Galas and fundraisers
Gala and nonprofit fundraiser video on Long Island
Quick answer
Core Media Co., a photography and video studio at 523 Lake Avenue in Saint James, NY, films galas, charity events, and nonprofit fundraisers across Long Island: the program, the honorees, the room, and thank-you pieces for sponsors, with donors filmed only with consent. Packages run $495 to $1,500 on a 3 hour base, with extra hours on any package. Appeals are worded with New York's charity rules in mind.
Updated
A gala has one night to make people feel the mission, and the footage from it has to keep doing that all year: in the thank-you to sponsors, in next year's ticket push, and in the appeal that goes out in December. We plan coverage from your program, film the room, the honorees, the speeches, and the moments that carry the mission, and deliver raw footage or finished pieces in one shared folder.
Donors came to give, not to be in a video. Anyone featured signs a release, gifts and donor names are shown only with the donor's OK, and a piece that asks for money is worded with your counsel's sign-off. The packages and booking are the same as on our event videographer page; this page is how a fundraiser changes the plan.
Across an event
One gala, in content
The footage from one night feeds a year of thank-yous and asks.
Before
The program, the honorees, the sponsors owed a thank-you, and the release plan, agreed on a call.
Cocktail hour
The room dressed and lit before guests, arrivals, and the sponsor wall.
The program
Speeches, the honorees, and the mission video or testimony, filmed for clean audio.
The ask
The paddle raise or appeal, filmed wide unless a donor has agreed to be featured.
After
The recap, honoree pieces, and sponsor thanks, then footage held for the year-end appeal.
The work
What we make from a gala
Pieces for the night, the sponsors, and the rest of the year.
The hero recap
Roughly 60 seconds of the night and why it mattered.
Honoree pieces
Each honoree's moment on stage, cut as a short piece they can share.
Sponsor thank-yous
Each sponsor's name or logo in the room and on screen, cut into a thank-you per sponsor.
The mission, in one person's words
A beneficiary, volunteer, or staff member on why the work matters, filmed with a signed release.
Next year's tickets
A cut built to sell the next gala, from footage of people who signed releases.
The year-end appeal
Footage held for the December ask, worded with your counsel's sign-off.
On site
How we cover a gala
A room full of donors and a program on a tight clock.
- Coverage is planned from your program, with the must-have moments agreed in advance.
- Anyone featured signs a release. Donors are filmed wide during the ask unless they agree to be featured.
- Gift amounts and donor names appear only with the donor's written OK.
- Beneficiaries, especially children or anyone in a vulnerable situation, appear only with written consent, from a parent or guardian for a minor.
- We stay out of sightlines during the program and off the floor during dinner service.
- Live music in the room does not go into the recap unless it is licensed for it.
Coverage
What each package covers
The same three packages as every event. Here is how each tends to work for a gala or fundraiser.
Basic
$495
3 hours of coverage and the raw footage, for a team that edits in-house or needs the program on record.
Standard
$795
3 hours of coverage, a hero recap of roughly 60 seconds, and one bonus reel, often the honoree's moment.
Premium
$1,500
3 hours of coverage, a hero recap, and five to six bonus reels, which suits a gala with several honorees or sponsors owed a thank-you.
Pricing
Event coverage pricing
Every package is built on 3 hours of coverage. Basic is $495, Standard is $795, and Premium is $1,500. Coverage beyond 3 hours is $100 per hour on any tier.
Basic
$495- 3 hours of coverage
- Raw footage delivered
Standard
$795- 3 hours of coverage
- One hero recap reel of roughly 60 seconds
- One bonus reel
Premium
$1,500- 3 hours of coverage
- One hero recap reel
- Five to six bonus reels
| Package | What is included | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic |
| $495 |
| Standard |
| $795 |
| Premium |
| $1,500 |
Coverage beyond 3 hours is $100 per hour on any tier.
Your side
What the organization provides
We plan, film, and edit. These stay with you.
- The program, the honorees, and the sponsors owed a thank-you.
