Guardian of Democracy Gala

The New Israel Fund (NIF) is an international non-profit working to make Israel a more progressive society and promote diversity, justice, and inclusion in Israel. In the fall of 2020, they chose TalkingTree Creative to produce their annual fundraising gala entirely online. Our production team designed a custom webpage that could host the show and enable seamless back-and-forth between the audience and the hosts through real-time donations and pledges. Guests were able to donate live via buttons on the site. All of the on-camera participants would be recorded or perform live from their homes or offices to remain isolated during the COVID lockdown. the weeks leading up to the live event, we sent out remote production kits and worked one-on-one with presenters to prepare them for the event and help them rehearse for their recording or live broadcast. We also pre-recorded VIP interviews and sound bytes. We designed virtual sets so the hosts would appear as if they were broadcasting from professional, cohesive studio environments. The live event played out as a series of presentations and discussions broken up by pre-produced video content and musical entertainment by international artists that NIF enlisted. We even included a few ways for the audience to interact during the live broadcast, like coordinating a virtual toast. NIF was able to raise over $1.4M from the gala in total, and the virtual event cost them a fraction of what they spend on their in-person gala.