How to …… Run a Quiz night

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How to guides 00fundraising events 
 

How to 000 Run a Quiz night 
 

This is a great social event that anybody can take part in and can double up as a team builder.   

Booking a venue.. 

Ask a local pub/bar (or community centre/school/church hall) to donate a room for you to hold a fundraising quiz night. Don00 forget to explain that you are raising money for VSO 00you00l need to explain a bit about who we are and what we do.   Take a flier or leaflet to support your discussion. It may be that pubs already have a regular quiz night and could be persuaded to hold it in aid of VSO as a one-off, but if not, create your own. Factors to consider: How many people can the venue accommodate? Will the quiz disrupt other pub-goers? Is the date you are considering available? Will the quiz master need a microphone? Does the venue have a sound system, or is there a plug socket where you can plug your own system in?   

Planning.. 

Decide how many prizes will you need and how will they be split amongst the teams e.g. one winner for each round/one prize for the worst team. Think about where prizes will come from - try asking local companies to donate prizes 00a restaurant might see it as a promotional opportunity. Remember your venue capacity, how many teams can you accommodate and how many people can be in each team?  Set a minimum and maximum number. Calculate your expenses for the night - expenses might include refreshments, venue, postage etc.  Decide what price you will charge each team to enter 00this should cover the costs of any expenses as well as raising the extra fundraising income for the night. A good return would be 40:60 cost:fundraising. Order materials for the night from VSO - posters, T-shirts, balloons, collecting tins. If you plan to have a trophy or shield make sure you order it far enough in advance.  

Promoting.. 

Plan who to invite: your start group, your project, your fellow trekkers, friends and contacts from other organisations. Try to contact as many people as possible - Send group emails (seek permission where required), use social networking sites, internal newsletters and any other medium available to promote the event - don't forget to tell people about VSO and how their participation in the event will support the work of VSO - not to mention the fun they'll have and the fact that they could win some really good prizes. Please ensure that you have permission to send group emails on your project and use your common sense with clients (seek advice from your line manager or HR rep).  

The quiz.. 

Think about the questions 00there should be four or five rounds covering a range of subjects e.g. music, geography, general knowledge, film and television, sport, history. Use the internet for finding questions or borrow questions from games like Trivial Pursuit. You will need a 00uiz master00 to ask the questions and announce all answers 00ideally pick someone who is entertaining and enjoys this kind of role. After each round the answer sheets should be swapped between teams for marking, with the quiz master being responsible for keeping a record of the scores. As an additional fundraiser for the evening you could hold a raffle at the same time.  
 
 
 

How to00nbsp;  Run a horse racing night 

Horse racing nights are a really fun and popular way of raising funds for charity.  

There are organisations nationwide from whom you can either rent the equipment, including films of the races, or you can get them to run the whole evening for you. These instructions assume that you00e going to organise and present your own race night, but that you rent the equipment from suppliers.

 
Planning00/b> 

Secure a venue in which to hold your Race Night. A private function room in a pub / bar is always the most popular location and if you build a good relationship they may ask their bar staff to wear VSO T-shirts / be happy to promote the night for you etc. [Section15 of the Lotteries & Amusement Act 1976 states that gaming can take place on the proviso that it is not for private gain.  
Tell the venue you00e running a charity fundraising event and ask if they00l donate the room.  
Don00 forget to ask what the maximum number of people is that the venue can hold. If you promote it well, this could be a really popular event, so make sure you00e got plenty of space.  
Arrange a mutually convenient date with the venue for the event to take place.  
Have a look at the room and check that it suits your needs. How will drinks be served? Is there a bar in the room? Will they do food for you during a half time break? Try to negotiate a special charity deal on food / a percentage of drinks sales.  
You may need to provide your own television (or better still, big screen) and DVD/video player. You may find it easier to find a venue that has their own that you can use, alternatively make sure they are happy for you to bring your own along. If you00e using theirs remember to test it beforehand to make sure it works.  
Do you need a microphone and speakers for the compere on the night, or does the venue provide them? Again, test the equipment beforehand to save yourself any problems on the night.  
Recruit a few volunteers to promote your event beforehand and to help you out on the night.  
Now you need to find your Race Night supplier: do a search on the internet for a local supplier. Obviously you need to look for the best deal, so that most of the money you take on the night will help support the work of VSO. But make sure they supply everything you need, and ask for a charity rate.  
Most importantly, you00l need your Race Night supplier to provide racing tapes (watch them first and make sure they00e good quality). Also programmes (or the information for you to produce your own), race cards (or a template for producing your own), and good instructions on how to run the evening.  
Ask VSO for any materials you00 like to decorate the venue on the night 00posters, T-shirts, banners, balloons, collecting tins etc.  
Recruit plenty of volunteers to help you beforehand with ticket sales etc., and to help you run everything on the night. [See 00n the night00section to give you an idea of how many helpers you00l need.]  
Approach suppliers, clients, local businesses, or anyone who owes you a favour to ask for prizes for the night.  
Get hold of a cash box and change and put two volunteers in charge of money on the night.  
Think about music for your venue and whether to have a DJ / band at the end of the evening once the Race Night is over.  
Once you00e got all the race information from your supplier, try to source a sponsor for each race, and name the race after the sponsor. Again, you can approach clients, suppliers etc. or anyone who00 going to be there on the night. This is a great way for people to promote themselves to your audience and for you to raise extra funds.  
Now you need to get promoting and selling tickets (see below, under Fundraising). 
 
