How does a small community effectively draw donors from around the area to their gala or signature fundraising event?  Today, I talk with Reenie Harwood Collins and Linda Plant, who are the co-chairs for the upcoming Round Top Festival Institute Gala.

The smallest incorporated town in Texas, Round Top is a town of approximately 90 residents known primarily as a destination for quality antiques. The town also features the Round Top Festival Institute, a grand performance concert venue founded by James Dick that hosts top musical prodigies from around the world each year for their annual Summer program. Completed in 2007, the space crafted entirely by hand (yes you read that correctly) rivals any 19th Century Viennese Opera House in terms of quality and acoustics.

In this episode, Reenie and Linda provide great insights on a range of topics including how to galvanize your entire community to be a part of your gala, how event chairs successfully collaborate with the founder of an organization, and the concept of creating a "non-gala, gala".