Sarah stared at her inbox. Forty-seven emails. All about her high school's 20-year reunion. Half were classmates asking "Where do I send my check?" The other half were committee members forwarding Venmo screenshots asking "Did you get this payment?" It was 11:30 PM on a Tuesday, and she still had no idea how many people were actually coming.
Sound familiar?
If you've been volunteered (or volunteered yourself) to organize a class reunion, you know the drill. You're juggling a full-time job, trying to track down classmates who've scattered across the country, and somehow collecting money from 150 people who haven't thought about high school since they tossed their caps in 2006. The last thing you need is complicated ticketing software that makes everything harder.
That's where most reunion committees get stuck. They either go full manual mode—tracking payments in spreadsheets, sending confirmation emails one by one, and desperately hoping they haven't double-counted anyone—or they use big ticketing platforms that charge $5-6 per ticket and eat up hundreds of dollars that should be going toward the actual reunion.
There's a better way. TixFox gives reunion committees a straightforward ticketing solution that handles payments, tracking, and check-in automatically, for just $0.39 per ticket. No spreadsheets. No midnight email sessions. No confusion.
What Makes TixFox Perfect for Reunion Committees
Here's the thing about reunion planning: you're not a professional event coordinator. You're a regular person with a day job trying to pull off something special for your classmates. You don't need software built for concert promoters or corporate conference planners. You need something simple that just works.
TixFox costs $0.39 per ticket—a flat fee, not a percentage. That means whether you're charging $30 or $100 for tickets, you pay the same tiny platform fee. For a typical 150-person reunion, that's $58.50 total. Compare that to other platforms charging $4-6 per ticket ($600-900 in fees), and you're saving money that can go toward a better venue, a live band instead of a DJ, or an open bar instead of cash bar.
But the real game-changer isn't just the money saved—it's the time saved and stress eliminated.
When someone buys a ticket through TixFox, they get an instant email confirmation with their ticket. The ticket includes a QR code they can save to their phone using Apple Wallet or Google Pay. You don't send a single confirmation email. You don't track anything in a spreadsheet. It just happens automatically.
Unlike platforms that hold your money until after the event, TixFox uses Stripe's instant payouts feature. That means when tickets sell on Monday, you can have that money in your bank account by Tuesday. This is huge when you need to pay a venue deposit or book a photographer weeks before your reunion. You're not floating expenses on your personal credit card hoping people eventually pay.
Setting up your event takes about 15 minutes. You create the event page, add a couple ticket types, connect your bank account through Stripe, and you're done. Your committee members can log in from their phones to check sales anytime. No training required. No complicated dashboard to figure out.
And on the night of your reunion? You download the free TixFox mobile check-in app (available on iOS and Android), and you scan people in with your phone camera. No rented scanners. No printed lists. Just point your phone at their QR code, see "John Smith - Checked In," and welcome them to the party.
Step 1: Create Your Reunion Event Page (5 Minutes)
First things first: you need somewhere to send people to buy tickets. This is easier than you think.
Log into TixFox and hit "Create Event." You'll see a simple form asking for the basics: event name, date, time, and location. Nothing complicated. Think of it like creating a Facebook event, but one that actually collects money.
For your event name, be specific: "Lincoln High School Class of 2006 20-Year Reunion" is way better than just "Class Reunion." People search their inboxes and Facebook messages weeks later looking for the details—make it easy to find.
Pick your date and time (Saturday night from 6 PM to 11 PM is the sweet spot for most reunions). Add your venue's full address so out-of-towners can plug it straight into Google Maps.
Now here's where you sell it. Your event description shouldn't be fancy, but it should be honest and clear. Don't just write "Come to our reunion!" Tell people exactly what they're getting for their money:
"Join us for our 20-year reunion at The Grand Ballroom. Your ticket includes a plated dinner (choice of chicken or salmon), cash bar, DJ spinning hits from the early 2000s, professional photo booth, and a class group photo. Semi-formal attire. Catch up with classmates you haven't seen since we walked across that stage in 2006!"
See the difference? People know what to expect. They know what to wear. They know there's food and drinks. No confusion.
