BINGO! Bingo fundraisers are a high-energy and exciting way to raise more funds for your organization. They're perfect for all ages and types of organizations, and most importantly – they're easy to organize. In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about hosting a bingo fundraiser.
Looking to put the fun back into your FUNdraising events? A bingo fundraiser may be the answer!
Charity bingo events can bring in new donors who love to play bingo or are just looking for a fun evening out. And they offer many ways to share your mission and raise donations.
Bingo fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult, especially with this ultimate guide to hosting your own. Let’s dive in!
Bingo is a game of chance that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s easy to play and fun to win!
Players receive at least one bingo card, often with ‘B-I-N-G-O’ spelled out across the top, each in a separate column. In these five columns are random numbers, typically with a ‘free space’ in the middle. This 5×5 grid format is the most popular, but you can use other formats if you’d like.
One person – the bingo caller – pulls numbers one at a time. They call out this number, and the letter associated with it, if applicable. For example, B-5 or G-52. All players look at their cards to see if they have that number. If they do, they mark it off!
There are several ways to win, but the standard is by marking five numbers off in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Once someone has these crossed off, they yell ‘BINGO’ and, as long as all their numbers were indeed called, they are declared a winner.
Just about anyone can host a bingo fundraiser! Church groups, schools, youth sports teams, and nonprofit organizations can especially benefit from hosting these fun charity events.
However, games of chance often need to follow certain regulations. These can change depending on your location. Check with local authorities to see what requirements may apply to your event and if there are any restrictions.
Check out how Family Lifeline used Donorbox Events to sell tickets to their fun bingo event! We love how they included different tiers to attract many different attendees.
Planning and hosting a bingo fundraiser is similar to most other fundraising events, with just a few additional action items you need to consider.
First up, build an event team with staff members or volunteers. This team will start by finalizing a budget, setting specific goals, and determining the event date.
Then, decide if your event will have a theme to inform your location, decor, or the game itself. You can choose a theme close to your mission. This often helps potential donors connect with your organization and understand the need for the event.
For example, Metro Youth Theatre of Oklahoma hosted a ‘Singo’ event. Their bingo games were all song-themed, a perfect choice for a musical theatre organization!
Next, pick a location. Consider your donors, your budget, and the time of year, as well as your event goals. Also, decide if the event will be in-person or virtual.
Some guests may prefer an excuse to gather with friends. Being in person can also present more opportunities to raise funds, such as through food and drink sales.
Community centers, school gyms, and event halls are all affordable options. Be sure to let the venue know you are hosting a fundraiser – they may offer nonprofit rates.
If the weather could be an issue, you have a smaller budget, or your donors would prefer to play from their homes, an online bingo fundraiser may be best.
With virtual fundraising events, you can cut several costs, including a venue, tables, chairs, and decor. But you still need to consider how you will send bingo supplies to each guest and which virtual platform to use.
Check out how the Black Achievement Fund used Donorbox Events to sell tickets for their virtual bingo event, hosted on Zoom –
Donorbox has partnered with Airmeet to create a powerful virtual fundraising event solution. With Donorbox + Airmeet, you can showcase your secure giving form within the platform – donors don’t have to leave the bingo fun to give.
Pro tip: Get the best of both worlds with a hybrid event! You may need to expand your budget to include a venue and a virtual platform, as well as the capacity to manage both, but it could pay off with additional guests and donations.
Once you have a date and location finalized, book a bingo caller. This person doesn’t have to have experience, but they should be able to speak clearly and loudly in front of an audience.
Pro tip: See if a local celebrity would be willing to call your games. And make sure to include this info in your promos to invite more attention.
You’ll need several people to work your event, whether they are volunteers or paid staff. Make a list of all the workers you’ll need, including set-up, check-in, and clean-up teams, silent auction or bingo game assistants, and fixed-price-item or refreshment vendors.
Your venue may have employees for some of these roles, so check your contract. Then, ask volunteers or staff members to fill in the gaps.
Just like with any other event, make a list of all of the supplies, decorations, and other items you need, then purchase, rent, or borrow them.
With a bingo fundraiser, you’ll need several tables and chairs. Many venues already supply these, so be sure to ask!
For the bingo games, you’ll need a tumbler – or bingo cage – and number balls, which you can rent from a party supply store. You’ll also need bingo cards as well as chips, markers, or daubers so guests can mark their cards.
