Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger Hunts are amazing free fundraising ideas! They are highly customizable events for your organization or occasion and everyone involved has a great time while raising money for your cause.

How It Works

Each team pays an entry fee to participate.
Fees can range from $50 per team up to $250+ depending upon your fundraising goals and prizes that will be awarded to the winners.

Each team receives a list of items to find.
The list is very specific in terms of what is allowed and what is not. Points can be assigned to the items so that if a team is running out of time they might try to go for the more difficult item to get more points.

Time is of the essence!
Of course there is a time limit on this game – that’s what makes it so fun. You can set up rules that if a team can be disqualified even if they are late by one minute or you can build in penalties for lateness (it depends on how strict you want to play!). If more than one team finds everything on the list, the winner will be determined by who came back first.

Judges!
A team of judges is an important part of scavenger hunts. They will verify items found, tally up the points per team and determine if anyone cheats!

Other Ideas

Photo Finish
Teams can use a digital camera or a Polaroid camera to take photos of the items vs. actually taking the items. Also, items on the list can include having the team take pictures in front of or with items or people for example: in front of a fountain, with a police officer, on a firetruck, inside of a coffee shop or restaurant, etc.

Another variation is to have the team come back to the starting point and create a poster using the Polaroid camera photos so that the whole crowd can see what fun (or trouble) they got into during the scavenger hunt.

Food and Beverages
Depending upon the fundraising goals of the event, the food and beverages will directly reflect the entry fee and ticket price. If you want the whole community to participate, keep it affordable and have pizza, sandwiches, etc. (Better yet, seek an underwritten donation of food). If the ticket price is higher, the food could even be a catered affair after teams complete the hunt.

Promotion, Promotion, Promotion
If this is the first event or the 10th, promotion is the key to attendance and success. Your organization’s website, school newsletter, flyers around town and even radio PSAs (public service announcements) will announce your fundraising event to the public and help drive participants and ticket sales.

Don't Forget the Sponsors!

Don't forget that if your event draws a crowd local businesses will be interested in sponsorship opportunities.

Check out some sponsorship ideas and sample letters here

Other Fundraising Ideas

Raffle
Since great prizes will be collected for the winners (donated of course) another free fundraising idea is to have raffle with presold tickets as well as tickets sold at the event. A 50/50 raffle is another great idea. Tickets are sold and the winning number and the non profit split the pot of money.

Silent Auction
If the venue allows, a silent auction also offer extra profits, Guests and participants can bid on the items before, during and after the scavenger hunts are completed. Even a few high quality items will bring your group additional funds. Don’t miss the chance when you have a willing audience that believes in your cause!

Sell Other Things
Since your event will have lots of people, remember to sell another fundraising products like candy, organizational logoed items, or entertainment books to maximize your profits.

In Summary

Scavenger Hunts are fun and profitable events that build community and raise funds. They do take planning and creativity to be successful. The great part about these events is that they can be customized to your organization and community. Involve your organization in helping create the list of items to be found or other parts of the event so that their buy-in will equal their participation and enthusiasm. Have fun!