Games can help ignite conversation among your donors.
Games are a great way to engage attendees at a charity fundraiser. If the participants have a good time at your event, they will want to come back the following year. Games make attendees actively participate in the event, which helps them feel directly involved. It is also a good opportunity to build a sense of community and develop personal connections with your base of donors.
Casino Theme Games
Casino night is a popular theme for fundraising events. Consider if this theme is appropriate for your charity, as charities with a religious or moral message may disapprove of any type of gambling. Games include blackjack, poker and roulette. You can charge players for chips with all the proceeds going to charity, or you can charge an upfront entry fee. To add to the atmosphere, you might ask attendees to dress as though they were attending a real casino.
Trivia Games
Trivia games can be fun because they are competitive and based on knowledge rather than skill. Depending on the size of your event, you might let your attendees play individually or divide them into teams based on their table. You can structure the game like a quiz show, where a moderator reads out questions and a master tally is kept, or keep it informal. Trivia challenges connected to the nature of your charity are the most relevant, or you could use more general topics such as pop culture or historical facts. Depending on the length of your game, you might change topics so different people have an opportunity to win.
Spelling Bee
A variation of the trivia game theme is a spelling bee. Teams of players work together to come up with the correct spelling of an uncommon word. You can charge players an upfront fee to play the game, or have the game included in the cost of attending the event. Winners of the spelling bee might be awarded a prize donated by a local business. This game works well because it is a fairly neutral game where no player has an overt advantage.
Carnival Theme
A carnival or fair theme is a great idea for a fundraiser that will draw entire families. The drawback is that many of the games associated with carnivals are elaborate to set up, so this may be best implemented by larger organizations with a lot of manpower and resources. You might charge a fee to play each game. Inexpensive game ideas include a ring toss, a bean bag throw and small-scale competitive sports such as a jump rope competition. You could build a simple haunted house and charge admission.
Tags: charge players, your charity, your event