A microphone and sound system are also required, and a dry-erase board can be used to display each number after it is called.
Although bingo is a fairly straightforward game, you still need house rules – the rules specific to your event. These should include:
Be sure to announce the rules at the beginning of the event and post them in several places around the venue.
Next up, decide on prizes for the winners and start collecting them. These could be non-cash items or experiences of varying value, or you can offer cash prizes.
LINCS hosted Gift Card Bingo and the prizes for each round were – you guessed it – gift cards! This is a great idea if you’d like to avoid cash prizes while still giving something of value.
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Also, determine how you will award the prizes – and approximately how many you will need – by reviewing your house rules. Will a player get a prize every time they get a ‘bingo,’ or will you give out a ticket instead? These tickets would then be used to ‘purchase’ prizes later.
Now that you have all of your details in line, decide on the price to play!
First, consider whether you’d like to offer a single fee to enter (for unlimited play) or charge a low rate per game or bingo card (with discounts on sets of games). The second option is a good choice if your bingo fundraiser is part of a larger event, like a school fair or community picnic.
Next up, develop your event pricing strategy by looking at your budget, costs, and goals and determining how much funds you need to raise. Use our free event pricing guide to help!
Finally, it’s time to tell everyone about your bingo fundraiser!
If you’re selling tickets in advance, build an online ticketing form and a branded fundraising event page to share with your guests. Donorbox Events is perfect for selling tickets online. It’s easy to set up and offers tons of features, including unlimited ticket tiers, tax-deductible amount calculations, sale deadlines, and more, plus the ability to embed the form on your website.
Once your online ticketing tool is in place, develop a multi-channel communications plan with tactics to spread the word about your bingo event.
There are many free ways to promote your fundraiser, including social media, email campaigns, announcements during another event, church service, or at school, posting to online community calendars, and sending a press release to media outlets.
To build more awareness for your event, consider adding paid digital or social media ads, distributing flyers, or sending a postcard invitation to your contacts.
Want to take your bingo fundraiser to the next level? We have several ideas that can add more excitement to your event and help you raise more funds.
Silent auctions are great additions to any fundraising event – guests love to win various items and experiences, and any proceeds go directly to your organization.
You can offer a traditional silent auction with physical bid sheets, or choose to host an online auction that can be paired with either an in-person or virtual event.
Offering fixed-price items, like food and drink purchases, to your guests can also help you raise more funds. Raffle tickets that promise the winner half the money raised from ticket sales usually bring in a lot of donations as well!
You could also offer games such as gift card or wine pulls when a participant donates a set amount before choosing a number that is associated with a bottle of wine or gift card. The donor wins this item, which is typically valued at the same price or higher than the set donation.
Looking to save money? Offer sponsorship opportunities to area businesses!
You can also ask businesses or individuals if they’d be willing to donate bingo prizes or silent auction items in exchange for free advertising at your event.
Dedicate a portion of your bingo event specifically to fundraising. Ask a beneficiary to speak about the impact of your mission and then tell the audience how they can make a difference.
Pro tip: Make it as easy as possible to give during your event. Place QR codes with links to your giving form – provided with every Donorbox campaign – throughout your venue. Or enable supporters to donate via a quick text using text-to-give. All this ensures that your donors and attendees will find it easy to donate, thus inviting more donations.
Hosting a bingo fundraiser is a great way to bring your donors together to learn more about your mission and raise funds, all while having a blast with friends and family!
It is an easy event to scale to your capacity and needs as an organization and one that is relatively simple to host either in-person or online.
Ready to get started? Don’t forget to consider using Donorbox Events to sell tickets online, making it quick and easy for your guests to reserve their seats and bingo cards. Like many of our nonprofit users, you can also use our fundraising pages, donation forms, crowdfunding, and other features to boost donations with your fundraising event.
Read insightful blogs, get fundraising ideas and tips, and find free resources on the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our best resources in your inbox every month.
Kara has several years of experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit organizations. Her love for serving others began while fundraising for and attending mission trips. She then worked with multiple local nonprofits through various marketing agencies and volunteer opportunities before becoming a communications manager at Variety the Children's Charity of St. Louis for more than four years. Kara now specializes in writing and enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge with others on this platform.
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Kara Schmid