Gala and Fundraiser Check-In and Ticketing
Check guests in at your gala, charity dinner or benefit night. Import your donor list, email QR passes, scan them or search names at the door, add walk-ins and export who came. Ticketing is free too: one ticket price, and supporters pay your organization directly.
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How does gala and fundraiser check-in work?
Import your donor or guest list, or take registrations on the event page, and every guest gets a QR pass. At the door, volunteers scan passes on their own phones, search a name when a pass won't open, and add walk-in donors. Afterwards you export who came. Event Flo is free, and guests pay you directly.
- Platform fee: 0%, guests pay you directly
- Guest list: CSV, XLSX or XLS import
- Door staff: No cap; each scans on their own phone
- Walk-ins: Added at the door, with a connection
- Donations: Collected your own way
What galas & fundraisers run into
Platform Fees Eat Your Fundraise. Most ticketing platforms take a percentage of every ticket sold. On a high-value charity dinner, that is a slice of every plate that never reaches your cause.
The Door Runs Off a Printed List. Volunteers flip pages to find each name while guests in evening wear wait outside, and nobody knows who actually came until someone types it up the next week.
Managing Donors Across Spreadsheets is Unsustainable. Tracking ticket sales, payment confirmations, check-in lists, and donor records across multiple tools creates errors and burns organizer time.
Event Flo for galas & fundraisers
Everything below is included at a 0% platform fee — there is no tier to upgrade to and no per-attendee charge.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Door Check-In for Galas | Volunteers scan QR passes from their own phones, or search a name when a pass won't open. Each scan shows the guest's name and whether the pass is valid, and your check-in screen shows the live count. |
| Imported Donor Lists | Upload your donor or guest list as a CSV, XLSX or XLS file, and each guest gets a QR pass. Then email the passes from the Imports & walk-ins tab. |
| Walk-In Donors | Add a supporter who isn't on the list from the scanner, with a name and an optional email or phone. They are checked in at once and count toward your capacity. Adding a walk-in needs a connection. |
| When the Venue Wifi Drops | Scanning keeps working when the wifi drops and syncs when it returns. The scanner needs a connection to open, and admits made offline stay provisional until the sync. |
| 0% Platform Fees | Event Flo charges nothing on ticket sales. The ticket money from your charity gala or benefit dinner goes to your cause, not to a platform. |
| One Ticket Price per Event | Set one ticket price per event, or keep it free. For patron tables or a VIP benefactor dinner, publish a separate event at its own price. |
| Approval-Based Donor Management | Review and approve registrations manually. Control who attends your gala — suitable for invite-only benefactor tables and private donor evenings. |
| Optional Guest ID Checks | Guest ID checks are an optional per-event setting, on by default. Guests who register can ask for a spot first and are confirmed once their ID is verified. Donors you import and walk-ins are not ID-checked. |
| Real-Time Registration Tracking | See confirmed guests and gross ticket revenue (your price times confirmed seats) update as registrations land, and export the guest list as a CSV, every check-in marked, when your board wants a copy. |
How to run check-in at a gala or fundraiser
- Create the event. Name, date, venue and capacity, with one ticket price or none for a free event; for patron tables, publish a separate event at its own price. Guest ID checks are an optional per-event setting, on by default.
- Verify your ID to open sign-ups. Only for a gala people you don't know can find or register for: your ID is verified once, before an event is listed publicly or opened to sign-ups. A private fundraiser goes live now, with the guests you import or add at the door.
- Import your donor list. Upload a CSV or Excel file, and each guest gets a QR pass. Email the passes from the Imports & walk-ins tab. Or share the event page and turn on approval to confirm each guest once their payment reaches your organization.
- Invite your volunteers. Add door staff by email from the event's check-in screen. Each accepts with their own Event Flo account and scans from their own phone.
- Check guests in at the door. Scan passes or search a name when a pass won't open, and add walk-in donors who aren't on the list.
- Export who came. Download the guest list CSV with every check-in marked, imported guests and walk-ins included, for your board or your thank-you notes.
Event Flo for other event types and sizes
Frequently asked questions
How do I check in guests at a gala?
Import your guest list from a CSV or Excel file, or take registrations on the event page, so every guest has a QR pass, and email the passes from the Imports & walk-ins tab. On the night, your door team scans passes on their own phones or searches a name when a pass won't open. Scanning keeps working when the wifi drops and syncs when it returns. Afterwards, export the guest list CSV with every check-in marked.
Can I add walk-in donors at the door?
Yes. You or your door staff add a walk-in from the scanner with their name, plus an email or phone if they give one. Event Flo checks the guest list first and shows any match, so a donor who already has a pass is not added twice by mistake. The walk-in is checked in at once, counts toward your capacity and appears in the guest list export. Adding a walk-in needs a connection, and walk-ins are not ID-checked.
Does Event Flo charge fees on charity event ticket sales?
No. Event Flo charges 0% platform fees on every event, including charity galas, fundraisers and benefit dinners. Donors pay your organization directly, so Event Flo takes nothing from your fundraise; any fee your own payment provider charges stays between you and them.
Can I create multiple ticket tiers for a fundraising gala?
Not on one event — each Event Flo event has one ticket price, or none for a free event. For patron tables or a VIP benefactor dinner, publish a separate event at its own price and link it from your main gala page; approval mode lets you confirm each table yourself.
Is donor identity verification available on Event Flo?
Yes, as an optional per-event setting, on by default. Guests who register can ask for a spot first and are confirmed once their ID is verified, and you can turn the check off for any event. Donors you import and walk-ins are not ID-checked.
Can I run a charity event with only invited donors?
Yes. Enable approval-based registration to review every sign-up individually. Your event link can be shared privately, and no one is confirmed without your explicit approval — ideal for exclusive benefactor events.
How do donors pay for their tickets?
Donors pay you directly, by bank transfer, check, your own payment link or any method your organization accepts, because Event Flo never sits in the money path. Your dashboard shows registrations as they come in, and you mark each donor paid as their payment lands, so you can see what the paid tickets work out to. Every payment reaches your cause without a detour.
What are good ticket fundraiser ideas?
Pick something supporters would pay to attend anyway. Ideas that work with a single ticket price: a benefit dinner or potluck, a quiz or trivia night, a charity run or walk, a comedy or music night with local acts, a film screening, a cooking or craft class taught by a volunteer, or a tasting evening. Keep the price simple, cap capacity to the room, and say up front where the money goes.
What's free ticketing for a small fundraiser?
Event Flo is free for fundraisers of any size: no listing fee, no subscription and 0% of each ticket. It can be, because it never handles the money: supporters pay your organization directly by bank transfer, check, your own payment link or cash. You still get registration, approvals, a waitlist, QR passes and door check-in. Donations on top of the ticket are collected your own way; Event Flo does not take donations.
Can I set up a fundraiser before my ID is verified?
Yes. A private fundraiser goes live now: import your guest list, email the passes, invite door staff and check guests in, with no ID step. Your ID is verified once, before an event is listed publicly or opened to sign-ups, so a public gala or a ticket link anyone can use waits for it. Until then, you can send 300 pass and certificate emails a day, counted together. If several volunteers host events for your cause, each host account verifies its own ID before it lists a public event or opens sign-ups.