AAFE gala operations · Demo Day

Gala Pocket Guide

The quick version: who the gala tool connects, and short answers to what people ask after the movie.

Who it connects

Four groups of people and one shared list. The numbers show the order things happen.

Event team Runs the event and approves what goes out

Sponsors Buy tables and name their guests

One shared guest list Every app reads and writes it

Check-in team Welcomes people at the door on iPads

Guests Arrive and are checked in

1Sends a private link 2Names their guests 3Checks every name 4Gets tonight's list 5Checks guests in

1 → Each sponsor gets a private link to their own order. A person approves every email before it goes out.
2 → Sponsors add guests, fix titles and note access needs. No account, no password.
3 → Every new name or title waits for review, so badges print right.
4 → The door's iPads hold tonight's list and keep working if the Wi-Fi drops.
5 → Find a name or scan a QR code, one tap to check in. Access needs show as “ask a staff lead.”

Tap any label to rename it for another organization. Changes stay on this device.

Questions, in the order of the movie

Dashboard and ApproveThe staff app

Where do the 553 names come from?: Give Lively ticket sales, sponsors who paid by check or wire, and free tickets staff add. In the demo, every name is invented.
How does Give Lively's data get in?: Staff upload Give Lively's ticket file. The tool matches each purchase to a sponsor and puts anything unclear on a review list.
Is it connected to Give Lively automatically?: The connection is built, but it only talks to a practice account until AAFE sets up its own Give Lively key.
If staff fix a name, will the next upload undo it?: No. An upload only fills empty seats. It never overwrites a guest staff already fixed.
Does anything send on its own?: No. A person reads every email and clicks Approve before it goes out. AAFE asked for that.
Does it take payments?: No. People pay on Give Lively or by check or wire. Staff record what came in, and no card or bank numbers are stored.

The wheelchair guest and the Wi-Fi dropThe door

Who sees a guest's access needs?: Staff who need them, in the staff app. The iPad only says “Access needs · ask a staff lead,” so volunteers help without seeing private details.
What if the Wi-Fi drops?: Each iPad keeps tonight's list and keeps checking people in. It catches up when the connection is back.
Can someone be checked in twice?: No. One check-in per guest. If two doors check in the same person, the earlier one counts.
What if an iPad gets lost?: It holds names, tables and a yes or no access flag. No emails, phone numbers or payments. Signing out clears the list.

“Why not just use Give Lively?”What's next

Why not just use Give Lively?: Keep it. It sells the tickets and sends tax receipts. It doesn't track checks and wires, collect guest names or run the door. This picks up where it stops.
Is AAFE using it now?: Not yet. It's a working prototype on invented data. The code and documentation go to AAFE, and going live is their call.
Can I try it?: Today we're showing screens only, at AAFE's request.
Does it use AI?: No. Matching follows written rules anyone can read.
What's it built with?: React and TypeScript on Supabase. Common tools that the next technical partner can pick up.

Not sure? Say so, and pass it to the teammate who built that part.

The team

Natalie Walker · product lead, UI/UX lead Antonin Lesov · frontend, UI/UX Aisling Leiva-Davila · technical director Cornell Robertson · backend developer