--- title: "Run ticketing for a charity gala | Ticket Fairy Guides" description: "Sell gala seats and whole tables, invoice a company for a block of seats, ask every guest for their meal choice, send sponsors their tickets, let supporters bring friends, email your guests and welcome them at the door." canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-charity-gala" --- 1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/) 2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) 3. Run ticketing for a charity gala Playbooks by event type # Run ticketing for a charity gala If you raise funds for a charity, you sell a gala dinner by the seat and by the table, with sponsors to seat and a meal choice for every guest. Seats, tables and company invoices all come from the same event. On the night, your door team finds every guest by name. Takes: 16 minutes - [Create the gala event](#step-1) - [Sell individual seats](#step-2) - [Sell whole tables](#step-3) - [Invoice a company for a block of seats](#step-4) - [Ask every guest for their meal choice](#step-5) - [Send sponsors and honored guests their tickets](#step-6) - [Let supporters bring their friends](#step-7) - [Email your guests the evening's details](#step-8) - [Welcome each guest at the door](#step-9) ## Before you start - You're a brand owner or admin. You can create the event, its tickets and tables, its checkout questions and its emails. - You know your seat prices, how many tables you have and how many guests sit at each. - You have the names and email addresses of the sponsors and honored guests you seat for free. 1. ## Create the gala event Select **Create Event** and choose **Start from scratch**, then enter the gala's name, date, venue and description. [Create an event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/create-an-event) ![Event template gallery with the event assistant and built-in event setups](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-templates--gallery.png) *Create Event, template gallery.* 2. ## Sell individual seats On **Tickets**, create a ticket type for each seat price, such as Gala seat and Supporter seat, with its price and how many you can sell. **Note:** Give each seat price its own share of the room rather than the whole capacity, so you never sell more seats and tables together than you have places. [Set up ticket types](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-up-ticket-types) ![Ticket type form with the name, price, Maximum Number of Sales and purchase multiple](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-ticket-page-form--create.png) *Event, Tickets, Create Ticket Type.* 3. ## Sell whole tables Under **Table Types**, select **Create** for each table you sell, with its price, the number of guests it seats and the share paid online. **Note:** Enter the same number as the minimum and the maximum guests for a table that always seats ten. Every buyer who books a table goes through an identity check before Ticket Fairy confirms the booking. [Sell VIP tables and bottle service through your promoters](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-vip-tables-and-bottle-service) ![The Create Table Type form with the name, price, stock, guest limits and online deposit for a table](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-table-tickets--vip-booth.png) *Tickets, Table Types, Create.* 4. ## Invoice a company for a block of seats Optional: For a company that pays by invoice against a purchase order, open **Group Bookings** on the event, select **New group booking** and choose the **Purchaser** who receives the invoice. **Note:** If group bookings isn't turned on for your event, the page says so and offers to put you in touch with Ticket Fairy support. [Sell a block of tickets to a company and invoice them](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-a-group-booking-and-invoice-it) ![Group bookings table listing each company with its passes, price, payment terms and status from draft through to paid](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-group-bookings--bookings.png) *Event, Group Bookings.* 5. ## Ask every guest for their meal choice Open **Settings** on the event, select **Create Custom Field** and choose **Ticket** under **Append to**, so each seat gets its own answer. **Note:** A table booking is one ticket for the whole party, so it has one answer. To collect each table guest's choice, send the person who booked the table the link to a form that asks the same question. [Add custom questions to your event checkout](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/add-custom-checkout-questions) ![The Create Custom Field dialog with the checkout question settings](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-checkout-customisation--custom-field-create.png) *Event, Settings, Custom Fields, Create Custom Field.* 6. ## Send sponsors and honored guests their tickets Open **Guest Tickets**, select **Send Guest Tickets**, then choose the seat or table and enter each guest's details. **Note:** If your event has tables, they're listed in the same field, so you send a sponsor's table as one guest booking. [Send free tickets to your guest list](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-guest-tickets) ![The Send Guest Tickets form with a recipient, ticket type and quantity](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-guest-tickets--send-guest-tickets.png) *Event, Guest Tickets, Send Guest Tickets.* 7. ## Let supporters bring their friends Optional: On **Tickets**, open **Settings** and keep **Disable Rewards System** off, so each paying guest gets a referral link that earns back part of their ticket. **Note:** Set the reward tiers before you sell the first ticket, because the terms buyers saw when they bought stay fixed. [Reward buyers who bring friends to your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/reward-buyers-for-referrals) ![The Rewards System card in Ticket Settings, with three referral reward tiers and the buyer offer turned on](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-tickets--referral-rewards-settings.png) *Tickets, Settings, Rewards System.