Partygoers or Givers? How Hope Chinese Charter School Designs Its Gala for Real Impact

When planning their annual gala, Hope Chinese Charter School (HCCS) asks a simple question: Are we filling the room with partygoers or with givers?

As paddles rise during the appeal and parents watch their children on the big screen, the answer quickly becomes clear.

For the team at Hope Chinese Charter School, that question shapes every decision about their most important fundraising event of the year. The Chinese immersion charter school serves about 300 families from kindergarten through eighth grade, and like many charter schools, public funding does not fully cover the cost of delivering the educational experience they want for their students. The Gala helps bridge that gap, bringing together parents, supporters, and community members to ensure students continue to benefit from strong programs and opportunities.

But the school also faces a unique fundraising challenge. Families are typically connected to the school for only nine years, and as students graduate many of the school’s most generous supporters move on as well. This means Hope Chinese Charter School must continually cultivate new donors while strengthening a culture of giving among current families.
Rather than chasing a full room, the team focuses on building an event designed to inspire generosity. Their strategy centers on a few key ideas:

Preparing families ahead of time so they arrive ready to give, not just attend
Designing the room so new families can see generosity happening around them
Focusing on the moments that raise the most money during the evening
Studying participation patterns to see which tables and moments drive the most giving

With this approach, the Gala becomes more than a community celebration. It becomes a powerful engine for supporting every student at Hope
Chinese Charter School.

Prepare the Audience to Be Givers

Hope Chinese Charter School is clear about the purpose of the Gala. While it is a joyful evening for the community, it is first and foremost a fundraiser. The goal is not simply to fill the room, but to bring together a group of people who understand the mission and are ready to support it.

Instead of chasing the largest possible audience, the team aims for about 180 engaged attendees who are prepared to participate in the giving moments of the evening. Families are introduced to the purpose of the Gala well before the event so that when guests walk through the doors, they already understand how important their generosity is to the school.

Parent volunteers are trained to help support the event and guide guests through the evening, ensuring that everyone understands how the fundraising moments work and feels comfortable participating. ]Patrick Siver, BAS of gEvents LLCplays an important role in preparing both the team and the room each year. As the professional benefit auctioneer, he works with staff and parent volunteers ahead of the event so they understand how the evening flows and how to support the fundraising moments. By the time the Gala begins, volunteers and guests alike understand the purpose of the night: this is a fundraiser, and everyone in the room has a role in helping support the school.

Design the Room So Generosity Is Visible

The layout of the room is intentional and designed to reinforce the culture of giving.

New families, particularly kindergarten parents, are often seated in the center of the room. From that vantage point they can see generosity happening all around them. Watching other families raise paddles, participate in auctions, and contribute to the appeal helps establish expectations and introduces new parents to the philanthropic spirit that supports the school.

Throughout the evening, screens display B roll footage of students learning, playing, and working together in classrooms. Parents frequently spot their own children, which deepens the emotional connection between the school’s mission and the act of giving.

Focus on the Moments That Raise the Most

The live auction delivers some of the evening’s most memorable moments. One of the most sought after items is a premium parking space at the school. Last year that single item sold for $21,000 and it sold twice.

The appeal is another powerful moment of the evening. The appeal video runs about four minutes, longer than the typical recommendation, because it allows families to see the full range of activities happening in the school and often spot their own children on screen.

The dessert dash is another tradition that consistently generates excitement and strong participation.

Over the years, the team also experimented with a variety of cocktail hour activities such as wine walls and other games. While these added energy to the event, they did not significantly increase revenue. Instead, the school chose to focus on the moments that truly drive giving.

These elements were utilized pre-covid because the philosophy was to have levels of participation to match everyone in attendance including a silent auction. Post pandemic, the silent auction has been replaced with a much larger and profitable online auction. By reducing the number of revenue generators in the room, it has increased participation in the live auction and focus on the paddle raise.

The event also includes a Last Hero Standing moment that encourages friendly competition among donors and adds another exciting opportunity for supporters to step forward.

To expand participation even further, the school extends its online auction until noon the following day. This allows supporters who prefer bidding from home, or who simply enjoy the online auction experience, to still take part in the fundraising effort. With a Saturday evening event, we close the online on Sunday to remove distractions at the event as well as increase the diversity of the bidders otherwise not available on Saturday evening. This has resulted in over half the packages being purchased by participants that did not attend the in person gala.

Let the Data Show What Works

Jade studies the results of the event carefully each year, using the data to guide future decisions.

One pattern she watches closely is what she calls high activity tables. These are tables where guests consistently participate in bidding, giving, and fundraising moments throughout the evening. Understanding what makes these tables successful helps inform seating strategies and outreach for future events.

The team also looks closely at how each seat contributes to the success of the Gala. Even decisions about teacher tickets are evaluated through this lens. While parents enjoy interacting with teachers during the event, the school works to balance complimentary seats and sponsored tables so that each place in the room supports the overall fundraising goal.

Build a Community That Gives

While the Gala raises critical funds each year, Hope Chinese Charter School is also focused on building something longer lasting. Because families eventually move on as their children graduate, the school hopes to inspire donors to remain connected to the mission even after their direct involvement with the school ends.

By focusing on engagement rather than simply filling seats, the Gala strengthens relationships and invites the community to take part in the school’s future.

At the heart of the evening is a message that captures the spirit of the event and the community behind it.

Every bid helps every student.

Special thanks to Jade Henness for sharing the fundraising story and her expert advice.

About Hope Chinese Charter School:

Our Mission. Educating for Global Fluency by developing Chinese & English dual-language skills, nurturing cultural adaptability and inspiring excellence in our students for a positive impact in our world.

The first public Chinese immersion school in the Beaverton School District.
The vision for HOPE was initiated by parents who saw their children blossom in Saturday Chinese classes and wanted more. In 2010, those parents partnered with local educators and community leaders organizations and together, they successfully opened HOPE in the Fall of 2012 with 70 students in Kinder & 1st grade.Today, HOPE is a K-8 program that has served over 800 students and counting. With a reputation for high academic performance in Math and English Language Arts and Chinese proficiency, HOPE has been named the #1 Best Charter Elementary School for eight years running on niche.com year after year.

Special thanks to Partrick Siver. Patrick is the founder of gEvents, LLC. for the expert advice to Hope Chinese Charter School and sharing that advice here.

He has a passion for creating unique, unforgettable experiences, Patrick works tirelessly to bring his clients' visions to life. His dedication, expertise, and attention to detail make him a sought-after partner for any event, big or small.

The gEvents difference: gEvents believes that planning is the key to successfully executing a fundraising auction or golf tournament. gEvents will work with you from designing your fundraising event to executing on gameday to achieve YOUR goals.