Everyone loves a good quiz and it’s even better when it’s to raise money for a good cause. Whether you’re raising funds for a local sports club, care home or a big-name charity, pitting your general knowledge against another team’s is always great fun and often hilarious. You could organise a monthly or weekly quiz to raise regular amounts of money for your favourite causes. As with many fundraising activities good planning is key:
Identify Your Target Audience – they could be keen members of a local sports team, care home residents and staff, fund raisers for a local NHS hospital.
Venue – if the cause is based locally, choose the venue accordingly and ensure it has the necessary equipment, sound system, seating, refreshments etc.
Prizes – contact local businesses to ask for donations as prizes.
Publicity – advertise the event well in advance and then remind everyone during the 2 weeks prior to the quiz using social media, local press and posters in the area, not forgetting to include details of the prizes on offer.
Quiz Master – get someone who is clearly spoken, confident with public speaking and who can control the audience, with a sense of humour.
Duration – we’d suggest something between 6-8 rounds of 10 questions. Try not to make it any longer as people will probably start to lose interest. You could also include a separate event in the middle of the quiz to break it up eg. a raffle.
Content – include questions on a variety of topics and consider including a round connected to the charity e.g. a Red Nose Day Round. If your quiz is around Christmas, Halloween or a big sporting event like the Olympics or World Cup, you could have a round about that and don’t forget to have a tiebreak question in case of a draw.
The Cash – decide the entry fee and ensure all teams have paid before starting the quiz. You could also hold a raffle to raise extra cash. Make sure your audience knows that all the money goes to the charity and highlight what the charity does and why it needs their support.
During Your Quiz – give your audience clear instructions and information about the format of the quiz and repeat as necessary because there’s always some people who don’t listen.
After Your Quiz – after the results are announced and prizes awarded, this is the time to say how much has been raised and take the opportunity to increase the profile of the charity and hopefully recruit volunteers for future money raising events.
We’ve also created a Quiz Master Checklist to help you plan and host your quiz.
Happy Quizzing!