Fundraising events are significant occasions for your nonprofit organization. While you may be busy recruiting volunteers, booking speakers, and organizing a silent auction for the event, remember to incorporate some fun into the day. Your donors attend your fundraiser to support the cause and making it fun for them is the icing on the cake.
Games are a great way to raise additional funds, entertain supporters, and keep guests engaged through interactive participation. Some friendly competition may also increase your fundraising potential, as donor competition fuels fundraising.
Your donors are a diverse group of people with different interests and price points. Using a game as a fundraising strategy can give everyone an activity they look forward to, increasing engagement and donations.
Here you will find the answers to all your questions regarding fundraising games. From raffles and wine pulls to virtual games and contests, we have compiled everything you need to host successful, memorable fundraising games.
The Benefits of Unique Fundraising Games
When done correctly, a unique fundraising idea can do more than raise funds — it can also enact positive change while generating publicity for your organization. Donors who see their own interests reflected in your fundraising idea will be more excited to donate and may even encourage friends with similar interests to do the same.
Some additional benefits of incorporating unique fundraising ideas into your next campaign include:
- Building camaraderie: Creating unique ways for donors and organizers to connect can build lasting relationships and a shared goal of helping your organization.
- Expanding your network: Donors who have a positive experience at our fundraising events are more likely to tell their friends, who will pass the news along and broaden your donor network.
- Increasing engagement: If you repeat the same ideas each year, your donors may fall into the habit of donating the same amount or lose interest and not donate at all. Changing your fundraising events in unique ways can increase donor engagement and ignite new interest in your organization.
- Enhancing existing campaigns: Unique fundraising ideas can elevate your organization’s current campaigns. Adding a surprise prize or online elements may excite current donors and encourage new donors to participate.
Raffles and wine pulls are familiar games that are a fun way to get donors involved, but we’ve broken down a few more in this fundraising guide to help inspire new ideas. No matter what game you pick, remember to change your fundraising strategy each year to keep things interesting for donors. By keeping your fundraising strategies fresh, your event may become your donors’ favorite activity each year.
Wine & Prize Games for Fundraising
Heads or Tails: Guests must buy in to participate, and then everyone stands before an announcer or auctioneer, who calls the first coin toss. Guests place their hands on their heads to represent “heads” or their butts to represent “tails”. Those who predicted the toss correctly remain standing, and those who did not sit down. The game continues as guests change their predictions and the announcer tosses the coin until only one person is left standing. That person is the winner!
Wine Pull: Also known as a wine grab or cork pull, guests can purchase a ticket to select a pre-wrapped bottle of wine. It’s best to collect mostly $15-$25 bottles, with a few more expensive ones mixed in. Guests randomly select a bottle to take home, hoping it may be worth more than the ticket price. Wine shopping for a good cause!
Mystery Box: Like a wine pull, there are pre-wrapped gifts chosen by your community, such as gift certificates, small electronics, apparel, etc. Guests pay a set price per box and enjoy the surprise of discovering a fun gift inside.
Voting Competition: Whether it’s dancing with the stars, picking a favorite doppelganger duo, or voting for your favorite chef in the mix, hosting a voting campaign is a great way to drive donor engagement while raising a few extra funds. The more your donors vote, the more they contribute!
Wish List: Also known as a wishing tree or giving tree, the wish list allows guests to make donations at various levels or branches. Organizations and schools use this visual to raise funds for a specific cause. It’s a way for guests to see exactly what the money is going toward, especially if this is visually displayed on the tree. Giving trees can be physical displays or digital on GiveSmart’s platform. Bonus: This is a donation opportunity, so it does not add any additional cost to the organization!
A wish list or giving tree display can help your donors better understand precisely where their donations are going. Your organization or school can create a few different levels of giving based on what you need – if you’re an organization providing medical supplies, then offer a $20 donation to provide 50 sets of gloves; if you’re a school, show a $30 donation to provide textbooks to students in need. This is a chance to illustrate just how your donors’ financial contributions will lead directly to good!
Carnival Games for Fundraising
Balloon Pop: Not for the faint of heart and probably best for outdoor events, this game involves placing a number in each balloon and letting guests pop them. Guests pay to participate, pop the balloon, then find the prize or gift corresponding to their number. Prizes can be collected immediately or at checkout.
Ring Toss: Another game for wine lovers! Guests purchase a ticket for a chance to toss a ring around a wine bottle. If they make it, then the wine is their prize. You can solicit wine donations from donors, just as you would for a wine pull. A variation includes selling tickets at different prices for closer seating to the bottles or for multiple toss opportunities.
Fundraising Raffle Ideas
Traditional Raffle: Organizations sell tickets on their GiveSmart site, from a bidding assistant with an iPad at the event, or at a designated table at the event. Guests place their tickets in a bowl or container before the drawing later in the evening. The prize can be a donated auction item, and you can set your raffle ticket prices based on the item’s fair market value. Be sure to set a few rules about entering: Does the guest need to be present to win? Will you announce the winners by number, or have each purchaser write their name on the back of the raffle ticket?
