For Nonprofits

Community events are hard to make exciting, hard to keep people at, and expensive to produce well. BYODJ Night is a low-cost event format that gets people on their feet because they're part of making it happen.

Let's plan your event How it works ↓

Most community nights have a cocktail hour and then people start leaving. BYODJ Night gives guests something active to do the whole time: adding songs, voting, watching the queue shift, arguing about whether the song that's playing deserves to be there. It breaks the ice in a way that an open bar alone doesn't.

The setup is easy enough that you don't need to hire anyone or bring any equipment. One phone, one Spotify account, one party code shared at the door. Guests join on their own phones and the crowd controls what plays for the night. The host keeps full control and can skip or reset at any point.

The playlist belongs to everyone in the room. For orgs whose whole mission is about community voice and inclusion, that's not a decoration on top of the format. It's the format. Read our commitment to inclusive spaces →

How it works

Guests join on their phones, no app download required. Here's what they see once they're in.

See what's playing and vote it up or down

Search any song and add it to the queue

Vote songs up or down to shape what plays next

A live leaderboard tracks who's running the dance floor

What makes it work

The format is built around a few ideas that, taken together, give guests a reason to stay and give you a night worth repeating.

The format actually repeats

Trivia night works until it doesn't. Themed nights depend on who walks in. BYODJ Night is different every time because the crowd is different every time. One night it's 90s R&B and disco, the next goes somewhere nobody planned. That's the format working exactly right.

A weekly or monthly BYODJ Night gives your regulars a standing reason to show up, and gives new people something specific to tell their friends about.

You keep control of the room

The crowd votes. You run the night. Before the event starts, you set the vibe: genre range, tempo, whatever fits your space. During the night, you can skip a song, pause playback, or reset the queue entirely.

Guests feel like they're in charge. They are, within the limits you set. Nobody's going to tank your crowd with something that clears the floor.

More dwell time, more sales

Participation keeps people at the bar longer than passive listening does. When guests are watching the queue, voting songs up, waiting to hear what wins, they order another drink. They pull their friends closer to show them the app.

They stay for one more round because their song is coming up. More dwell time, more beverage sales. That's the whole pitch.

Setup is genuinely simple

One Spotify account. One phone. Your existing sound system. Guests join through their browser, no app download, no friction at the door. Your staff doesn't manage the queue. The system runs the music. You run the bar.

If you can stream Spotify through a speaker, you can run a BYODJ Night.

Who it's built for

LGBTQ+ orgs hosting community mixers, pride events, and benefit nights
BIPOC-led orgs looking for joyful, inclusive fundraiser formats
Arts and culture orgs that want something more alive than a passive reception
Neighborhood and community groups that want people to actually show up, dance, and stay
Any organization that wants the evening to feel like a celebration, not a program

Read our safe space commitment →

Works well for

Community mixers and fundraiser dance nights
Volunteer appreciation events and benefit nights
Block party energy in an indoor space
Any event where you want people engaged between the program pieces

What it costs

BYODJ Night is currently free for nonprofits during our soft launch. We're looking for founding partners: orgs willing to host early events and help us figure out what works. If that sounds like your org, reach out.

Reach out and we'll talk through it.

Get in touch

Common Questions

Is BYODJ Night free for nonprofits?

Yes, during our soft launch. We're building relationships with founding partner orgs and want the barrier to be as low as possible. Reach out and we'll talk through what hosting looks like.

What does our org need to host one?

One phone with a Spotify account, a wifi connection, and a speaker or sound system. Your guests join on their own phones. That's it.

How many people can participate at once?

There's no hard cap. The queue handles as many guests as show up. Larger crowds actually make it more interesting, with more songs and more competition for the top spot.

Can we theme the night around our mission or community?

Absolutely. The crowd picks the songs, so the playlist reflects whoever's in the room. A queer pride fundraiser will sound completely different from a neighborhood block party, and that's the point.

Is this the same as hiring a DJ?

It's a different thing. A DJ curates the night for your crowd. BYODJ Night is what happens when the crowd curates for itself. Both have a place. For orgs that want high engagement and low overhead, this format tends to be a better fit.

Also worth reading

Our commitment

BYODJ Night is queer-friendly, BIPOC-welcoming, and women-owned. What that means for how we choose venues and run events.

Our commitment →

For bars and venues

Looking for a space to host? We work with bars and venues that want a recurring event format and a more engaged crowd.

For bars →