by JQ Adams

Created on: January 29, 2009

Lately there's been a new trend in fundraising activities, that seems to generate a sizeable amount of cash in a short amount of time. It doesn't involve going door to door with overpriced candy or wrapping paper, and instead of getting a few trinkets in exchange for your purchase; participants have a chance to win some money themselves (legally) and have a good time doing it.

I'm talking about card game fundraisers. The most popular ones tend to be Texas Hold Em fundraiser tournaments. People who enjoy playing poker with friends typically play tournaments with a $20-$100 buy-in. In exchange for their buy-in, players get a certain amount of chips. A $20 buy-in could result in $3,000 worth of chips- it all depends on how the organizer is setting it up. You could also experiment with an online bingo or an online blackjack fundraiser.

An example tournament that could easily result in raising $2,500 for the charity organization in just a few hours would work something like this:

Host a Texas Hold Em multi-table tournament with 100+ players. Each player will pay the $30 buy-in and receive $3,000 tournament chips. This money will generate the prize pool for the players, and can be divided out however the organizer decides (typically the top 10-20 spots are paid, based on the number of players and amount of money). Each player will also donate $25 to the charity organization (and in exchange get an additional $3,000 in chips). So with 100 players, $2,500 is raised for the charity!

People are more inclined to give to the charity in a situation like this, over trying to buy enough candy bars or wrapping paper for the organization to receive a small percentage of each purchase. When you buy $25 worth of fundraising items, it's likely that less than $8 actually goes to the organization raising money- sometimes FAR less.

You can even charge players an additional $10 for food and beverages, door prizes, and to help pay for a venue if you're renting a building to hold the game, and it won't make the event unaffordable for card players. Most card players expect to spend around $100 for a night of card games; and are happy to help the charity organization while enjoying an evening of card playing.

Next time you need to raise money for your charity, whether it's a school, little league team, or the building of a new community center, you should consider hosting one (or several!) card tournaments, such as an online bingo game, to raise money quickly and give the community a chance for a fun evening at the same time.

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