Lessons from The Jed Foundation: How to Leverage a Gala or Event to Advance Your Strategic Mission
Gala season is often met with a familiar mix of excitement and hesitation. For many nonprofit organizations, large-scale fundraising events raise questions about cost-effectiveness, donor retention, and long-term impact. After all, what’s the ROI of a room full of one-time donors sipping cocktails?
But at ABW Partners, we believe that, when executed with strategy and intention, a gala or event can do far more than raise money; it can become a catalytic moment to elevate your visibility, deepen community engagement, and drive your mission forward.
One recent example? The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading mental health nonprofit, evolved their fundraising strategy to align with their emerging strategic plan. We attended their most recent gala, expertly reimagined by Chief Growth Officer Adee Shepen and the entire JED team. As guests, we witnessed a powerful example of how an annual celebration can be transformed into a compelling platform for advancing mission and deepening philanthropic engagement.
In this blog post, we’re sharing the key best practices JED modeled.
Embrace Your Village to Build Visibility
The success of a mission-driven event doesn't begin at the venue doors; it begins in the months leading up to it. From board members to staff to corporate partners and community champions, everyone plays a role in promoting, sharing, and showing up for the event. JED honored Ally Love from Peloton with JED’s Voice of Mental Health Award, recognizing her leadership in normalizing conversations around emotional well-being. Ally is not only an influential figure but she has also been a long-time advocate for mental health. Her speech touched on her own mental health journey, which helped humanize the experience and connect with those in the room.
Embracing your village is especially important for organizations like JED, whose impact spans schools, systems, and communities nationwide. You can't create large-scale change in isolation, and the same applies to event success.
Strategic events activate your ecosystem, rallying diverse supporters around a shared goal and increasing buy-in across the board.
Own Your Role in Corporate Social Responsibility
At this year’s gala, one of the standout moments wasn’t just a speech or performance; it was the way JED was positioned as a crucial ally in the growing movement for mental health. Mental health is a national conversation, and JED offers tools, frameworks, and partnerships that help companies walk the walk when it comes to social responsibility.
For example, JED partnered with Victoria’s Secret Pink. This partnership helped JED amplify its message to teens and young adults while also providing the organization with monetary funds. At the gala, they shared a video that touched on the key values both JED and VS Pink shared, which made the partnership so impactful.
For gala guests representing the private sector, this wasn’t just about supporting a nonprofit; it was about aligning with a values-driven partner. That kind of positioning doesn’t just raise funds. It opens doors to ongoing partnerships and multiplies impact.
A Clear Call-to-Action Around Philanthropy & Championship
Another key to JED’s gala success? A clear and specific philanthropic call-to-action (CTA).
While galas often lean heavily on storytelling or honoree spotlights, JED ensured the event was also a meaningful moment to articulate a fundraising need and invite guests into the solution. While JED has many initiatives, they focused this CTA on supporting their “post-vention” program, which provides support to colleges and universities when there is a tragic suicide on campus.
By focusing the message around a specific area of their work (rather than trying to explain every program or initiative), they helped translate JED’s complex model into an accessible and emotionally resonant CTA. That clarity of ask makes all the difference between a feel-good evening and a mission-aligned movement.
While the topic of the CTA was heavy, JED skillfully energized the room with a dynamic, old-fashioned auctioneer. Instead of bidding on items, guests were invited to “bid” on impact—tapping into their values and making meaningful additional investments in JED’s mission. The gamified format added an element of fun and urgency, inspiring generosity in a deeply engaging way.
Speak to People, Not Just Practitioners
It’s easy, especially for issue-driven organizations, to speak in the language of programs, outcomes, and frameworks. But most gala guests aren’t nonprofit professionals or issue-based clinicians. They’re parents, business leaders, alumni, and friends.
ABW Partners helped JED tailor their message to resonate with the real people in the room, those who may not know the technicalities of the mental health system, but who care deeply about protecting young people.
By anchoring the program in personal stories and real-world impact, the event created emotional resonance without compromising on substance.
Leverage the Moment as a Strategic Expression of Mission
Too often, nonprofit galas follow a familiar script: dinner, honoree, ask, dessert. At ABW Partners, we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.
The JED gala was successful not because it followed the formula, but because it reflected the organization’s unique mission and message, and tailored it to their audience’s needs and interests.
From the flow of the program to the structure of the fundraising ask, every element was thoughtfully designed to support long-term organizational goals.
The Takeaway
A gala is more than an evening, it’s an opportunity.
When planned strategically, events like JED’s can drive brand visibility, mobilize new supporters, and deepen the philanthropic culture around your mission.
ABW Partners is proud to shine a light on our exceptional clients who are pursuing even greater excellence in their consequential work. Because every moment, especially the big ones, should be working as hard as you are.