Cash In With A Trivia Night
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The latest craze in fundraising is a trivia night. This event appeals to a variety of ages and interests. Designed after the game Trivial Pursuit, the event allows table of families and friends the opportunity to
combine their knowledge and interestes to answer questions together to win prizes. A trivia night provides opportunities for several different activities to raise funds. For those of you new to this fun activity, here's how it works.
The sponsoring organization must find a place to hold the event. Local school cafeterias, church reception halls, VFWs, Moose lodges, etc. will either donate the room or allow non-profit groups to use them for a small fee. The sponsors sell tickets
to fill table of eight people. Twelve to fifteen tables is a good start, but larger groups work just as well. The night consists of groups answering 10 questions in each of ten rounds. Each round is a different category of trivia - history, current events, movies,
literature, sports, geography, or music. An announcer reads the question and table groups collaborate on an answer and write it down on a sheet of paper provided by the sponsors. At the end of each round, runners pick up the papers and judges tabulate the
number of correct answers for each table. A running total is recorded on a wall chart. The totals are recorded after each round to let each team know where they stand and promote competition. The team with the most points (out of 100) at the end of round ten wins the
contest.
Prizes vary. Usually the minimum prize is the return of the entry fee ($80 per table), but if the event is very successful a larger prize could be offered. Do some fun prizes as well. Give Smarties candy to the winning table and Dum Dum suckers for the team with the least
amount of points. Mini Snicker bars for a table who has an incorrect but witty or funny answer.
The sponsoring team can provide a few snacks for each table. Pretzels, popcorn, and soda are relatively inexpensive, so providing them to every table won't cost a lot. Or set up a snack bar to raise even more money for the team.
In addition to the trivia, other activities can be offered to keep people involved in between rounds. A fun between-rounds activity is the heads/tails game. For this one, the player pays one dollar. Each player stands and puts his hand either on his head or on his "tail." The announcer flips a coin. If it lands on heads, all the players with their hands on their tails must sit down.
Then the remaining players repeat the step. They may change their choice for this round or keep the original choice. The announcer again flips the coin. The losing players sit down. The play continues until there is only one player left standing. That player receives half of the money collected for the game. Your team gets to keep the rest.
Ask local businesses and team parents for donations of gift certificates, or gift items to use as attendance drawing prizes or a silent auction. A 50/50 drawing is popular and adds cash to the team's, as well as the winner's pocket.
Trivia nights are fun, easy to organize, and provide the team with a new way to help with team expenses without having to go door to door selling the usual candy bars, wrapping paper, and candles. They provide participants an evening of entertainment and socialization along with a chance to win great prizes.
If you are a team planning a trivia night, please let us know. Send an e-mail to Kim Mouldon. Fastpitch Forever may be able to help sponsor your event.
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