | Mission Moment (video + speaker) | Program Beneficiary | Ballroom Stage |
| 8:05 PM | Live Auction | Auctioneer | Ballroom Stage |
| 8:45 PM | Paddle Raise / Fund-a-Need | Executive Director | Ballroom Stage |
| 9:10 PM | Dessert & Silent Auction Closes | — | Foyer |
| 9:45 PM | Closing Remarks & Send-off | Board Chair | Ballroom Stage |
What to include
Call times
Vendors, AV, and volunteers need arrival times that precede the guest arrival by an hour or more.
Program moments
Welcome, mission moment, live auction, and paddle raise. Give each a distinct start time — never batch them as "program".
Speaker or role
Board chair, ED, auctioneer, honoree. Emcees rely on this column when a program runs long.
Location
Foyer, ballroom, backstage. Vendors need this even when guests don't see the rows.
AV & catering cues
Add short-description rows for lighting changes, mic swaps, and dinner service start. Small details, big smoothness.
Silent auction windows
List "opens" and "closes" as separate rows so guests know when to bid.
Download the CSV
Save this as gala-run-of-show.csv, edit it in Excel or Google Sheets, then upload it to see it as a real event page.
Title,Date,Start Time,End Time,Speaker,Room,Description
Vendor & Volunteer Call Time,2026-05-15,5:30 PM,6:00 PM,Event Manager,Backstage,
Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction Opens,2026-05-15,6:00 PM,6:45 PM,,Foyer,
Guests Move to Ballroom,2026-05-15,6:45 PM,7:00 PM,Ushers,Ballroom,
Welcome & Board Chair Remarks,2026-05-15,7:00 PM,7:10 PM,Board Chair,Ballroom Stage,
Dinner Service Begins,2026-05-15,7:10 PM,7:45 PM,Catering,Ballroom,
Mission Moment (video + speaker),2026-05-15,7:45 PM,8:05 PM,Program Beneficiary,Ballroom Stage,
Live Auction,2026-05-15,8:05 PM,8:45 PM,Auctioneer,Ballroom Stage,
Paddle Raise / Fund-a-Need,2026-05-15,8:45 PM,9:10 PM,Executive Director,Ballroom Stage,
Dessert & Silent Auction Closes,2026-05-15,9:10 PM,9:45 PM,,Foyer,
Closing Remarks & Send-off,2026-05-15,9:45 PM,10:30 PM,Board Chair,Ballroom Stage,Internal vs. guest-facing
Keep two views: the full internal run-of-show with call times and cues, and a simplified guest page with dinner time, program start, and auction close. Same spreadsheet, filtered rows.
AV & catering cues
Add rows for mic tests, lighting shifts, and course clears. Everyone reads from the same timeline, so nothing gets lost between production and catering.
Common questions
What is a run of show?
A run of show is a minute-by-minute timeline of an event — every program moment, speaker cue, and vendor call time in one document. For a fundraiser gala it covers cocktails through the closing remarks, giving the emcee, AV team, and catering a shared source of truth.
How long should a fundraiser gala run?
Most nonprofit galas run 3.5 to 4 hours. Cocktails 45–60 minutes, dinner and program 90–120 minutes, dessert and silent-auction close 30–45 minutes. Keeping under 4 hours protects paddle-raise momentum.
Do I share the run of show with guests?
The full version stays internal — vendors, AV, board, emcee. Guests get a short public schedule with the program highlights and dinner time. ScheduleWeaver can publish that guest-facing page as a shareable link for $49.
Get this fundraiser-gala-run-of-show template by email
We'll email you the CSV and a link back to this guide so you can pick it up later. No spam, one-time email — you can also reuse the link to publish a real event page for $49.
See it as a real event page
Upload the CSV above (or your own) to the free preview. No signup. Publishing is one-time $49 — no subscriptions, no per-attendee fees.
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