For your cover photo, dig up that old yearbook photo of your class on the football field, or grab a throwback pic from prom. Nostalgia sells tickets. When someone sees that photo, they're instantly 18 again, and suddenly that $70 ticket feels worth it to relive those memories.
Step 2: Set Up Your Tickets (3 Minutes)
Now you need to decide on ticket pricing and types. Keep it simple—most reunions only need two or three options.
Start with an Alumni Ticket at $70 (or whatever your committee decided covers venue, food, and entertainment). Then add a Guest Ticket at $65 for spouses and dates. Why the $5 difference? Guests didn't go to your school, so they're not getting the full nostalgia experience. A small discount feels fair and encourages people to bring their partners.
Want to get people to commit early? Add an Early Bird Ticket at $60 that's only available until June 1st. This does two things: it gives your committee cash flow months before the event to pay deposits, and it creates urgency. Nothing motivates people like watching that deadline tick closer.
Now let's talk about fees, because nobody likes surprises. When someone buys a $70 ticket through TixFox, here's what happens:
TixFox platform fee: $0.39 (flat, always the same)
Stripe payment processing: 2.9% + $0.30 (this is what the credit card companies charge)
Total fees: about $2.58 (roughly 3.7% of the ticket price)
You have two choices: absorb these fees yourself, or pass them on to ticket buyers at checkout. Most reunion committees do a hybrid approach—they absorb the $0.39 TixFox fee to keep pricing clean and round ($70 looks better than $70.39), and they pass the Stripe processing fee to buyers. This way, your $70 ticket stays $70, and buyers see a total of about $72.58 at checkout.
One more thing worth mentioning: if you're planning a casual potluck-style reunion and tickets are free, TixFox charges zero platform fees. You just use it to track RSVPs and manage your headcount. Free for you, free for your classmates.
Step 3: Connect Your Bank Account (2 Minutes)
This is the part where money starts flowing in the right direction—toward your bank account, not stuck in some platform's holding tank.
TixFox processes all payments through Stripe, which is the same payment system used by companies like Amazon, Shopify, and Lyft. It handles all the security, fraud protection, and credit card processing automatically, so you don't have to worry about any of that.
During your event setup, you'll see a button that says "Connect Stripe Account." Click it, and you'll either connect an existing Stripe account (if you have one) or create a new one. You'll enter your bank details and verify your identity—this is required by law for any service that processes payments, so don't skip it.
Here's why this step is so important: once your Stripe account is verified, money from ticket sales flows directly into your bank account. Not next week. Not after your event. Right away.
With Stripe's instant payouts feature (which TixFox enables for free), when someone buys a ticket on Monday, that money can be in your checking account by Tuesday. This is a game-changer for reunion committees.
Think about it: your venue wants a $2,000 deposit six weeks before the event. Your DJ needs $500 upfront to book the date. Normally, you'd be floating these expenses on your personal credit card, crossing your fingers that enough people eventually pay. With instant payouts, you're paying deposits with actual ticket revenue, not your own money. The stress difference is massive.
Step 4: Add Custom Questions (Optional)
Here's where you can collect the little details that make your reunion run smoother. TixFox lets you add custom questions at checkout, and this is surprisingly useful.
The big one? Preferred name for name tag. Some of your female classmates got married and changed their last names. Others kept their maiden names. Some go by their maiden name at reunions because that's how everyone remembers them. If you just use the name on their credit card, you'll end up with nametags that say "Jennifer Anderson" when everyone knew her as "Jenny Martinez."
Another smart question: Guest name. When someone buys a "Guest Ticket" for their spouse, you want to know that guest's actual name so you can print them a proper nametag. "Sarah Thompson + Guest" is awkward. "Sarah Thompson" and "Mike Thompson" is professional.
If your venue is doing a plated dinner, add Dietary restrictions as a question. Your caterer will thank you when they know they need three vegetarian plates and one gluten-free option instead of scrambling the night of the event.
Planning to sell reunion t-shirts? Ask for T-shirt size right at checkout so you know how many smalls, mediums, and larges to order.
One warning: keep your custom questions short. Three to four questions max. Every extra field you add increases the chance someone gets annoyed and abandons checkout. Ask what you truly need and nothing more.