 

Promoting00 

Make sure everyone knows that space is limited and tickets are sold on a first come first served basis. Also, when selling race sponsorship, owners and jockeys 00make it clear that these are limited. Plan who to invite: your start group, your project, your fellow trekkers, friends and contacts from other organisations. Try to contact as many people as possible - Send group emails (seek permission where required), use social networking sites, internal newsletters and any other medium available to promote the event - don't forget to tell people about VSO and how their participation in the event will support the work of VSO - not to mention the fun they'll have and the fact that they could win some really good prizes. Please ensure that you have permission to send group emails on your project and use your common sense with clients (seek advice from your line manager or HR rep). 

 
Fundraising00/b> 

Decide how much you are aiming to raise from the event, taking costs into account before setting a price per head (i.e. 拢10 entry). On top of this, there are other ways you can raise money during the evening.  
So that you can control numbers and plan for the evening it00 best to 00ell00tickets for the evening in advance 00you could always have one price if people buy their ticket beforehand and another, slightly higher price on the door if there is still capacity on the night.  
Consider recruiting colleagues to promote and sell tickets before the day. Keep a log of how many tickets you have given to each person helping you to check against the monies received.  
Set a flat price for betting 00say 拢1 for a simple bet per horse. People win prizes rather than money, so all the funds can go to support the work of VSO, after you have taken out your costs. On top of this you can raise additional money by selling horses, jockeys and owners for bigger prizes than from a simple bet.  
There could be other ways of raising additional money on the night, make sure you00e considered them all. The literature from your Race Night supplier should give you plenty of ideas. On the night00  
You and any fellow volunteers will need to get there early, at least an hour before it starts, in order to: check the room and make sure that everything is as you arranged; decorate the room with VSO materials; check that any food is laid out or confirm arrangements for food being served during an interval later in the evening; test the equipment, make sure it00 all working; and of course set up the room in the most convenient way 00with plenty of space for the bet taking table and the compere.  
There are going to be several areas of pressure on the night - make sure you00e got plenty of volunteers to cover these areas and that they are well briefed beforehand. The main areas of responsibility are going to be:  
Manning the door 00taking pre-sold tickets, selling tickets and giving out racing forms. Announcing the races and encouraging bets - appoint a really good salesperson with good chat for this role, so that they can talk up the horses and encourage more bets and sales. Taking the money for bets, sales etc. 00because of all the different money-making areas, you will need people who are really on the ball and good with money. Screening the races 00someone who00 good with technology in case you have any hitches! Giving out the prizes (i.e. the simple bet prizes after each race and the bigger prizes at the end).  
Follow the instructions from your Race Night supplier, in summary these will include: 
Encourage the punters to study the Racing form and stats section in the programme over a drink beforehand. Announce a start time before each race. Get punters to place their bets. Punters can bet on as many horses in one race as they like! They can also buy horses, jockeys and owners if there are any left (these are only available once). Once all bets have been placed and the cashiers have closed, play the video of the race though to the end. Stop the video. The people who backed the winning horse win one prize, those who00e bought winning horses, jockeys or owners win a bigger prize. Think about giving out all the bigger prizes at the end as it will create a nice end to the evening. Allow time for winners to collect their prizes before announcing the entries for the next race Plan a half time break for food, drink top ups and socialising, to make the evening more fun. Have a big prize giving at the end for the winning jockeys and owners.  
Potentially finish off with music and dancing, or just have another drink and people can mingle. (For this reason, make sure you00e scheduled to finish before the bar closes.)  
Finally, you may have taken quite a lot of money this evening - make sure it is transported home safely by at least one person.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How to00nbsp; Run a karaoke night 

A karaoke night can be a great night out  

There00 nothing quite like people making fools of themselves in front of each other to raise money. 
Set a minimum donation for people to come and be entertained or deafened by their colleagues!  
 

Planning00 

Ask a local pub or other venue to donate a private room for you to hold your karaoke night. Some pubs, and even some restaurants, have their own karaoke equipment in a special function room, or hire a room at a karaoke bar. If it00 in a restaurant, find out if they do a special deal per head, i.e. a set menu followed by use of the karaoke room for the rest of the night. If it00 in a bar or pub, find out if there is a bar in the room and whether they would do food for you. Don00 forget to tell them it is a fundraising event for charity and to ask for the best charity discount they can do for you. Make sure you actually see the room so you can make sure it00 suitable and big enough. Also, if you can, test the equipment to make sure it works! Don00 forget to ask the maximum number of people the venue can hold. Arrange a mutually convenient date with the venue for the event to take place. If you can00 find a venue with their own karaoke equipment, find out where you can hire it from and check its ok with your venue for you to use that equipment in their function room. Ask VSO for any materials you00 like to decorate the venue on the night 00posters, T-shirts, banners, balloons, collecting tins etc. Recruit some volunteers to help you beforehand with ticket sales, and to help you run the additional fundraising elements on the night. Now all you need to do is get promoting and selling tickets..  
 

