How to Plan a Pub Trivia Fundraiser for Extra Life
National Trivia Day is January 4. One of the more popular community events that we have been seeing Extra Lifers come together to put on is the pub trivia night fundraiser. This has Extra Lifers working with local businesses to host nights where the public can come in and participate in trivia contests. Armed with factoids both general and game related, Extra Lifers can really make a difference without needing to haul equipment or rent a space. Pub trivia events are a great way to spread the word about Extra Life, build local relationships that might be helpful when Game Day rolls around, and raise money for local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Extra Lifers will need several things to host a trivia fundraiser:
Find Your Tribe
First, it’s very helpful to have a group of Extra Lifers who will be able and willing to volunteer their time to pitch in organizing the event. Volunteers to put up fliers around town, post on social media, help come up with trivia questions, and assist with running things on the day of the event. While one person might be able to handle that alone, it’s a pretty tall order. Extra Life Guilds would be ideal, but we know that’s not always an option. Finding a few friends or family willing to help will go a long way, too!
Find Your Venue
Once you have several volunteers, someone will have to talk with prospective locations. Buffalo Wild Wings, local restaurants and bars, and places people already gather for trivia make prime locations. Ask to talk with the manager of the prospective menu and see if they might be receptive to hosting the event. You might even ask if they would be open to donating a portion of the night’s proceeds to Extra Life or assist in setting up or breaking down the venue after trivia comes to a close. Often, businesses will be open to working along those three avenues with charity events. We’ve seen some businesses donate 10% or more of the sales made during trivia events to help local sick and injured kids!
Here’s an example of a pub trivia night last year to benefit Children’s Hospital Colorado:
Spread the Word
Getting the word out becomes the next priority after securing a venue. Asking friends and family in the area to share details about the upcoming event allows you to use not only the social reach of you and your volunteer team but all of their contact’s reach, too. Create a page that contains the relevant information that can be easily shared. We have mostly seen this in the form of Eventbrite pages. Putting up physical fliers is also a good way of reaching outside of your traditional social networks to bring in new faces.
Preparing for the Big Event
When the night of event comes, you’ll need to have questions and answers ready. One way to get more people involved it to have two different trivia contests, one related to video games specifically and the other focusing on more general trivia. That way, you can get both gamers and non-gamers alike engaged with a good cause. Several of the most important positions for the night will be a scorekeeper, a host, and a judge. If the venue is noisy, and they tend to be, you’ll need someone to keep track of the audio and visuals as well as the associated tech if the venue can’t provide it (i.e. microphone and possibly a projector or television set up to help keep the questions clear). Additionally, a way of organizing participating individuals or teams will help things run smoothly along with a clear system to collect donations and distribute prizes. An optional but appreciated touch would be Extra Life-related decorations for the event.
Don’t Forget Streaming
For those who aren’t able to get the needed volunteers, there’s another possibility: Streaming. Streaming trivia night is a great way to engage an audience and has the opportunity to go viral on its own. We’ve seen people do their own takes on trivia nights with players from the audience donating to participate in games of Jackbox Party Pack or You Don’t Know Jack.
Don’t forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games!