The season of giving is upon us. In the busiest time of year for charity donations, a fundraising gala helps build donor relationships, highlights your nonprofit’s accomplishments, raises awareness of your cause, and of course, boosts funding. Smart utilization of gala and fundraising displays will help you achieve those goals. Displays that elevate guest experience and highlight sponsors are effective for enhancing your fundraising, but the right displays also improve flow, visibility, and participation during the event.
In this post, we’ll share 6 gala and fundraising display ideas from shopPOPdisplays that will help your fundraiser be a success.
Key Takeaways
- Fundraising galas are powerful opportunities to strengthen donor relationships, increase awareness, and boost donations—when thoughtfully designed.
- Strategic use of displays enhances guest experience while improving event flow, visibility, and participation.
- Mirrored pedestals and risers add elegance, elevate décor, and draw attention to auction items, raffles, and centerpieces.
- Custom printed pedestals turn displays into branding tools that recognize sponsors, reinforce professionalism, and encourage repeat donations.
- Ballot boxes placed in high-traffic areas increase engagement for raffles, donations, and interactive fundraising activities.
- Fabric display backdrops create photo-worthy moments that extend your event’s reach through social sharing and sponsor visibility.
- Podiums and lecterns support confident presentations, awards, and speeches while adding authority and polish to your program.
- A cohesive theme—supported by coordinated displays, colors, and materials—ties every element together for a memorable, well-planned event experience.
1. Mirrored Pedestals for High-Impact Décor
Mirrored display pedestals add elegance and dimension to any event. But these pedestals do more than add glamour to gala and fundraising displays. Their sleek, modern looks draw attention, but their functionality is perfect for spotlighting auction items, floral arrangements, and centerpieces. They can even serve as a place for guests to place their cocktails. Mirrored pedestals really shine thanks to its reflective surface that enhances lighting and ambiance while making the room appear larger.
2. Mirrored Risers
Great for raffle tables, silent auction items, and food displays, mirrored risers add a touch of glitz while boosting visibility of the item placed on top. On a raffle table, for example, the risers create levels to vary the height of objects to ensure all prizes can be seen from multiple angles. The reflective surface also makes a smaller space appear more expansive, and it creates visual interest that draws attention to the table—whether it’s displaying prizes or appetizers.
The inexpensive display solution is an easy way to boost elegance at your event. Available in silver, gold, red, green, and blue mirrored acrylic and in a choice of dimensions, shopPOPdisplays has plenty of options for mirrored risers to fit planners’ and event organizers’ lists—and they’re currently on sale for another 10% off.
Custom Printed Pedestals for Branding and Sponsor Visibility
Turn your gala and fundraising displays into branding opportunities by utilizing custom printed pedestals. The look adds impact and professionalism to your fundraising efforts. shopPOPdisplays offers high-quality UV color printing for brand colors and logos or designs that coordinate with event themes. Custom printed pedestals showcasing your top donors will give your sponsors and donors the visibility they deserve and continue to nurture that relationship. Studies have shown that donor recognition increases the likelihood of repeat donations as well as resulting in a higher lifetime value from donors.
Custom artwork can be printed on white acrylic pedestals with white lights, white acrylic pedestals with color changing LED lights, or white laminate or black laminate pedestals. Even clear acrylic pedestals can be custom ordered with printed lettering—especially useful for an elegant presentation and/or an elegant way to acknowledge someone or organization. Balloons or botanicals can be placed inside the pedestal for a wow-factor presentation. Not only will any of these custom pieces elevate the professionalism of your event, the attention to detail will help attract future sponsor participation.
4. Ballot Boxes for Raffles, Donations, and Guest Engagement
Make “fun” part of the fundraising. Engage guests with giveaways, raffles, charity drives, and more. shopPOPdisplays has a variety of floor-standing and countertop ballot boxes in clear acrylic and wood to fit your event’s aesthetic. No matter which one you choose, make sure the boxes—whether used for raffle tickets or donations—are placed in a visible space to encourage participation. A location with heavy foot traffic is ideal as most people will see it at some point during the event. It’s also important to make sure the design of the ballot or donation box looks professional. Clearly label an acrylic ballot box or donation box with your fundraiser’s mission or beneficiary. It can be custom laser printed or etched onto the acrylic or, for more casual events, neatly written with a dry erase marker.
5. Fabric Displays for Photo Booths and Backdrops
Custom-printed fabric displays deliver a sensational backdrop for your gala and fundraising displays. They boost brand awareness, recognize sponsors, and encourage entertaining photo ops at your event. A fabric display with your nonprofit or a sponsor’s logo will help create Instagram-worthy moments that guests can share, further extending your reach for awareness and/or donations. Though custom, they’re easy to design. Try a classic step-and-repeat pattern utilizing sponsor logos or your organization’s logo. The repeating logo maximizes brand awareness and ensures visibility in photo backgrounds. Professional and versatile, fabric display backdrops can be used at entrances to welcome guests, on the red carpet for photo ops, draped onstage behind the podium, and used as media walls.
6. Podiums for Presentations, Speeches & Awards
Some people are natural speakers, but others need a little help. Enter, the podium. What appears to be a staid tool in the professional-speaking world, is really a clever prop for providing a polished and confident presence. Podiums and lecturns provide a place for the speaker to rest their hands allowing for better posture and eye contact with their audience, as well as a space for speech notes and any devices, awards, or props required when speaking.
Since not all fundraising events share the same aesthetic, shopPOPdisplays offers a variety of different materials/styles, including acrylic, wooden, floor standing, tabletop, and even collapsible podiums for easy storage. No matter what style you choose, a podium enhances professionalism during awards, announcements, and speeches by giving your speaker the visibility and authority they merit. And, yes, they can be customized as well.
Pulling It All Together: Designing a Cohesive Event Experience
You’ve selected a venue that can comfortably accommodate your attendees; hired entertainment (a DJ, band, comedian, etc.), rented audio/visual tech for speakers and streaming, selected a catering menu, and chose décor. The one thing that ties all of this together: your theme. A cohesive theme creates a memorable experience for guests. The theme is the guiding principle for every piece of the event puzzle, including your gala and fundraising displays.
The right displays create an immersive experience for attendees and makes the whole event feel cohesive and well planned. Part of a theme is a color palette that can works in tandem with your organization’s color or the mission’s theme. Choosing products that match your theme, venue, lighting needs, and color palette is easy with shopPOPdisplays. In-stock and custom-ordered displays will help pull your event together for a lasting impression.
Conclusion
Ready to plan your next fundraiser? Browse our offerings for gala and fundraising displays to see our extensive line of in-stock and custom products. You’ll quickly see how the quality of our products will have a positive impact on your fundraising efforts. If you need guidance, the experts at shopPOPdisplays are ready to help your pull together your best fundraiser yet. Contact us today.