Step 5: Add Extra Purchases (This Is Where You Make Bonus Money)
Once you've got the basics set up, here's a smart move that most reunion committees miss: sell more than just admission tickets.
TixFox lets you add optional "add-ons" at checkout. These are extra items people can buy along with their ticket in the same transaction. Think of it like buying a movie ticket online and adding popcorn to your cart.
The most popular reunion add-on? Reunion t-shirts. Design a simple shirt with your school logo and graduation year ("Lincoln High Class of 2006"). Price it at $25. Your cost to produce? About $10-12 per shirt. When someone's already buying a $70 ticket, adding a $25 shirt feels like an easy impulse buy.
Here's where it gets good: One reunion committee we know sold 47 t-shirts through checkout add-ons. They made about $650 profit on shirts alone—money they used to upgrade from a DJ to a live band. They didn't take separate orders, didn't collect cash at the door, didn't chase people down for sizes. It all happened automatically during ticket checkout.
Other add-on ideas that work:
Yearbook reprints: $30 (partner with your school's office to get copies printed)
Professional class photo: $20 for an 8x10 print
Drink tickets: $10 for three drinks (if you're doing cash bar)
Reserved seating: $15 upgrade to sit at a premium table
The beauty of the add-on system is that everything gets collected and organized for you. When you export your attendee list, it shows exactly what each person ordered. No separate spreadsheets. No confusion about who paid for what.
Step 6: Test Your Ticket Page (Seriously, Don't Skip This)
You've built your event page. The tickets are priced. The add-ons are ready. You're excited to share the link with your whole class.
Stop. Test it first.
I know it's tempting to just blast the link in your Facebook group and hope everything works. But trust me—buying one test ticket now will save you from twenty confused emails later.
Here's what to do: Go through the entire checkout process yourself. Pick a ticket type, add a t-shirt, fill out the custom questions, and complete the purchase. Yes, you'll pay the fees on this test ticket (maybe $3-4 total), but it's worth it.
Within seconds, you should get an email confirmation with your ticket attached. Open it. Check that the QR code displays properly. Make sure your event name, date, and location are all correct. Try adding the ticket to Apple Wallet or Google Pay to verify that works.
Now log into your TixFox dashboard. Your test purchase should be sitting there, showing you as an attendee with all the details you entered. If you added a t-shirt, it should show that too.
Everything look good? Perfect. Now you can confidently share your link knowing it works.
Something look weird? Fix it now. Maybe your event description has a typo. Maybe you forgot to add the "Early Bird" ticket type. Maybe the cover photo uploaded sideways. Better to catch these things with your own test purchase than have 200 classmates see a broken page.
Event Night: Checking In Your Classmates Without Chaos
It's finally here. Reunion night. You're standing at the entrance with your phone, greeting classmates as they arrive.
A few days before the event, download the TixFox mobile app on your phone. It's free on both iOS and Android. Log in with your TixFox account, and you'll see your reunion event listed. Tap it to open.
When people start arriving, the check-in process is beautifully simple. They show you their ticket (usually pulled up on their phone, or from their Apple Wallet). You point your phone camera at their QR code. The app scans it instantly and shows you: "John Smith - Checked In ✓" with a satisfying green checkmark.
That's it. Takes three seconds. John grabs a name tag and heads inside.
What if someone shows up without their ticket? Maybe they forgot to bring their phone, or they deleted the email. No problem. The app has a search function. Type their name, find them in your attendee list, and manually mark them as checked in. Crisis averted.
One feature that's saved countless reunion committees: the app works offline. That's right—even if your venue has terrible WiFi or your phone loses signal, the check-in app keeps working. It stores everything locally and syncs with your dashboard when you get connectivity back. This is huge because most event venues have spotty cell service.
A pro tip from experienced organizers: Don't be the only person stuck at the check-in table all night. Assign two committee members to work the door, and rotate them every 30 minutes. That way, everyone on the committee gets to actually enjoy the reunion instead of missing all the fun standing at the entrance.
And yes, print a backup attendee list. Just in case. Your phone battery might die, or technology might decide tonight is the night to betray you. A simple printout with everyone's name gives you a Plan B. Better safe than sorry.
