11 Fundraising Games To Inspire Guests Giving

People love to spend money but not as much when it feels like an obligation.  That’s the paradox of fundraising. You could have the most heartfelt cause in the world, but if guests feel like they’re being pushed to donate, they’ll pull back.

The key is to make giving feel like a choice, a can’t-miss opportunity rather than a moral “should”. 

People will drop $20 on a claw machine just to win a stuffed penguin but hesitate to donate the same amount to a good cause. It’s not that they don’t want to give. So, let’s make it easy for donors by combining charitable giving with games! They allow you to create a bit of friendly competition where guests stop thinking in terms of obligations and focus on what they’re gaining - bragging rights and prizes.

Unique Fundraising Games To Encourage Donations 

Here are 11 fundraising game ideas that encourage generosity and good times.  

1. Charity Escape Room

People will pay good money to be locked in a room as long as there’s the promise of victory at the end. A charity escape room offers exactly that. Participants solve riddles to support a cause.

The theme you opt for depends on your mission. If you’re raising funds for literary programs, design a library-themed escape where players must piece together a lost manuscript. 

Likewise, if you support animal shelters, consider creating a detective-style room where participants search for a missing pet adoption file.

Each entry fee would directly fund your nonprofit initiative. 

Also, setting this up might mean partnering with an established escape room venue. But if that’s not an option, think outside the box. Buses and even a backyard can serve as unconventional escape spaces. 

2. Mystery Envelopes

The Mystery Envelopes game involves guests picking a random envelope, which they know contains either a donation amount they must contribute or a small prize they get to keep. 

It’s part suspense, part luck, and 100% guaranteed to raise funds without feeling like an ask.

Consider filling some envelopes with reasonable donation amounts ($5-$20) and maybe even a bold $100. You can also add a few fun surprises, like a free dessert or a quirky gag gift.

The anticipation alone makes it hard to resist, and once guests start playing, they’ll be too caught up in the excitement to hesitate. After all, who can say no to a little mystery?

3. The Giving Tree

Trees usually give us shade and oxygen, but this one? It gives back in cash. The Giving Tree is decorated with envelopes containing a mystery donation amount. 

Guests simply pluck an envelope and commit to donating whatever is inside. Whether they grab a low-hanging $10 or reach for a daring $100, every selection feels intentional. 

You can also include surprise prizes - a gift card or an unexpected freebie - to make it even more enticing. 

However, pulling off in-person events like these can be a bit overwhelming. You’re juggling the venue, the guests, and a million moving parts. The last thing you need is a headache over the details. 

Platforms like BetterWorld take care of the logistics. From hassle-free check-ins to automated checkouts, it keeps everything running smoothly. That way, you can focus on raising more (and stressing less). 

4. Secret Angel Giving

Here’s how Secret Angel Giving works: when guests arrive, they receive a random name. At some point during the event, they must secretly donate on behalf of that person. By the end of the night, it’s time for the big reveal. 

Guests try to guess who their “Secret Angel” is. 

Maybe your Secret Angel left a hefty donation in your name. Or perhaps they rounded up their last few bucks just to make sure you felt special. 

Either way, the room buzzes with anticipation and a shared sense of purpose. 

5. Head or Tails

Heads or Tails is one of the most simple yet addictive games for raising money. 

Every guest gets a coin. Throughout the night, they’re invited to flip it at designated “giving stations.” 

If it lands on heads, they donate a small amount, say, $5. If it’s tails, they’re off the hook (for now). No pressure or obligation.

You can also offer a grand prize for the most heads flipped by the end of the night to increase participation. It’s an easy, low-stakes way to make giving interesting. Besides, who knows, luck might just be on generosity’s side.

6. Reverse Mugshot Wall

Mugshots usually mean trouble, but here, they mean fundraising. Reverse Mugshot Wall is where guests can either embrace their “criminal” status or buy their way to freedom, all for a good cause.

The setup includes a photo booth with a lineup backdrop and some cheeky “charges”:

• Too Stylish for This Event
• Excessive Charisma in a Public Setting
• Conspiracy to Outbid Everyone
• Suspicion of Being Too Generous

Guests take their mugshots and if they want to bail themselves out, they’ll have to donate. The higher the donation, the better the perks: oversized sunglasses or perhaps a confetti blast for the most “wanted” philanthropists.

By the night's end, the board will be filled with hilarious photos, and your cause will receive a stack of donations. 

7. The Pause Button

The pause button is where a speaker or the entire entertainment crew suddenly stops at unpredictable moments. To bring them back to life, guests must collectively donate a set amount within a few minutes. 

The longer it takes, the more ridiculous it gets. Maybe the DJ freezes mid-beat, or the waiter stops pouring a drink halfway through.

If donations don’t hit the target in time, the frozen person stays stuck even longer or gets put in an even funnier pose. It’s wildly entertaining and keeps the donations rolling. 

8. Donation Roulette

Donation Roulette is a game in which guests place blind donations on a prize. Only one randomly selected donor takes the prize home. The bigger the donation, the better the odds. 

Hosting it online makes it even better. It eliminates the frantic scribbling on paper slips. 

Also, since this is an online event, you’ll need a smooth, drama-free way to manage it. Thankfully, with platforms like BetterWorld, you don’t need to worry about managing bids or tracking donations. Everything runs like clockwork.

BetterWorld handles things like donor engagement, fair prize distribution, and more. So you can focus on hyping up the game and watching people sweat over their odds.  

9. The Paywall Challenge

Nothing stirs up excitement quite like the thrill of the unknown, especially when you know something big is coming. 

The Paywall Challenge is where the night's highlight (a surprise celebrity guest or the dessert station) remains completely off-limits until enough donations come in to “unlock” it. It’s fun because guests team up to break through donation barriers and reveal the next big moment.

You can make it even more interesting by hiding mystery envelopes around the venue with clues about the next locked surprise. You could also add live progress bars so guests can see exactly how close they are to unlocking the fun. 

10. The Phone Prison

We all know that one person who can’t go five minutes without checking their phone. But what if, just for one night, those digital assets were held hostage for a good cause? 

In the Phone Prison, guests can voluntarily (or not-so-voluntarily) surrender their phones into “lockup.” The only way to bail them out is to donate.

To keep things enticing, offer VIP perks to those who go phone-free the longest or let guests “bribe” others into temporary phone confiscation. Watch as people sweat through withdrawal or enjoy the event without scrolling. 

11. The One-Minute Millionaire

Can your guests convince a room full of people to open their wallets in 60 seconds? That’s what One-Minute Millionaire is about. 

Guests make a donation to enter, and then the clock starts. They have one minute to convince, charm, guilt-trip, or downright hustle their fellow guests into matching their donation. 

The person who raises the most in that single, high-energy minute wins a prize.

Will your guests strategize beforehand and pick their targets wisely? Or will they panic and yell, “IT’S FOR A GOOD CAUSE, JUST GIVE ME YOUR MONEY ALREADY” at the nearest person? Expect laughter and a flood of donations!

Conclusion

Fundraising games tap into the natural human urge to strategize and one-up the person next to them while raising money for a good cause. 

A fundraising event may fail if it features a fundraiser who sits and writes a check. But a night where they rally to outbid their rival for charity? That’s the kind of giving people talk about for years!

Also, when organizing fundraising event games, the last thing you need is a logistical mess trying to manage donations, track winners, and keep the momentum going. That’s where BetterWorld comes in. 

From setting up auctions to easy online donations, the platform handles the tech and tracking so you can focus on bringing the energy. Book a demo and see how BetterWorld makes generosity effortless.