Every year, I probably receive around 100 emails asking for my quiz show services for free, or at least very heavily discounted. All entertainment providers will tell you that it’s quite a common thing…good-intentioned folk putting on quiz events to raise much-needed cash for a wide variety of worthwhile causes. And any entertainer with empathy will relate to feeling a bit guilty when quoting to host the event, simply because of the nature of the enquiry. But we really shouldn’t, as I explain below why hiring a qualified quiz host professional can bring more donations and bigger audiences…
Why should I hire a professional for my charity quiz event?
- Presentation: Your main aim is to receive as many donations/ticket sales as possible for your cause and this is achieved initially by great first impressions. An amateur (or friend) sitting at a pub table reading out questions over a dodgy mic system doesn’t inspire confidence! Poorly printed answer sheets, lack of pens, lack of personality are just some of the scenarios we’ve seen.
- Quiz Content: This is massively important if you wish to keep your teams onside for the duration of the quiz. A professional quiz host will know exactly how to judge the topics and the difficulty levels so that no-one feels alienated. There’s no substitute for experience and a top quiz master will ensure that the teams remain engaged throughout.
- Personality: Your guests will be much more inclined to make extra donations if your quiz host is genial, funny and warm in their approach. This only comes with years of experience (and a few well-timed fund-raising interactive games!) No-one hands money over to people they don’t like (except maybe the tax man or the DVLA!) so the benefit of having a professional host can easily generate more income than usual, enough to cover their fee and then some! There are even hosts (like me) who can conduct a charity auction during the break to bolster funds.
- The Next One: If you’ve hired a top professional quiz master to host your charity event, the next one will be even bigger. Word gets about very quickly to those who missed out, so a good quiz host will generate larger and larger audiences each time, and you could raise ticket prices too.
You should definitely consider employing a professional quiz master & host for your next charity event. If you are concerned that their fee cuts into your fundraising, it’s quite often a possibility to find a local business (or your own bosses) who would be willing to pay for the host on the night. That way, all your ticket money, raffle money and even auction proceeds go straight to the worthy cause.
And finally, here’s a young lady handing over the winner’s trophy at a very local (to me!) charity event that I hosted on Saturday.