How to Organize a Spelling Bee Fundraiser

Anyone who participated in a spelling bee as a kid--or saw the documentary "Spellbound"--understands the challenge and allure of such spelling contests. As it turns out, spelling bees are a lot of fun for adults, too. People love good-natured competition, which makes a spelling bee a perfect choice for a fundraiser. Organize a spelling bee fundraiser, and you'll have a great time while raising plenty of money.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Prizes
• Word lists
• Microphone
• Chairs

1. Find a location for your spelling bee. Remember that you want to keep costs low, so research places that are inexpensive--or free--to rent for an evening. Community centers are a good choice. Another fun option is to hold your spelling bee fundraiser in a high school gymnasium. Everyone will love the "authentic" feel.
2. Publicize your spelling bee fundraiser three to four weeks in advance. If you're raising money for a charitable organization, send out invitations to people who belong to that organization or have made contributions in the past. Contact your local newspapers and ask them to list your event. Email information about the fundraiser to friends and family, and ask them to forward your message to anyone who might be interested.
3. Decide on an entry fee. Most adult spelling bees have teams working together to come up with correct spellings, so it makes sense to set a per-team, rather than per-person, entry fee.
4. Contact local celebrities to see if they would be willing to serve as the judges or the MC for the spelling bee. Newscasters, athletes and politicians are all good choices.
5. Solicit prizes from local businesses. If your spelling bee fundraiser is for a charity, business owners can write off their prize donations at tax time. Have enough prizes so that you can reward the first-, second- and third-place teams--as well as more "creative" winners such as "Best-Dressed Spellers."
6. Distribute lists of words to your MC and judges. Include the root of each word and give an example of how the word is used in a sentence.
7. Set up plenty of chairs on the day of the bee. Remember to include chairs for the audience, the judges and the spellers, who will probably want to sit down between rounds.

Tips & Warnings

• When deciding upon your entry fee, remember that the spelling bee is a full evening's entertainment. People wouldn't think twice about spending $20 on a movie ticket, soda, and popcorn, so it's perfectly acceptable to set an entry fee of around $80 per 4-person team.
• Offer eliminated teams the opportunity to buy their way back into the competition. This can be a great way to raise extra money.
• Sell inexpensive tickets--$5 to $10 is a reasonable amount--to people who want to watch the spelling bee but don't want to participate. Audience members can also be "spelling sponsors" by donating a certain dollar amount for each word their favorite team spells correctly.