My *first ever* gala, Jungle Jamboree, was a "roaring" success. Not only did it give me an opportunity to use every jungle pun in the book for social media captions, but we raised $330,000 for homebound seniors and disabled veterans in San Diego County - Meals on Wheels' biggest fundraising event to date.

My natural thrifty tendencies to rummage through thrift stores and scroll through Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp makes me quite the financially savvy event coordinator. Finding this used backdrop for $60 on OfferUp helped us save hundreds. Successfully incentivizing a local plant nursery to be an in-kind donor and let us borrow plants helped us save thousands. My decor strategy made our Jungle Jamboree become an elegant, tropical reality, while also reducing costs and boosting our overall net revenue.

In addition to soliciting in-kind donations for decor, I reached out to more than 100 businesses to secure donations for both our live and silent auctions.

285 attendees enjoyed cocktail hour, live music, silent and live auction items, and a seated dinner. Our Jungle Jamboree gala was a very successful and memorable event!