* 8. ## Email your guests the evening's details Open **Messaging**, select **New Email** and choose who receives it, such as every guest or only the holders of one ticket type. **Note:** Event messaging is for what guests need to know about the gala, such as the dress code, the arrival time and the seating plan. [Email your ticket buyers about your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/email-your-buyers) ![Email composer with the audience selector](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-messaging--email-composer.png) *Event, Messaging, New Email.* 9. ## Welcome each guest at the door Open **Check-In** and select **Individual Tickets** to find a guest by name or email address as they arrive. **Note:** Once a guest is in, the row shows when they checked in and who admitted them. [Scan tickets at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/scan-tickets-at-the-door) ![The Individual Tickets tab with the counts and one ticket per row](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-check-in--individual-tickets.png) *Event, Check-In, Individual Tickets.* ## Or have it done for you Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask. Fai can create the gala's seats and tables, add the meal-choice question, draft a company's group booking, send sponsors their guest tickets, set the referral rewards before the first sale, send your guests an email and find a guest at the door. She shows you each change and asks you to approve it first, and asks again before she emails anyone. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` For our gala , create individual seats at and tables of at , add a meal choice question each guest answers, and show me everything before you save it ``` ## From your terminal Install the CLI from [our CLI page](https://www.ticketfairy.com/cli), sign in with `ticketfairy auth login`, and choose the brand you are working on with `ticketfairy brand use `. `ticketfairy brand list` and `ticketfairy event list` show the IDs the other commands use. Use the command line to create the seats and tables and to publish the gala. Set up the meal question, invoices, guest tickets, referral rewards and emails in the dashboard or with Fai. ### Create the individual seat. ``` ticketfairy ticket create --name "Gala seat" --price 150 --max-inventory 300 ``` ### Create a table of ten paid in full online. ``` ticketfairy table create --body '{"displayName": "Table of ten", "price": 150000, "maxInventory": 30, "minGuests": 10, "maxGuests": 10, "guestPrice": 0, "depositPercent": 100}' ``` ### Publish the gala. ``` ticketfairy event publish ``` ## Questions you might have **How do I sell a table of ten at a gala?** Create a table type with the table's price and ten as both the minimum and the maximum guests. Set the online share to 100 to take the whole price online once the buyer passes the identity check, or lower to take a deposit and collect the rest yourself. **Can a company pay for its seats by invoice?** Yes, with group bookings. You build the company's block from your ticket types, record their purchase order number and payment terms on the booking, get it signed off where you need to, and raise one invoice with a due date that matches their terms. **Can each guest at a table give their own meal choice?** A table booking is one ticket for the whole party, so it has one answer to a ticket question rather than one for each guest. Guests who buy individual seats answer for themselves, and if you ask, Ticket Fairy support can turn on name, email and phone for each table guest at checkout for your event. **How do I give a sponsor their table?** Send it from Guest Tickets. Choose the table type in the ticket field and enter the sponsor's details, and the booking takes one table from that type's stock. **Can guests add a donation when they buy their seat?** Guests can't choose their own donation amount at checkout. Create an add-on for each gift you suggest, such as 25 and 50, so a guest can add one with their seat in the same checkout. For a gift of any other size, link your own donation page in the text you add to the confirmation email. ## Still have a question? Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## Related guides - [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/charity-galas-and-fundraisers) - [Sell VIP tables and bottle service through your promoters](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-vip-tables-and-bottle-service) - [Sell a block of tickets to a company and invoice them](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-a-group-booking-and-invoice-it) - [Add custom questions to your event checkout](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/add-custom-checkout-questions) - [Build an application or sign-up form for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-applications-with-a-form) - [Send free tickets to your guest list](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-guest-tickets) - [Reward buyers who bring friends to your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/reward-buyers-for-referrals) - [Email your ticket buyers about your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/email-your-buyers) - [Run a conference on Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-conference) - [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) ## Do this on your own event Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call. [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) ## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more. - Set up your event in minutes - Free events are free - Fai, your AI teammate, is built in [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## See it on a call Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/charity-galas-and-fundraisers) ### Tips for selling more tickets Practical advice from working event organizers, and every new guide as it is published. We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime. --- This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) ยท [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)