Winspire Winnie participates in Nonprofit Jeopardy

By Vicki Blaze on Yahoo Voices

TV game shows have been a huge success for many years, dating back to the 1970's and 80's with The Price is Right, Jeopardy, and Family Feud. More recent crazes include Do You Want To Be A Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. All of these game shows have a few things in common - contestants, a host, prizes, challenges, anticipation, and humor.

A game show event makes a great fundraiser or simply a school spirit event. Here are some tips to plan an evening where people can laugh out loud with their friends, family, teachers, and principal.

Tip 1. Model your fundraiser after a well-known show.

Design your own game or stylize it after a popular game show, but make the game your own by implementing your own set of rules and time limits.

Tip 2. Organize the game in a way that several people can participate at once.

For instance, in a Family Feud style game, have two teams of five players each compete against each other. If you have 3 rounds of play, then 6 different teams can play - that's 30 people!

Tip 3: Try hosting a "Game Night" with more than one game.

You may want to play two or three different games throughout the evening and have a different host for each. At least one of the games should be one where the contestants are randomly chosen from the audience. This will sell tickets and keep the audience interested and entertained at the anticipation of being chosen.

Tip 4: Keep the night short and sweet.

No matter how many games you include, plan to keep the event to no more than two hours long.

Tip 5: Mix up the content.

Include a mix of academic and fun questions and competition ideas submitted by both students and teachers. For instance, "Name something a hockey player has to put on before a game"; "Name three types of clouds"; or "Name a punctuation mark on a computer keyboard".

Tip 6: Recruit a personable host.

Although your committee volunteers are the ones to make up the game rules and questions, the game show host is the person responsible for announcing the rules of the game to the audience and contestants and for keeping the game running smoothly and continuously.

Remember, if the game does not proceed steadily, the audience may get bored. The host of your game show has to be well-spoken, personable, quick-witted, and humorous. A high school-aged student may be able to handle this role, but for a middle and elementary school fundraiser, we recommend an adult.

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