On December 5th, 2020 the Progeria Research Foundation virtually held their signature Night of Wonder event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme this year was ‘Soar to the Cure’ and was streamed online to the PRF’s virtual event website. The night featured exciting research updates, auctions, special messages and more. 

Our team at GraVoc worked alongside the PRF to bring all aspects of their in-person event to an online setting. This included creating a virtual platform where attendees could gather, configuring virtual online raffles and auctions, setting up social interaction features as well as  the production of the live-stream. 

Keep scrolling below to read how our two teams worked together on this special event to raise funds during these challenging times.

Virtual Fundraising Platform

Our web developers worked with the PRF to design and build a website for their Soar to the Cure event which housed the live stream video and all fundraising components. This custom platform featured all aspects of a typical live event which included a chat box for user interactions, online auctions and raffles for fundraising, and the live stream video feed. Having a single website for users to visit while hosting a virtual event is ideal rather than having users jump from website to website. We were able to accomplish this with the PRF by purchasing a separate domain to house the event under, prfnow.org.  This link was used in all marketing and promotion leading up to the event and housed the virtual event night of. 

The Virtual Fundraising Platform came with all standard eCommerce functionality including sales reporting, customer reporting, user login and guest checkout, email receipts and notifications and more that the PRF used to track the success of their event.

Online Auction

Each year, auctions play a major role during the PRF’s Night of Wonder event. The money raised during this segment helps significantly with the research being done in the Progeria field. We worked with the PRF team to make sure this aspect of their event was well handled and translated seamlessly online. The PRF was able to set a starting price for their items and then watched to see which supporters bid the highest. Some of their auction items included, a private suite at Gillette Stadium to see Kenny Chesney, a Golf Weekend in the White Mountains, a Zoom Call with Katie Couric and more! The total amount raised during the online auction segment was close to $47,000!

Live Stream On-Site Production

The night of the big event, we welcomed the PRF team to our green-screen studio where the live-stream was broadcast. We had technical directors as well as production staff on hand to assist with the logistics of the live-stream. The production consisted of pre-recorded videos that were mixed with live footage of our hosts. The green-screen backdrop was designed to match the overall look and feel of this years gala which was a space/rocket ship theme. By allowing our team to handle the live-stream logistics, the PRF staff were able to focus on raising funds and their night-of tasks. 

Pre-Production Graphics

During the weeks leading up to the big event, our team worked on video graphics to be played during the event. These graphics included custom animations and lower-thirds to introduce the speakers. Adding graphics to live-streamed events makes the presentation more appealing and can really tie in the theme of the event. 

With this year’s theme being ‘Soar to the Cure’, we focused on using animations that reflected a space-like environment. To begin the show, we created an animated rocket ship that takes off towards the sky with shooting stars in the background. The animated rocket ship played nicely with their logo which incorporated a rocket ship. Along with custom animations, we created lower-thirds that matched the overall look-and-feel of the event to introduce the speakers. 

If your organization is looking to host a virtual event in lieu of an in-person event as a result of COVID-19, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! You can also check out our Virtual Fundraising Event Services for more information on our virtual events. 

Related articles

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This