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The BIG Night
Transforming a Local Fundraiser Into a Luxury Digital Gala Experience
For The BIG Night, the annual fundraising gala for the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Helena and Calistoga, the goal was to elevate the perception of the event itself.
The existing site felt functional, but visually disconnected from the caliber of the gala, the exclusivity of the auction experiences, and the emotional impact of the organization’s mission. While the event featured extraordinary travel packages, luxury wine experiences, curated dining opportunities, and high-value live auction items, the digital experience did not reflect that level of sophistication.
Digital Ink was brought in to transform The BIG Night into a premium digital brand experience that matched the elegance of the event and inspired greater donor engagement.
The Challenge
Originally, the project scope focused on migrating the existing GoDaddy website to WordPress while redesigning only the homepage and auction landing pages. The intention was to improve storytelling, clarify the mission, and create a more compelling auction preview experience.
However, once the new design direction was established, the contrast between the original pages and the elevated new aesthetic became impossible to ignore.
The existing site carried a more local, grassroots feel, while the new vision introduced a refined black-and-gold visual identity inspired by luxury galas, high-end hospitality, and premium auction experiences. Maintaining portions of the original site would have created an inconsistent and fragmented user experience.
As a result, the project evolved from a partial redesign into a comprehensive transformation of the entire website.
Before
After
Our Approach
We reimagined The BIG Night as more than a fundraiser. We positioned it as an aspirational experience, one that reflected the generosity, prestige, and emotional purpose behind the event.
Our work focused on three core objectives:
- Elevating the visual identity of the gala
- Creating stronger emotional storytelling around the mission
- Increasing perceived value and desirability of auction experiences
The new site was designed to feel cinematic, immersive, and intentional. Rich imagery, elegant typography, elevated layouts, and improved content hierarchy helped create an experience that immediately communicated sophistication and credibility.
At the same time, we ensured the deeper purpose of the event never got lost behind the glamour.
We introduced clearer storytelling around how fundraising directly impacts local youth through mentorship, education, wellness support, enrichment programs, and life-changing opportunities provided by the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Auction Experience Transformation
A major focus of the redesign centered around the auction experience itself.
Previously, auction listings felt more informational than inspirational. We transformed the auction preview into a curated digital showcase designed to build anticipation and emotional engagement before bidding even began.
This included:
- Elevated presentation of live and online auction lots
- Aspirational copywriting focused on experience and exclusivity
- Improved categorization and discoverability
- Luxury-inspired layouts that highlighted imagery and storytelling
- Clearer pathways into the bidding experience
- Stronger framing of rarity, access, and value
Rather than simply listing items, the site now sells the experience behind each lot.
Whether showcasing rare Napa Valley wine collections, luxury travel experiences, or once-in-a-lifetime entertainment packages, every detail was designed to increase perceived prestige and emotional appeal.
Full Website Redesign
What began as a homepage refresh ultimately became a full-site redesign.
Every section of the website was rebuilt to ensure a cohesive visual language and consistent user experience throughout the platform. The final result feels polished, premium, and worthy of the event itself.
The site was also fully migrated from GoDaddy to WordPress, giving the organization a far more flexible and scalable platform moving forward.
The Result
The BIG Night 2026 raised just over $1.3 million. That is a record for the club, past their previous best by about $75,000, and it came from the parts of the evening the site is built to serve: the largest admissions sales they have ever had at 185 guests, their biggest Fund a Need total, and fifteen live lots that brought in around $450,000.
The site carried more of the work than it used to. Compared with the same stretch of the year before, visits were up about 160%, traffic arriving from Google search doubled, and new visitors were up around 135%. More people found the event, and more of them were people the club had not reached before.
Steve Berry, who runs the event for the club, put it plainly:
“The BIG Night hit a new record this year in overall funding. The overall presentation of the event was certainly upgraded this year, including the website redesign, auction program and numerous event details.”
The club is already thinking about next year, and about being found by people who are not on the mailing list yet. That is the next piece of work.
The Outcome
Internal stakeholders expressed overwhelming excitement about the elevated direction of the site, and external feedback from donors, supporters, and contributors has been exceptionally positive.
Most importantly, the new digital experience now reflects the caliber of the event and the importance of its mission.
The BIG Night no longer feels like a local fundraiser with luxury auction items added on. It now feels like the world-class gala experience it truly is, one that honors both the generosity of its donors and the lives being changed through the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Helena and Calistoga.