- A release plan we agree on together, and consent for any beneficiary featured.
- Your counsel's sign-off on any piece that asks for money or describes what a ticket or gift is worth.
- A contact on the night who can point out the people who matter.
- Someone to post the finished pieces, and to send sponsors and honorees theirs.
Rules
Rules that shape fundraiser content
Charity registration before an appeal, what a ticket is worth, releases, and music.
Registration before an ask
New York's Executive Law section 172 says a charitable organization that intends to solicit contributions from persons in the state shall, prior to any solicitation, file a prescribed registration form with the attorney general, unless an exemption applies. A recap that asks people to give is a solicitation, so it goes out once your registration or exemption is in place.
What a ticket is worth
The IRS says a quid pro quo contribution is a payment a donor makes to a charity partly as a contribution and partly for goods or services, and that a disclosure statement must be provided when the payment is more than $75. A ticket push that calls a gala ticket tax-deductible is the kind of claim that rule touches, so any deductibility wording comes from you and your counsel.
Releases from the people in the recap
New York's Civil Rights Law section 50 makes it a misdemeanor to use a living person's name, portrait, picture, likeness, or voice for advertising or trade without their written consent, or a parent's for a minor, and section 51 lets that person sue to stop the use and recover damages. A recap that promotes your next event is advertising, so we plan releases with you: signage and a release at check-in, speakers and featured guests signed before they are featured, and anyone who opts out kept out.
The DJ's music is not the recap's music
Meta's Music Guidelines say that using music for commercial or non-personal purposes is prohibited unless you have the appropriate licenses. A band or DJ playing at the venue does not license that song for your recap, so the recap is cut to music licensed for it, and live sound is kept to speeches and the room.
- Source: Meta, Music Guidelines
A plain reading of each rule with its source, not legal advice. We are not your compliance department, and we do not pretend to be. Your compliance team or counsel has the final word on every piece.
Questions
Questions nonprofits ask us
- Who films galas and charity fundraisers on Long Island?
- Core Media Co., a photography and video studio at 523 Lake Avenue in Saint James, NY. We cover galas, benefit dinners, and nonprofit fundraisers across Suffolk and Nassau County, from the program and honorees to sponsor thank-yous and a hero recap. Packages run $495 to $1,500 on a 3 hour base.
- How much does it cost to film a gala?
- Every package is built on 3 hours of coverage. Basic is $495 for the raw footage, Standard is $795 for a hero recap of roughly 60 seconds and one bonus reel, and Premium is $1,500 for a hero recap and five to six bonus reels. Coverage beyond 3 hours is $100 per hour on any tier. A signed agreement comes before anything is booked.
- Will you film our donors?
- Only those who agree. Donors are filmed wide during the ask unless they choose to be featured, and gift amounts and donor names appear only with the donor's written OK. Anyone featured signs a release first.
- Can we use the footage in our year-end appeal?
- Yes, the footage is yours. New York's Executive Law section 172 requires a charity that intends to solicit in the state to register with the attorney general before any solicitation, unless exempt, so the appeal goes out once that is in place and your counsel has signed off on the wording.
- How fast do we get the recap?
- We confirm delivery timing when you book, based on the package and the date. If you want a recap out while people are still talking about the event, tell us on the call and we plan the edit around it. Everything arrives in one shared folder, and you own the finished work.
- Do you post to our accounts or run our ads?
- No. We make the content and hand it over ready to post: the finished files and their captions, cut for each platform, in a shared folder. You post them, or pass them to whoever runs your accounts. We do not post, boost posts, or run ads, and we do not promise follower numbers.
Book a call
Book a 20-minute call.
Tell us what you are trying to do. If it is a fit, we send an agreement and pick a date.
Prefer to write? Send us a note at studio@thecoremedia.co
Saint James, NY 11780studio@thecoremedia.co
Based in Saint James. Working across Smithtown, Huntington, Port Jefferson, and all of Suffolk and Nassau County.