The spring fundraising event season is in high gear and we are always energized by communities coming together to support impactful mission-driven nonprofit organizations. 

Sharing ideas is another benefit of community. This newsletter includes resources from two of our partners to assist you in planning your own fundraising events while our staff Top Tip focuses on lighting this month. And in the feature section, you'll find our BIG news item. Keep reading to find out what we have planned.

Shown above: Centro Cultural's Gala de Cultura at Wingspan Event Center; Production Partners: Swaim Strategies; Marquam Auction Agency

Portland, Oregon, enjoys a vibrant event industry. And as a local audiovisual production company, The AV Department has had the pleasure of providing AV services in many of the excellent event venues in our region. So we are incredibly excited to add AVENUE | Audio+Visual Event Space to the great event venue options in Portland. 

AV + VENUE = AVENUE

AVENUE is AV-forward, intentionally designed to cater specifically to nonprofit galas and live auctions. At AVENUE, our Premier AV Package is included with every venue rental. This is the custom audiovisual system and approach our clients receive when we provide AV production for their events across the region. It includes everything needed for excellent audio, projection, lighting, and production management. 

CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED

The permits are in hand and the build-out has started to revamp the space into AVENUE. We invite everyone to join us on the journey to opening day. Subscribe to AVENUE's newsletter and follow our social media accounts for the latest updates. We are already booking events, too. Inquiries can be submitted to request a proposal and to schedule a hard-hat tour.

And, YES! The AV Department will continue to partner with our clients to provide live and hybrid event audiovisual production anywhere they host their events.

During the Hope Chinese Charter School 2023 Xi Wang Gala, attendees online and at the hosted watch party were able to outbid each other in the live auction by gEvents on the Auctria platform. Live streaming from the studio with a remote live feed from the watch party is a great hybrid event option that allows everyone to join in at their own comfort level.

Read how they did it in a blog post published by Auctria.

Samantha Swaim of Swaim Strategies recently shared event fundraising advice on an episode of Raise Nation podcast. Topics included intentional event themes, messaging before the event, ways to optimize giving, and more. Tune in for a great discussion.