Planning an Event? Here's Your Master Checklist
Every printed and digital piece worth having, from the first save-the-date to the last thank-you card, and how other Salvation Army units have used them to make their events shine.
Most planning starts with an invitation and a few social posts, and those matter. But an event is a whole experience with many moments, and each one is a chance to reach someone and make it easy for them to say ‘yes’. The invitation is just the first piece everyone remembers to ask for.
So here's the full picture of what you can request. To show the range, we've pulled examples from four events that could not be more different from one another.
The Celebration of Hope Gala in Oklahoma City was a black-tie evening at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum built around a keynote guest. Love Beyond Hoops in Houston was a basketball-themed luncheon that kicked off the Red Kettle season. Gathering of Angels in Nashville is an annual fundraiser that kicks off the Angel Tree program with impact stories that fill the room. And TYI, the Territorial Youth Institute, is a week-long gathering of hundreds of young delegates, with no gala and no auction, but just as dependent on a strong identity and clear materials.
Four very different events, one checklist behind all of them. Not every unit needs every piece, but knowing what's available is how you stop guessing and start choosing.
Step 1: The Foundation
Event Logo & Graphic Identity
This is the one everything else is built on. Before a single invitation goes out, your event needs a look of its own: a logo or wordmark, a color palette, fonts, and a few recurring graphic elements that make every later piece instantly recognizable as yours.
Love Beyond Hoops is the perfect example. The organizers decided to tie in their famous NBA keynote speaker with the graphic identity to make it stand out against previous years.
TYI does the same thing with an annual theme that carries from the main stage down to the smallest handout. Get the identity right first, and every other item on this list comes together faster and looks more consistent.
Step 2: Get People in the Door
Save the Dates
The earliest touch, sent weeks or months ahead, with one job: claim your date before anything else competes for it. A save-the-date is meant to be simple. Just the date, the event name, a hint of the look, and nothing to decide on yet. For a marquee night like Celebration of Hope, it's also the first taste of the event's tone, so it's worth doing well this early.
Invitations
The real ask. Whether it's a printed suite for a gala or a digital invite for a luncheon, this is where your identity does its most persuasive work: the occasion, the dress, the date, the venue, and the reason to come.
RSVP Cards
A good RSVP card, printed or digital, takes every bit of friction out of replying: clear options, a deadline, meal or sponsorship choices where they apply, and an obvious way to respond. For a seated dinner, it's also how you capture the details that make the night run smoothly.
Step 3: The Digital Home
Website Homepage Banner
Your unit's website already gets visitors. A homepage banner turns that everyday traffic into event interest, with a designed top banner that announces the event and links straight to where people can learn more or sign up.
Website Landing Page
One page that holds the whole story: what the event is, who it helps, and how to attend, sponsor, or give. Gathering of Angels is a good example, where the Angel Tree mission needs to be explained with impact stories as well as have sponsor recognition, and a clear next step all in one place you can point every link toward.
GoFundMe Pro Landing Page
The fundraising engine behind it all. A branded GoFundMe Pro page that matches your event, built to take and track gifts, thank donors, and show progress toward a goal. When the giving page looks like the invitation and the signage, donating feels like part of the same experience instead of a handoff to some colder system.
Social Media Promotion Toolkit
Not a single post but a whole kit: announcement graphics, countdown and reminder templates, speaker spotlights, sponsor thank-yous, story frames, and the captions to go with them. A good toolkit lets a small comms team promote like a big one.
The Night Itself
Run of Show Slides
The visual spine of the program, the slides that carry a live event from welcome to keynote to appeal to close without an awkward gap on the screens.
PowerPoint Slide Template
A branded, reusable deck so every speaker, sponsor, and staff member presenting that day is working from the same visual system. It's the quiet workhorse behind a consistent look, especially at a multi-session event like TYI, where general sessions and electives all need to feel like one institute rather than a dozen separate meetings.
Event Signage
Everything a guest reads once they arrive: welcome and directional signs, step-and-repeat backdrops, table numbers, sponsor boards, registration and auction signage.
Event Program
The order of the night, who's speaking, who to thank, and how to give. A good program is both a keepsake and a fundraising tool. The Celebration of Hope program can walk someone through the evening while putting the ask, the QR code, and sponsor recognition right in their hands.
GoFundMe Pro Live Assets
The day-of tools that turn a room full of goodwill into real, recorded gifts: check-in, live auction and paddle-raise screens, text-to-give, and a running total that climbs on screen as the night goes on.
After the Lights
Turn Off
Thank You Card
The touchpoint most events skip, and the one that most decides whether a donor comes back. A designed thank-you, printed or digital, closes the loop with gratitude that matches the care of the invitation.
Annual Report One-Pager
The bridge from one event to the year of work it pays for. One well-designed page that turns dollars raised into outcomes delivered, like meals served, nights of shelter, and children reached, gives donors proof their generosity mattered and gives your unit something to leave behind for the next conversation. It's the piece that turns an event into a lasting case for support.
Master Event Assets Checklist
Before the event
Event Logo & Graphic Identity
Save the Dates
Invitations
RSVP Cards
Website Homepage Banner
Website Landing Page
GoFundMe Pro Landing Page
Social Media Promotion Toolkit
During the event
Run of Show Slides
PowerPoint Slide Template
Event Signage
Event Program
GoFundMe Pro Live Assets
After the event
Thank You Card
Annual Report One-Pager
Need help getting these assets built? Use our request form and select "Special Event Marketing Support." Our project manager will hop on a call with you to make sure you have everything your event needs, printed or digital.
Keep this checklist handy the next time you start planning. We're your partners in ministry, here to make sure your event looks cohesive and reaches as many people as possible.
