Events & Ticketing
Create ticketed fundraising events with capacity management, attendee tracking, and built-in check-in tools.
Run your next gala, dinner, walkathon, or auction entirely from GiveLink. Event campaigns combine ticketing, fundraising, and attendee management into a single experience — no third-party event platform needed.
Events are included for all GiveLink organizations at the standard 1% platform fee. Stripe's standard processing fee applies to ticket purchases. There are no per-ticket surcharges.
Setting Up an Event Campaign
Create a new campaign
From your dashboard, select New Campaign and choose the Event campaign type. This unlocks event-specific fields: date, time, venue, capacity, and ticket tiers.
Configure event details
Set your event date and time, venue name and address, event description, and cover image. These details appear on your public event page alongside the ticket selector.
Define ticket tiers
Create one or more ticket tiers, each with its own name, price, capacity, and description. You can also set a tax-deductible amount for each tier (the portion that qualifies as a charitable contribution).
Set capacity limits
Define the total event capacity and per-tier limits. When a tier sells out, it's automatically marked as unavailable. When total capacity is reached, the entire event page shows a "Sold Out" status.
Publish and share
Publish your event page and share the link. The page is optimized for social sharing with Open Graph metadata, so it looks great when shared on social media.
Ticket Pricing and Tiers
Event campaigns support multiple ticket tiers to accommodate different donor levels and event formats.
General Admission
Standard entry to your event. Set the base price and capacity. Most commonly used for walkathons, community events, and open-seating galas.
VIP
Premium tickets with additional perks (reserved seating, early entry, exclusive access). Price these higher to reflect the added value.
Sponsor Table
Group tickets for corporate sponsors or major donors. Typically sold in blocks (e.g., a table of 8 or 10). Set the total number of tables as the capacity.
Complimentary
Free tickets for staff, board members, or honored guests. Set the price to $0. These still count toward capacity and generate attendee records.
Tier Configuration
Each ticket tier includes the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Display name shown on the event page (e.g., "General Admission", "VIP Table") |
| Price | Ticket price in dollars. Set to $0 for complimentary tickets |
| Tax-deductible amount | The portion of the ticket price that qualifies as a charitable deduction. For example, a $250 gala ticket with a $100 meal value has a $150 deductible amount |
| Capacity | Maximum number of tickets available for this tier |
| Description | What's included (e.g., "Includes dinner, open bar, and live entertainment") |
| Visibility | Public (shown on event page) or Hidden (available only via direct link or admin assignment) |
Use hidden ticket tiers for complimentary or sponsor tickets that shouldn't appear on the public event page. You can share direct links or assign them manually from the dashboard.
The Event Page Experience
Event campaigns use a specialized donation form that replaces the standard amount picker with a ticket selector.
What Donors See
- Event header — Cover image, event name, date, time, and venue with map link
- Ticket selector — Dropdown or card-based selector showing each available tier with name, price, description, and remaining availability
- "Tickets available" counter — Real-time availability displayed per tier (e.g., "23 of 100 tickets remaining")
- Quantity picker — Donors can purchase multiple tickets in a single transaction
- Attendee information — Name and email fields for each ticket (the purchaser can enter details for guests)
- Add-on donation — Optional field to add a charitable donation on top of the ticket purchase
- Checkout — Standard Stripe payment flow with the total reflecting ticket price plus any add-on donation
When a ticket tier sells out, it remains visible on the page but is grayed out with a "Sold Out" label. When all tiers are sold out, the page displays a "This event is sold out" banner with an option to join a waitlist (if enabled).
Capacity Management
GiveLink tracks capacity in real time to prevent overselling.
How It Works
- Real-time inventory — Ticket counts update instantly as purchases are completed. Concurrent purchases are handled with database-level locking to prevent overselling.
- Per-tier limits — Each tier has its own capacity independent of other tiers. Selling out VIP tickets does not affect General Admission availability.
- Total event cap — An optional total event capacity can be set across all tiers. When reached, all remaining tiers are closed regardless of their individual availability.
- Waitlist — When enabled, sold-out events display a waitlist signup form. If a ticket becomes available (cancellation or capacity increase), waitlisted attendees are notified automatically in order.
- Holds and expirations — Tickets are held for 15 minutes during checkout. If payment is not completed, the hold expires and the ticket is released back to inventory.
Attendee Management
Every ticket purchase creates an attendee record in your dashboard, giving you a complete guest list with contact information.
Attendee Records
Each attendee record includes:
| Field | Source |
|---|---|
| Name | Entered during checkout (per ticket) |
| Entered during checkout | |
| Ticket tier | Selected tier (General, VIP, etc.) |
| Purchase date | Timestamp of completed transaction |
| Purchaser | The donor who bought the ticket (may differ from the attendee) |
| Check-in status | Not checked in / Checked in (with timestamp) |
| Dietary/accessibility notes | Optional custom fields you can add to the checkout form |
Attendee Actions
Check-In System
GiveLink includes a built-in check-in system so you can track arrivals at your event in real time.
Open the check-in view
From your dashboard, navigate to the event and select Check-In Mode. This opens a streamlined, mobile-optimized interface designed for use at the event entrance.
Search or scan
Look up attendees by name or email using the search bar. Each matching attendee shows their ticket tier, purchaser name, and check-in status.
Mark as checked in
Tap the attendee's name to mark them as checked in. A timestamp is recorded and the attendee count updates in real time. Duplicate check-ins are flagged with a warning.
Monitor arrival progress
The check-in dashboard shows a live count of checked-in vs. total attendees, broken down by ticket tier. Share this view with your event team on a second screen.
The check-in interface is designed for mobile. Your volunteers can check attendees in using their phones — no special hardware required. Multiple devices can run check-in simultaneously, with real-time sync across all of them.
Event Analytics
After your event, the analytics dashboard provides a complete picture of performance.
Revenue Summary
Total revenue from ticket sales and add-on donations, broken down by tier. See average ticket price, average add-on amount, and total tax-deductible value.
Ticket Sales Over Time
Visualize when tickets were purchased — identify the impact of email blasts, social media posts, and early-bird deadlines on sales velocity.
Attendance Rate
Compare tickets sold vs. attendees checked in. Track no-show rate by tier to improve future event planning and capacity decisions.
Donor Conversion
See how many event attendees were first-time donors and how many have since made additional gifts. Measure the long-term fundraising value of your events.
Event analytics are available as soon as the first ticket is sold. Check-in analytics (attendance rate, no-show tracking) are only populated after you use the check-in system during your event.
Event Emails
Event campaigns trigger several automated emails:
- Ticket purchase receipt — A donation receipt is sent immediately after a ticket purchase, showing the ticket tier, price, tax-deductible amount, and event details.
- Attendee emails — Send bulk or individual emails to your guest list from the dashboard for event reminders, logistics, and post-event thank-yous.
- Welcome email — First-time donors who purchase a ticket receive a welcome email introducing the organization.
All event-related emails use GiveLink's unified design system. See the full Email & Communications guide for template details.
Last updated on 4/5/2026
Email & Communications
Every automated email GiveLink sends — donation receipts, thank-you follow-ups, year-end statements, campaign updates, and more — built from a unified design system.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Empower your supporters to create personal fundraising pages that roll up to your campaign goal — birthday fundraisers, walkathons, and challenge campaigns.