Getting Classmates to Actually Register (The Part Everyone Struggles With)
You've built the perfect event page. The tickets are set up. Everything works. Now comes the hard part: getting 150 busy adults to actually pull out their credit cards and commit.
Here's what works.
Create urgency with early bird pricing. Human psychology is simple: we procrastinate until there's a deadline. Give people a reason to act now instead of "eventually." Make your early bird ticket $60, good until May 1st. After May 1st, tickets go up to $70. Then post in your Facebook group: "Early bird pricing ends in 3 weeks! Save $10 by registering before May 1st."
Watch what happens. You'll see a spike in sales the week before your deadline. Then another spike the day before. Then three people buying tickets at 11:45 PM the night of May 1st. It works every time.
The bonus? Early bird sales give you cash flow months before your event. You can pay your venue deposit in May instead of panicking in July.
Post in your Facebook group consistently. Not just once. Weekly. People need to see your event multiple times before they take action. Here's a simple posting schedule:
Week 1: "Tickets are live! Link in comments." (Announcement)
Week 4: "50 tickets sold already! Early bird pricing ends June 1st." (Social proof + urgency)
Week 8: "Last week for early bird pricing! Save $10 by registering before Friday." (Final push)
Week 12: "Just 2 weeks until our reunion! 120 people registered so far. Don't miss out." (FOMO)
Vary your posts. Share throwback photos. Tag specific people in memories. Ask questions ("Remember when Coach Martinez caught us sneaking out during assembly?"). Keep the reunion top of mind.
Send direct messages to people you actually know. This is the secret weapon. Social media posts work, but personal outreach works better. Have each committee member text 10 close classmates directly: "Hey! Would love to see you at the reunion. Tickets are live if you want to register now." People respond to direct, personal asks way more than generic Facebook posts.
Be crystal clear about what the ticket includes. Don't write vague descriptions like "Join us for our reunion dinner!" Tell people exactly what they're getting:
"Your $70 ticket includes: plated dinner with choice of chicken or salmon, open bar for beer and wine from 6-9 PM, live DJ spinning early 2000s hits, professional photo booth, class group photo, and custom name tag with your yearbook photo."
See the difference? People know what they're paying for. They can picture the night. They feel like $70 is justified. And they're more likely to buy.
Why This Actually Works for Volunteer Reunion Committees
Let's be real: you're not a professional event planner. You're a regular person with a full-time job, kids, a mortgage, and about two hours of free time per week. You definitely don't have the bandwidth to learn complicated ticketing software or spend hours tracking payments in spreadsheets.
You need something that just works. Something simple. Something that doesn't eat your reunion budget.
That's the entire philosophy behind TixFox—built for people exactly like you.
The setup takes 15 minutes, not 15 hours. The dashboard is simple enough that your least tech-savvy committee member can log in from their phone and check ticket sales without calling you for help. The fees are $0.39 per ticket, not a percentage that scales up and steals hundreds of dollars from your budget.
And the money? It's in your bank account when you need it—not locked up until after your event when it's too late to pay deposits.
Let's talk numbers for a second, because this is where it really matters.
For a typical 150-person reunion at $70 per ticket, you're collecting $10,500 in total revenue. That money needs to cover your venue, catering, DJ, decorations, and everything else.
With TixFox: You pay $58.50 in platform fees (plus standard credit card processing, which every platform charges). With Eventbrite or similar platforms: You pay $560+ in platform fees.
The difference? $500 in your pocket instead of theirs.
That's not just abstract savings. That's the difference between a DJ and a live band. Between a cash bar and two hours of open bar. Between a generic hotel ballroom and that cool brewery downtown everyone wanted. That's the difference between a good reunion and a great one.
Your classmates are taking time off work, booking flights, and getting babysitters to attend this reunion. They deserve an event that's worth the effort. Don't let ticketing fees steal money that should be creating memories.
You've got this. Set up your event, share the link, and watch the registrations roll in. Before you know it, you'll be standing at that check-in table, scanning QR codes, and hugging people you haven't seen in 20 years.
That's what reunions are all about.
Ready to sell tickets? Start your reunion event on TixFox →
Looking for more details? Check out TixFox's full pricing breakdown or explore all platform features to see how it can simplify your next event.
