How to Host a Fundraiser Trivia Night

 

Hosting a trivia night fundraiser is a fun and engaging way to raise money for your cause. It appeals to a wide range of people, making it a great way to bring people together for a good cause. Not only does trivia provide an opportunity to showcase knowledge and compete with friends and family, but it also allows for a fun and lighthearted atmosphere that encourages attendees to open their wallets and support a worthy cause. With the right planning, a trivia night fundraiser can be a successful and enjoyable event that will help to raise awareness and funds for a cause close to your heart. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to start a fundraiser trivia event. 

How do you host a trivia night fundraiser?

BEFORE THE EVENT

1. Choose a venue: Select a suitable location that has enough space to accommodate your expected number of attendees. Make sure the venue has audio equipment and video equipment, if necessary. For example, The Quizmasters “Perfect for Fundraisers” package provides hosts with a PowerPoint file that displays questions and answers making video equipment necessary if the host intends to use that feature. 
2. Determine a date and time: Pick a date and time that works well for your attendees and ensure the venue is available on that date. The most popular night for bar trivia is hands down Thursday evenings while fundraisers do better on the weekends. Obviously this all depends on your crowd and charity. 
3. Set a goal: Decide on the amount of money you want to raise and make a plan for how you will achieve your goal. There are some really great ways to raise money hosting a fundraiser trivia night that go beyond ticket sales. 
4. Create a budget: Once you have a fundraising goal, make a budget for the event, including the cost of the venue, equipment rental, prizes, food and drinks, and any other expenses. Then, see where you can cut costs through donations. 
5. Create a trivia quiz: Choose a range of topics that are suitable for your audience and do it yourself! Hiring a trivia company is the easiest cost to cut. We understand it can be overwhelming to write an entire quiz, so we’ve provided ten free questions perfect for trivia fundraisers to get you started. If you like our questions and want to save some time, we also offer a full “Perfect for Fundraisers” trivia package which includes tons of extras like a picture round, forms, answers sheets, and much more. 
6. Advertise the event: Promote your trivia night fundraiser through social media, email, and word of mouth. Offer incentives for early bird ticket sales, group discounts, etc. 
7. Secure sponsors: Reach out to local businesses and ask for donations or sponsorships to help cover the costs of the event. You can then advertise their businesses on trivia materials and mention them during the event. Remind your sponsors that you have a captive audience hanging on your every word. 
8. Sell tickets: Start selling tickets well in advance of the event. 
9. Plan food and drinks: Offer food and drinks for sale during the event. Consider partnering with local restaurants and catering companies.
10. Choose prizes: Select prizes for the winning teams, such as gift cards, products, or experiences. Many of these prizes can be acquired from sponsors which will help divert your costs.

 

DURING THE EVENT

1. Set up the venue: Be sure there are enough tables and chairs for every attendee and the host(s). The host will most likely need a microphone and PA system as well as a place to score answer sheets. 
2. Greet your guests: As guests arrive, either place them in teams (if they are single players) or seat their groups and provide them with answer sheets. It is not necessary to ask them for their team names at this point, just make sure you tell them to keep their name the same on each answer sheet. 
3. Start the trivia night: Begin the event with a welcome speech and introduction, explain the mission of the charity or organization, then explain the rules of your trivia night. There are various formats for trivia nights, but essentially the event should last for about two hours, phones should not be used (unless you are selling trivia cheats), and participants should never call out answers. Explain that teams are to write the answer down on the answer sheet provided and bring it to the scoring table at the end of the round. 
4. Keep track of scores: Appoint someone to grade answer sheets after each round and keep track of scores. Before the beginning of each round, give the answers for the previous round and announce scores. You can always check out our step-by-step guide on how to run a successful trivia night for a more detailed guide on how to host a successful event. 
5. Take breaks: Provide regular breaks during the event to allow participants to stretch their legs, get a drink, and mingle with other participants. The perfect time for this is when answers are being scored. 
6. Announce the winner: After all the rounds are complete, announce the winning team and present them with a prize. Thank the participants for playing and encourage them to come back to your next event.

So, have fun and make some money for your charity or organization with a super-fun fundraising trivia night!

We are always here for you, so if you have any questions at all about a trivia night fundraiser or any of our trivia packets or other products, please contact us because we’d love to help.

Get our Perfect for Fundraisers Quiz:

 

 

 image provided by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images