Yesterday’s issue of Bisnow for associations and nonprofits reports on a presentation that Gloria Mobley — grants manager for St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home, in Hyattsville, Md. — gave about that very topic at the Foundation Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. In figuring out whether you should go ahead with a gala or other high-profile event, Mobley favors the SMART system: Ask yourself if the event has a specific purpose, how you can measure its success, whether your goals are achievable and/or realistic, and does your timetable makes sense.

If you decide now isn’t the time for your event, don’t throw away your binder:

That doesn’t mean organizations can’t put things in place for a real event further down the road. “A ‘no’ is never a ‘no.’ It’s just a ‘not now,'” Gloria says.