Promoting00/b> 
 

If space is limited this can be an additional selling tool, i.e. first come first served. Plan who to invite: your start group, your project, your fellow trekkers, friends and contacts from other organisations. Try to contact as many people as possible - Send group emails (seek permission where required), use social networking sites, internal newsletters and any other medium available to promote the event - don't forget to tell people about VSO and how their participation in the event will support the work of VSO - not to mention the fun they'll have. Please ensure that you have permission to send group emails on your project and use your common sense with clients (seek advice from your line manager or HR rep). 
 

Fundraising00/b> 

Decide how much you want to raise from the event, taking costs of the karaoke night into account before setting a price per head. You00l also need to decide at this point whether you00e going to add a fundraising element into the cost of the evening. I.e. if the costs are 拢10 per person for food, charge 拢20 per person for the evening, with 拢10 going into your fundraising pot. On top of this, there are other ways you can raise money during the evening. So that you can control numbers and plan for the evening it00 best to 00ell00tickets for the evening in advance 00you could always have one price if people buy their ticket beforehand and another, slightly higher price on the door if there is still capacity on the night. Consider recruiting colleagues to promote and sell tickets before the day. Keep a log of how many tickets you have given to each person to check against the monies received. Think about how you could raise additional money on the night. Make those who don00 want to sing pay a set minimum donation not to take part. You could also start an auction 00if people particularly want to make a certain person sing, or want them to sing a certain song, set a price at which that person will sing and start the bidding! You could source a prize and have a vote for the best singer, who wins the prize. Don00 forget about the more traditional additional fundraisers, i.e. a raffle. And remember to source any additional prizes you need for these activities.  
 

On the night00/b> 

You and any fellow volunteers will need to get there early, at least an hour before it starts, in order to: check out the room and make sure that everything is as you arranged; decorate the room with VSO materials; check arrangements for food and of course test the karaoke equipment, make sure it00 all working, check that there are plenty of song 00enus00around the room for people to choose what to sing etc. Once all this is done and people start arriving, you can start enjoying yourself, and just make sure all the additional fundraising activities run smoothly. Maybe bidding should start particularly high for the organisers to sing!  
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How to00Put on a curry night (this could also work at any other type of restaurant providing they will be able to provide a meal for a reasonable price.)  

Planning.. 

Approach local restaurant owners and find out which nights they are quiet (otherwise it will be difficult to accommodate a large group). Discuss with the restaurant owner what they could offer to a large group e.g. a discount / set menu. Mention that you are helping to attract business on a quiet night 00 you should find them supportive. You will have to let the restaurant know approximate numbers so try to get an idea of how many people would be interested in coming beforehand and if possible get people to commit so that you have a definite idea of numbers. Confirm a date with the restaurant, it is best to book at least a week in advance. Sell tickets for the menu at an increased price e.g. 50% extra, with the additional cost going to VSO. Offer the restaurant a mention in press coverage 00this will act as an extra incentive to offer you a low price for the meal  

Promoting.. 

Plan who to invite: your start group, your project, your fellow trekkers, friends and contacts from other organisations. Try to contact as many people as possible - Send group emails (seek permission where required), use social networking sites, internal newsletters and any other medium available to promote the event - don't forget to tell people about VSO and how their participation in the event will support the work of VSO - not to mention the tasty food they00l be enjoying!

Please ensure that you have permission to send group emails on your project and use your common sense with clients (seek advice from your line manager or HR rep). 

 
On the night.. 

Chat to people about what you are doing 00encourage them to visit your JustGiving page. Hold a raffle as an extra fundraiser for the night.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

How to00Put on a speed dating event.. 

Want to set up a charity speed dating event but don00 know how? Follow these simple steps to get cracking00   

FIND A VENUE Central to where your participants will be coming from with plenty of public transport links Large enough room for 15-30 paired seating (30-60 participants) Free bar hire with no minimum spend 6pm-9pm room hire would be fine Buy in advance at 00appy Hour00prices

-     Mid-week is usually free (Thursday night is ideal for guests)

Agree a date and sign the contract Keep ringing round and keep negotiating! Emphasise the charity aspect.  

 

AGREE TICKET PRICE How much are you going to charge? What will be included? E.g. 拢20/ticket including 拢5 of pre-ordered happy hour priced drinks/person to issued at welcome drinks reception. How much do you want to make? 40 people x 拢15 profit for charity = 拢600. Need more people or more expensive tickets!  

 

SAVE THE DATE   E-mail friends, friends of friends, colleagues and others with the date Set your profile range of your participants e.g. 20-30 years old, city professional etc. Ask all to pass on to anyone who would be interested Keep it fun, low key and emphasise a party for charity Include payment options 00 Thank your attendees for their support and congratulate yourself on a job well done and lots of money for the charity 00/font>  

    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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