Key Benchmarks on Galas & Naming Rights

February 1, 2022

This week, we took a focused look at two areas of current interest in our membership where they felt lacked useful data: fundraising galas and naming rights initiatives. Our latest Arts Executive Poll asked arts leaders to report finances from fundraising galas and benefit events, as well as prices and contract lengths for naming right policies.

Highlights from the survey include:

• 85% of arts organizations rely on galas for one-fifth or less of their overall contributed income, and net return from pandemic galas varied in comparison to that of pre-pandemic galas.

• About half of arts organizations plan to expand gala invitee lists and offer more accessible tickets in the near future.

• Physical spaces within buildings (e.g., donor lounge, studio) and individual seats within the venue have a higher propensity to be perpetually named than overall buildings.

See the full data at the end of this page or click below to download a pdf version.