Adding fun and interesting games like Chicken Poop Bingo to encourage guests to give more at your next event is just a wise use of your time and resources! And that is regardless of whether your next fundraiser is a small cocktail party, a full scale gala, or just a simple community event like a pancake breakfast. Here is a description of what Chicken Poop Bingo is and how to organize it to pull in more donations at your next event!
Why Chickens and Who is Interested in Them?
Keeping chickens has become one of the trendiest American pastimes. Studies estimate that up to 400 percent more families will keep small flocks in their yards by 2018, up from less than 1 percent of households in 2013. This return to nature and ways of old is especially popular with younger people and those latched onto the local foods, organic, and sustainable farming movements.
Also read: 101+ Fundraising Ideas!
What is Chicken Poop Bingo?
The traditional version of Chicken Poop Bingo game is more like Chicken Poop Roulette. You set up a squared board with numbers (pick an appropriate amount of numbers and squares depending on the size of your event) and install chicken wire around it. You can do this easily enough if you have a handy volunteer or staff person. Here is a good DIY description from a school auction.
Guests buy tickets assigned a number for a set price. A guest can buy one number for $5, 3 numbers for $10 dollars, etc. Alternatively, you can take bets as you would in roulette, though you could end up paying out more that way.
Then, you release a chicken on the game board at a set game time or times during your event and wait to see in what box she poops. You can play for a set prize, for half the inversion like a 50/50 raffle, or even for the chicken herself!
Alternative Versions of Chicken Poop Bingo
The traditional version is family friendly and used often at outdoor events or festivals. You will want to adapt the event to your audience and event type, and there are many variations toward that end. For examples:
- For a fundraising dinner or gala: You might frame it more as a “bar game.” Have volunteers walk around during the dinner and sell tickets. Then, at a convenient intermission time, maybe after dinner but before desert, you can announce that the game is taking place in the bar or reception area for guests with tickets. You can make it fancier or even black tie with an MC dressed for the part and by making the prize a nice jewelry piece or other upscale item.
- At a cocktail reception: If a donor or friend is helping you out by throwing a small cocktail reception at their home, Chicken Poop Bingo could be a great way to engage guests and get them altogether in one place for your pitch or speech about your program work! Ask guests when they arrive and check in if they would like to participate for a particular upscale prize and sell a number at that time. Most likely they will be intrigued just by the words ‘chicken’ and ‘poop.’
- Make it a live stream event online: If you are planning an online fundraising event, advertising a live stream of a Chicken Poop Bingo game right before or after your speech will really get people interested and boost your attendance, along with your donations! In this version, you should sell tickets beforehand and let people pick their numbers, via a Facebook message or directly in your online donation system when they pay for the tickets.
Supplies needed are minimal, and the easiest way would be to just ask around for a chicken to use. No matter what type of event, you can easily raise more funding by adding a simple game like Chicken Poop Bingo to your event agenda!