Digital or Online Raffle: This will be almost the same as a Traditional Raffle with prizes & rules (see above), but you will not need to purchase any physical raffle tickets to distribute, nor will you have to worry about calling out numbers or about someone losing their raffle tickets, etc. Since everyone purchases the tickets online, you can start sales before your event night and easily select a winner from a random number generator (easily found online).
Basket Raffle: Also known as a tricky tray, penny sale, or Chinese raffle, each item is its own raffle, usually with a jar in front of each prize. This format gives guests the option to select the raffle item they want to enter a drawing for, rather than a first-, second-, and third-place drawing. Guests can purchase as many raffle tickets as they’d like to increase their chances of winning.
Reverse Raffle: In a reverse raffle, the last ticket drawn is the winner rather than the first. For example, 50 raffle tickets are sold, so all 49 would need to be pulled first, and the 50th ticket is the winner. In most cases, so many raffle tickets are sold that this would take quite a bit of time! You can add a twist by saying that the 10th ticket chosen is the winner, instead of the first. Some other variations on the reverse raffle include smaller prizes along the way (for example, the 4th person chosen receives a small prize, but the 5th person selected is the actual winner), or the option to buy back in.
Live-Auction Raffle: Also known as “golden tickets,” these are sold in the lead-up to your event. The winner automatically wins a live auction item of their choice. Since live auction items typically receive higher-priced bids, it’s best to sell fewer of these tickets at a higher price, e.g., $100 tickets with only 75 available. This also creates exclusivity and encourages guests to buy quickly. Suppose all live auction items were donated to the organization. In that case, it might be best to consider the average expected bid and then decide how many tickets to sell and at what price, to ensure you’re confident in your fundraising potential. Those who purchase the tickets now have a chance to bid in the live auction, which they might not have done before! For an in-person event, your organization can provide an envelope to be opened at a particular time, with only one envelope containing the “golden ticket.” You can also run it as a digital raffle and use a random number generator (see above) to choose the winner.
50/50 Raffle: This raffle requires the least setup – you’ll ask donors to purchase raffle tickets, and the more they buy, the higher the reward is for both the winner and your organization! If you’re able to raise $300 through raffle tickets, the organization will receive $150, and the winner will receive $150 (either in cash or as a credit for purchases). Bonus: Some winners end up donating the money back to your organization!
Wheelbarrow of Cheer: The winner of the raffle drawing gets a wheelbarrow full of whatever you’d like to gift the winner! The most common wheelbarrow of cheer is full of alcohol. The Wheelbarrow of Cheer is a fun way to show precisely what the raffle winner will receive, but it is managed the same as a traditional or digital raffle. The wheelbarrow is an enticing display at your event and can really build some excitement.
Outdoor Lawn Games for Fundraising
Hosting lawn games at your outdoor fundraiser event is a great way to break the ice, encourage more donations, and engage attendees. Including games in your fundraiser’s schedule is also an excellent way to surprise and empower your donors. Check out these fundraising game ideas you can use to liven up your event and ensure your guests have an exciting experience:
Cornhole Tournament: Also known as baggo, bags, bean bag toss, and sack toss. This is a game that involves four bean bags that you toss across a distance and try to score in a hole cut into a wooden board. This game is played with two teams of two players each. If the bean bag goes through the hole, it’s three points. If it lands on the edge of the hole, it’s two points. If it lands on the board, it’s one point. The team that reaches 21 points first wins. Fundraiser games are all about maximizing opportunities to encourage more donations, so you might require cornhole teams to pay a registration fee. Since cornhole is easy to learn and play, more of your guests can participate, increasing your nonprofit’s likelihood of reaching its fundraising goal.
Frisbee Frenzy: Your guests will enjoy challenging each other and themselves in this Frisbee game that tests their hand-eye coordination and lets them win prizes. To play Frisbee frenzy, lay out the prizes at varying distances across your outdoor area, with the best prizes farthest away from the throwing line. Line guests up and give each person a turn tossing several Frisbees toward the prizes. Whoever lands a Frisbee on a prize gets to take it home.
Obstacle Course: Obstacle-course fundraising games get your guests up and moving and create a fun, competitive atmosphere. The options for adult obstacle courses are nearly endless. Decide whether your obstacle course will be a race or whether you’ll award a prize to whoever completes it fastest. Here are a few options for obstacle course stations you can use:
- Use PVC pipes to create hurdles.
- Bend foam pool noodles for people to crawl under.
- Place small cones on the ground and have guests run between them.
- Construct a tunnel from PVC pipes and hang tennis balls from the top for participants to weave through.
- Include minute-to-win-it games for guests to complete before moving on in the course.
- Finish the course with a potato sack relay.
