host a FUNdraiser for schools or non-profits at Chuck E. Cheese's: 3 reasons to do it (2024)

Host a fundraiser for schools or non-profits at Chuck E. Cheese’s? I mean. Fundraisers are often difficult. Laborious. So time consuming.

Did I really want to try this?

I have to be honest.

When I was asked to take a look at hosting fundraisers at Chuck E. Cheese’s, I hesitated. I stared at my computer screen. I sighed.

Sure, my kids loved Chuck E. Cheese’s when they were younger, but they were older now–12, 10, and almost 9 years old.

Hadn’t they outgrown the place? Hadn’t I put in my time? Weren’t we past this stage? Wouldn’t my readers be turned off by mention of Chuck E. Cheese’s?

And then in that same few minutes, a new email popped into my inbox.

Join Our Team was the subject line.

I clicked.

The email read:

Hello to My Friends and Family,
I hope this email finds you all healthy and happy. We are starting earlier this year to raise money for Relay for Life and Randi’s Tough Guys. Last year we raised $17,000 and we are trying to raise even more money this year. All of the proceeds go towards finding a cure for cancer. Please consider a donation to our Relay Team during this holiday season. We hope you can join our team either in person or in spirit. The race this year is on Sat June 4th. I attached a picture of all of us from last year.
I hope you all enjoy your holidays.
Click Here for Our Team Page
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY16SA?px=38961347&pg=personal&fr_id=70906
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I took it as a sign.

Of course I would take a look at hosting a fundraiser at Chuck E. Cheese.

And all of the money we earned would go to my pal Ilene’s Relay for Life team which honored her twin sister, Randi. Randi was a totally awesome gal and mom of two little boys who was taken way too soon.

If Ilene and the Randi’s Tough Guys team was game, I was game.

She was and they were, so I was.

And from there, I had a firsthand chance to experience just how easy hosting a FUNdraiser at Chuck E. Cheese’s was. And I had a chance to see how fun, how easy, and how worthwhile this fundraiser would be.

I’m anxious to share, because I truly think if more people knew about it, more people would host them.

And more schools would make money and more non-profits would make money and more kids and families would have fun at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Host an FUNdraiser for Schools or Non-profits at Chuck E. Cheese’s: 3 Reasons To Do It:

The quick facts you need to know:

Chuck E. Cheese’s has donated almost 13 million dollars to schools and non-profits through their fundraising events. That’s a lot. I had no idea.
15% of all sales generated by friends and family members participating in the fundraiser will be donated to your school or cause.
You get posters and flyers to promote the event.
Chuck E. will actually visit your school on the day of the event if you want him to. (Kids, I’m sure, would LOVE this.)\
Teachers in attendance get a free meal. Yay!

Now, here’s why you should check this out for yourself. The three reasons to do it.

reason #1: FUNdraisers at Chuck E. Cheese’s are just that– fun.

Kids have fun at Chuck E. Cheese’s, they really do.

My kids were over the moon thrilled when I told them what we were doing and why, and they had a blast.

Not only does Chuck E. Cheese’s have activities for the little guys and bigger guys, but one thing that the parents in our group talked about was that it was really a good chance to catch up with adult friends as well. Our Friday night FUNdraiser was really, truly fun.

reason #2: FUNdraisers at Chuck E. Cheese’s makes hosting FUNdraisers super easy.

Super, super easy.

Here’s what you do:

Visit the Chuck E. Cheese’s site and go to Birthdays & Events.
Click on FUNdraising Events.
If you are thinking about hosting a FUNdraising event for your school, click ‘School’. If you are hosting a FUNdraiser for a non-profit, click ‘Non-Profit’.
Then fill out the online interest form and wait for someone to give you a call, or you can call 1-888-CEC-4FUN
You need to plan at least three weeks in advance for events, so plan accordingly. All FUNdraising events can be held Monday – Friday, 3-9pm.
After someone calls you to confirm your event date and time, you can print out the promotional forms–both in English or Spanish–that they provided. You can create invitations using Punchbowl, or you can make your own.
Then, show up at the event, have fun, and receive your check 14 business days after the event.

We made these little favors for our attendees — a little printout, a lollipop, and a few tickets — which took no time at all!

But you really don’t have to do much to promote your event.Chuck E. Cheese’s provides flyers and posters and graphic templates to use to customize your own.

We invited friends and family via an online invitation, and we promoted simply by:

sharing the invite link on Facebook;
sending individual emails to friends;
chatting up the event at the bus stop;
talking about the event with pals when we ran into them;
sending evite reminders closer to the event date.

It worked! We had more than enough people show up, and everyone had fun!

*********************

reason #3: FUNdraisers at Chuck E. Cheese’s will make money for your school or cause.

Bottom line, many of us are in situations where our schools or a non-profit close to our hearts need money.

Our schools need money for books, for arts programs, for field trips, and more. And our non-profits need money to fund research, promotion, campaigns, and staff.

And most fundraisers that I know are either pretty boring or require buying tons of items that we don’t really need.

The way I look at it, if we can make money for our schools and non-profits while we’re having fun with our friends and family, it’s a serious win.

We just held our event last week, so we have yet to receive the check, but with the turnout and amount of pizza-eating and game-playing I saw, I’m convinced we made a good chunk of money. It’ll take about 14

I’ll definitely update as soon as I know.

15% of the profits from food, drinks, games, and tokens for a night full o’ family fun? And all for a good cause?

Awesome no matter how much we earned.

I’m betting we made Randi smile big just knowing friends and family were coming together in a place that kids love–all for her.