Trivia Fundraising Event: A Trivia Evening is a popular event that works really well as a fundraiser. It s a simple to run fundraiser that is loads of fun for competitors, and has the ability to raise fantastic funds for your cause! It s a chance for your supporters to have a night out, stretch their competitiveness, and use their brains. Trivia Fundraising Events are a great form of fundraising, but like all events, they do take some organization to pull off... But, with the help of this guide, you should be able to nail this fundraiser with ease! A Trivia Evening consists of a host who asks questions from a questionnaire. Participating teams then answer those questions in different rounds. Answers are added up and winners are given prizes. It s great if you can provide some brilliant prizes and also include a dinner in the evening! But how do you raise funds... Fundraising At Your Trivia Evening: Like all fundraising events, your fundraising methods are only limited by your imagination! But here are some methods that you will raise funds from, and some that I would suggest you consider... 1. Entry Fees - You can either charge per team or per participant. It doesn t really matter. Personally I would charge per team. This then puts the responsibility of collecting fees from all the team members up to the team captains and not to you. You will obviously need to chase up the captains for payments though! As to how much you should charge will depend on your organization and the supporters you have. Obviously the fees should cover venue and/or meal fees, and then make a profit on top.
Don t charge too much or else you ll get no entries... And don t charge too little or else you ll raise no funds. Try finding a good in-between figure. A great idea would be to ask for some feedback from some of your supporters who will likely attend the event. 2. Sponsors - If the venue will allow you, look to get one or two businesses to sponsor the event. In return they will be able to advertise at the event, and also through your marketing material for the event. Take a look at this video on Getting the most out of your Corporate Sponsorships. 3. A Raffle And/Or Auction - Raffles are always a great method of adding to the bottom line of a fundraising event and can be very lucrative if done properly! Auctions are a great option but you really do need to have a good auctioneer and some great prizes. If you have the right audience (middle to upper income earners), then an auction would be a great option! 4. Drink (& Snack Sales) - This will totally depend on the venue you ve hired and how you ve set the evening up. 5. Selling Organization Apparel - I always think that promoting and selling your cause s Apparel (i.e. T Shirts etc.) is a definite must for all your events! Your Apparel sales will not only raise funds but will also gain awareness for you cause as people wear (or use) those items. For USA fundraisers the best way of offering Organization Apparel to your supporters is through a SSA Apparel Store. (Possibly available internationally soon!) 6. Offer Other Fundraising Items - Always look to add a few extra fundraising items that will complement the evening but not overcrowd it. Like your Apparel (above), efund Cards, or maybe offer a Scratchcard (Fundraiser) option to those who don t want to buy Raffle Tickets! At the evening you should also look to promote the other methods that people can support your cause through, and also future fundraisers. A good recommendation would be to get some important info and feedback from participants through a survey, which you can look to attach to their answer sheets.
Info on the evening, what they think about your cause, and how they might be willing to help in the future. You can gain new volunteers through this info and also build a donor list for future use! Organizing And Planning: There are things you will need to organize and plan for the event. This means you need to decide early on how much help you are going to need for planning and running the fundraiser. Then recruit that help through your fundraising committee, organization members, or other volunteers. Make sure everyone knows exactly what their responsibilities are and have regular progress meetings/reports to make sure you re on track. Things to plan and organize will be... A Venue What The Evening Will Consist Off - Dinner, no dinner, snacks, speeches, prize giving, etc. And what order the above will go in. Your Fundraising Mix - As discussed in the section above. Equipment Trivia Event Materials - Questionnaire and answers sheets. A Host & Quiz Master - Can be the same person. Prizes
Promoting Let s get going... Book A Venue: You may be lucky and already have a suitable venue at your organization. But, local halls, pubs, sports clubs, or restaurants will be great options. Try to estimate the size of the crowd you will receive to decide on the size of your venue. You don t want it overcrowded, but you still want a good atmosphere which is created through a full room! Obviously you ll have to approach these establishments and may need to hire the venue from them. I suggest you do your best to get them to let the venue to you for free. After all you are a great cause, right? You ll also want to check if the venue can accommodate the serving of food and drinks, and if they ll allow you to fundraise with this. Also find out if they ll allow other businesses to place advertising in the venue so you know if you can get corporate sponsorships for the event. Equipment: You ll obviously need some equipment for the Trivia Evening, like a microphone and sound system for your Host and Quiz Master. Put together a list of equipment you ll need and account for it as it is organized. Some things you ll need...
Microphone & Sound System. Questionnaire & enough answer sheets - Will discuss in the next section. Enough pens & pencils for the teams. Blank sheets of paper for the teams to scribble notes on. Calculator to count up scores. Raffle Tickets Cash float for your fundraising item sales. Trivia Event Materials - Questionnaire & Answer Sheets: This is backbone of the evening and probably one of the most important parts to the event. If you have a great questionnaire that is fun to answer, but still challenges the participants, then you re in for a cracker of a fundraiser!!! On top of the questionnaire, you ll also need Answer Sheets to accompany it. The easiest way to create this material is through the 3 Streets Trivia Wizard - http://rewardingfundraising-ideas.com/3-streets-trivia-wizard. It will help you create a comprehensive questionnaire which you can customize to suit your audience. You ll be able to preview your questions and create custom rounds. The wizard will also help you make your Trivia evening intriguing and exciting! Once you have customized, previewed and paid for your questionnaire, you can then print it out with all the corresponding answer sheets. You ll need to have an idea of how many teams are going to enter (or have entered), so that you can print out enough answer sheets. It would be highly recommended that you print out extras as well! You ll also receive an Event Hint Sheet with the printed package for your host to use. This is what 3 Streets Trivia says about the Hint Sheet...
