The Woodcraft Folk is a national youth organisation based on the principles of the co-operative movement. We fundraise in lots of different ways for our activities. One part of our work in Sheffield involves an exchange for children and young people each Easter with our partner organisation, die rote Falken (the Red Falcons) in Bochum, Sheffield's twin city in Germany. To keep the cost of this down for participants, and to provide some more help for youngsters in low-income families, we need to raise about £1,000 to £2,000 a year.

Pub quiz nights raise a large part of this, each night raising from £250 to £350.

From our experience of running pub quiz nights, here are our tips:

• The quiz - we allow 3 hours for the event, which is time for four rounds and the buffet and raffle, which we usually do after the third round. Use a theme to the questions and rack up some tension. Provide plenty of answer sheets, scrap paper and pens/pencils.
• Venue - many pubs with a function room will agree to a reduced charge, or even waive it, if the event is for charity; they will expect to profit from increased sales on the night. Go to see the room and check suitability.
• Publicity and pricing - who are you aiming the event at? How can you get the word out? Flyers to friends and workmates will add to the amount you can raise from your members. Trial and error will guide you best on what your market will bear; we find that a ticket price of £5 (£3.50 concessions) works for us.
• Buffet - do a simple low cost homemade buffet e.g. vegetable curry or jacket potatoes. Remember to cater for special dietary needs and/or label common allergy foods.
• Raffle and prizes - sell raffle tickets in the interval. Businesses will respond positively to requests for small gifts for prizes; they see it as good advertising. Ask if your members have unwanted presents.

Case Study provided by the South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau (SYFAB)