Together We Thrive Gala 2025
About the Event
The Together We Thrive Gala is the latest installment of Paths for Families’ annual gala and fundraising event. Celebrating 35 years of Paths for Families, the event featured a live and silent auction, a jazz band, a cocktail hour, and a seated dinner, as well as the presentation of the Paths for Families featured family: Fields-Kuehl, and the Janice Goldwater Award for Innovation in Child Welfare and Family Well-Being.
Paths for Families has been serving children, expectant mothers, and growing families in the DMV for the last 35 years. Besides providing resources, coordination of care, and process navigation for the adoption process, Paths for Families offers crucial training, education, counseling, and ongoing community support to protect and promote the well-being of adoptive and foster parents, birth mothers, and children.
More about the event
Learn more about Paths for Families
Scope of Services
Project Management
Full project management, including the use of web-based software, timeline creation, scheduling and managing meetings with stakeholders/event/technology teams, budget tracking, and additional support such as stakeholder updates, quality control reports, and hiring of additional vendors/contractors.
Budget & Accounting Management
Presenting creative solutions while managing expenses, creating, managing, and tracking event budgets, tracking payment deadlines, facilitating vendor invoicing/payment, and continually updating and providing the budget to the client weekly.
Event Discovery & Development
Identifying event theme, branding, timeline, guest experience, design, concepts, tone, and flow; making vendor recommendations and suggesting strategy for stylistic elements; and creating/managing updates to the overall event timeline.
Venue & Logistics Management
Full onsite event management and on-the-ground support with lead roles surrounding logistics, production, programming, attendee/speaker experience, coordinating production schedules and floor plans, working with vendors, negotiating and signing final contracts with selected vendors, managing guest seating, and sending instruction briefings to program talent.
Hospitality & Food and Beverage
Full catering management, including ancillary attendee needs, green room, executive lounge, and media/press room setups; sending instruction packets/briefings to program participants/talent; compiling menu and vendor information for program collateral; and coordinating food, beverage, and alcohol.
On-Site Logistics Management
Coordinating production schedules and floor plans, managing the day-of-event timeline, overseeing complete on-site event management and on-the-ground support (logistics, registration, production, programming, attendee experience, volunteer management), and overseeing load-in and setup of decor and stage sets.
On-Site Technical Production
Overseeing full show production, technical direction, and stage/floor management; managing all day-of technical production services (rehearsal management, lead-up tasks, advanced planning); and arranging for necessary technical requirements (sound, lighting, stage management, video, graphics).
Post-Event Project Management
Ensuring final invoices are sent and all event contracts are closed out, evaluating vendor/contractor performance, hosting a final post-event meeting, and closing out the project.