The printed package includes Event Hint Sheets for the Host so they have a step-by-step guide to walk them through the entire event. The Event Hints show how to ask the questions, when to give the answers and how to keep score. The system is very simple and has been used successfully thousands of times all over the world. Create your Trivia Pack here! Find a Host And/Or Quiz Master: Having the right Quiz Master will be important for the success and enjoyment of your Trivia Evening Fundraiser. A good Quiz Master will create an atmosphere, add humour, and make the evening interesting and fun! He doesn t need to be a professional, as he will have all the questions and guidelines provided for him, but he will need to be entertaining! Look for that member or volunteer that has character and enjoys being the centre of attention. Prizes: Having worthwhile prizes will help promote the event and full your teams. 3 Streets Trivia recommends that you give out small prizes at the end of each round and then the main prize (and runner up prizes) at the end, and I agree with them. This way you ll keep everyone interested and not just the leaders, as everyone will have a chance of winning the next round!
Start looking and asking for prizes early on in your planning and have it done way before the event. Local businesses, resorts, spas, etc. should be happy to sponsor prizes as it will promote their businesses! You will also need to get prizes for your Raffle and/or Auction items for your auction. My suggestion would be write a list of prizes you need for everything and as you get prizes tick them off. Promoting: Be creative and clever with your promoting of the Trivia Evening Fundraiser. Come up with cool, catchy and sharable phrases, and build a buzz behind the event... Get people excited for it!!! In all your promotions include info on the... Reason for the fundraiser Date of the event Location How to enter Number of players per team Teaser on prizes available How businesses can sponsor the event and that you re looking for prizes! But also remember to tell your Causes story and to connect emotionally with the reader (or viewer if you make a promotional video). You want people to attend the event because it will be fun, but also because it will be to help a great cause! Obviously on some of your shorter promotions, for example on Twitter, you won t be able to provide all the above info, but just make sure you steer people to where they can find all the necessary info! Promotions should then be done online and offline! And remember, the best form of promoting is word of mouth... But you have to start the ball rolling!
Online... Start by sending an email about the event to your supporter and email list. Then start promoting it on your Website, Facebook Page, and Twitter account (plus any other online platforms that you use). Include it in your newsletters and possibly mention it in your sig file on your emails (the signature that follows all your emails). A Press Release is a great way of getting the media involved offline, but you can also submit your Press Release online! Offline... Sending out a fundraising event information letter can yield great results, but can be costly. I d suggest first seeing how the response is from your other promotions before you decide to send out letters. Simple but catchy flyers can be handed out at any get-togethers, and announcements should be made during meetings and/or congregations. Once again posters can get expensive but you may want to put some up around high traffic areas at your organization, or at other (willing) locations. Think carefully if this will be necessary though before you add this expense to your fundraiser! Then This Method Will Yield High Results... Identify specific people and phone them directly, asking them to help out by putting a team together for the Trivia Fundraising Event. That way you can get commitments from people to enter full teams. Think carefully about who the supporters or members are that will be able to put a team together, and contact them first... Even if they may be daunting people to call. (continue for next section)
On The Evening: Start by having a check list to go through to make sure everything is organized and in place. If some teams or participants haven t paid yet, or if you are still going to take walk-ins, then have your volunteer at the door take payments. He could also possibly hand out answer sheets to team captains and any other info you want to give out. This can also be done just before the questions start, when everyone is seated. When everyone has arrived have your host make any necessary announcements, like where the toilets are and how to get refreshments. Just Before Starting... Get your host to go through the process of the evening, explaining the different rounds, the rules, and how contestants must fill out the answer sheets. Then get the rounds going and have some fun! Make sure the Quiz Master gives the teams enough time to answer each question and that everyone has heard him properly. At the end of each round collect the answers up and tally them. Announce the winners of each round during the breaks and hand out any corresponding prizes. And Finally - Thank: Always remember to thank all the participants... As well as all your helpers, sponsors and anyone involved in the event (including the venue owners/managers)!
Showing genuine appreciation goes a long way and will make it easier to get support again at your next fundraiser. In Conclusion: A Trivia Fundraising Event is not the hardest fundraiser on earth to organize... But it will take planning to run smoothly! And if you do it properly, it ll be a blast for your supporters, whilst raising great funds for your cause! So get organized... Get going... And have some fun!!! You ll find more advice on running fundraising events here, as well as other fundraising event ideas. To setup your Trivia Fundraising Evening questionnaire and other materials, start the 3 Streets Trivia Wizard up now! And cheers! To your Fundraising Success... Do you have any feedback on this Trivia Fundraising Event Guide? Then please let me know by using the contact form on Rewarding Fundraising Ideas. Use the subject heading of Trivia Fundraising Event Guide Feedback. Thanks! Rob Hampson www.rewarding-fundraising-ideas.com