Lawn Twister: This outdoor variation of the classic Twister game requires spray paint and guests willing to get a little tangled. Get cans of ground marking spray paint in blue, red, yellow, and green. Cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic bucket to use as your circle template. Be sure to spray the circles an equal distance apart. Allow the circles to dry for an hour or two before playing. Use a Twister board spinner and call out the directions to the participants. You can award a prize to the last participant who hasn’t fallen.
Other outdoor and lawn games for fundraising may include a Dunk Tank, the Oreo Game (where you have to get an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth using only facial movements), or a buried treasure game (where you hide small prizes for your guests to dig up with small shovels).
Read our Charity Sporting Events Guide for more outdoor/game fundraising ideas!
Put the Fun in FUNdraising with GiveSmart
With some planning and creativity, including lawn games in your nonprofit’s next fundraiser can create an enjoyable experience for guests. You can also include other games for fundraising events that guests can play indoors or through a virtual fundraiser.
Using mobile bidding and silent auction software from GiveSmart helps your nonprofit organization organize and run its fundraiser event, whether it’s live, virtual, or hybrid. GiveSmart creates applications to help nonprofits and charitable organizations easily collect on-site donations, manage donations from anywhere, and simplify campaign management.
Giving to your organization should be as easy as possible for your donors. With GiveSmart, your organization can raise more money, engage better with donors, and create exciting events for your guests. To learn more about how GiveSmart can help you plan your most successful fundraising event, request a demo.
FAQs
What are the best games to use at a fundraising event?
While you may have a few generous donors who regularly give, a creative fundraiser like a game lets everyone get in on the fun. When creating your fundraiser games, some key principles to keep in mind include:
Make sure your fundraising game is easy for attendees to understand.
Make sure your organization has the resources to administer and manage the game.
Whether you use auction games, festival games, or mobile fundraising, set a time limit for your event to keep engagement high.
Most importantly, make sure your creative fundraising game is fun!
How do fundraising games raise money for nonprofits?
Donors who see their own interests reflected in your fundraising idea will become more excited about donating and may even encourage friends with similar interests to donate. If you repeat the same ideas each year, your donors may fall into the habit of donating the same amount, or they may lose interest and not donate at all. Changing your fundraising events in unique ways can increase donor engagement and ignite new interest in your organization. Additionally, donors who have a positive experience at your fundraising events are more likely to tell their friends, who will pass the news along and broaden your donor network.
What low-cost fundraising games work for small events?
Some lower-to-no cost fundraisers for small events include:
Heads or Tails is free (you can borrow a coin) and can be enjoyed by large or smaller groups!
Lawn Twister will only cost you a couple of cans of spray paint, and you can only really play with a small group!
The Oreo Game is inexpensive and perfect for small groups!
A Voting Competition could be ideal for a small event and costs nothing!
How can you run raffles legally at a fundraiser?
Check out our complete list of raffle regulations by state.
What fundraising games work well for virtual or hybrid events?
Many of the events in this guide can be accomplished virtually (with the right technology), but here are a few additional unique ideas:
Online Cooking Class and Silent Auction: Host a free or ticketed online cooking class and auction off food-themed travel and experience packages from around the world. There are even sites where you can hire a chef in their local area. Invite the chef to support your nonprofit by hosting an online cooking event.
Buy-It-Now “Vacation-For-A-Cause”: Make vacations the star of the show! Bidders can purchase luxurious experiences they might not typically splurge on or access anywhere else. With a buy-it-now fundraiser, you can name your price and set the margin you want for each trip. Some of the more popular vacation categories include beach getaways and trips in the great outdoors.
Virtual Wine Pairing Workshop Fundraiser: Wine is a classic fundraising item that appeals to a broad audience. To build out your virtual fundraiser workshop, offer a local restaurant the opportunity to have its sommelier lead the event. The pairings can be wines and food items sold at their establishment, making the virtual experience a free marketing opportunity for them and a fundraising win for you! Promote the event as a free experience to our donors, emphasizing the fantastic wine-themed packages that will be auctioned or sold off during the event, such as trips to Napa, Tuscany, and Australia.
Online Golf-Themed Raffles: An online Golf Raffle Fundraiser offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences at some of the world’s most renowned golf courses. Whether a seasoned pro or novice, our shop has a travel experience for everyone. Sell tickets to win a trip, and include a few additional trips that can be auctioned off or purchased.
How do you get prizes donated for fundraising games?
Research the businesses you want to connect with. What are their values? Do you share similar target audiences? What are their previous philanthropic endeavors? This information can help you personalize your appeal.
Don’t only reach out when you want them to donate something. Try to build a growing relationship with your potential donor businesses by acknowledging them on social media or including them in your newsletter. Additionally, offering sponsorship opportunities, such as featuring their logo on printed flyers or promoting the company at your event, can demonstrate the value of their donation.
