Christmas Quiz Night Fundraiser for an Irish Charity

Plan a Christmas quiz night for your Irish charity: venue or online, rounds, teams, entry fees versus donations, and a raffle kept inside the safe €1,000 line.

In short A Christmas quiz night is one of the easiest fundraisers for an Irish charity: 6 rounds, teams of 4, a venue or an online call, and 4 to 6 weeks of planning. Treat entry fees as ticket income, not donations. Send people to your donate page for real gifts, and only run a raffle inside the €1,000 line below.

Why does a Christmas quiz suit a small Irish charity?

A quiz needs little equipment and few volunteers. Four to six helpers can run a night, and teams bring their own friends, which means your cause reaches people you do not know yet.

It also fits the Irish calendar. Pubs, clubs and workplaces already hold festive quizzes, so supporters know the format. For other formats, see Christmas fundraising ideas for an Irish charity.

Venue or online: which should you choose?

Choose a venue if your supporters live near each other and you can borrow a hall, club or function room. Choose online if your supporters are spread across the country or your team is small. A hybrid works too, with a live room and a video call for those who cannot travel.

Venue: check capacity, a microphone, and whether the room is free in return for the bar takings.
Online: use a video call tool your team knows, with a shared answer form per team.

Aim for a Thursday or Friday in the first two weeks of December, before diaries fill up.

How do you structure the rounds and teams?

Keep the night to about 2 hours. Six rounds of 10 questions gives you 60 questions, a half time break and a tiebreaker. Teams of 4 work well, with a maximum of 6, so nobody feels left out.

Round 1: general knowledge, to settle the room.
Round 2: Irish Christmas traditions, from the Christmas Day swim to Nollaig na mBan.
Round 3: music, with short clips of festive songs.
Round 4: picture round, printed or shown on screen.
Round 5: Christmas films and television.
Round 6: a round about your own charity, which is a gentle way to tell your story.

Ask someone outside your team to test the questions, because unclear wording causes most arguments.

How do entries and donations work together?

Set a clear entry fee, for example €10 per person or €40 per table of 4, and sell entries in advance. That fee pays for the evening, and what is left is income for your charity. Keep it separate from gifts in your books and on your page.

A team gets something back for its entry: a seat, a quiz and a chance at a prize. A donation is different, because the giver gets nothing in return. Revenue says a qualifying gift under the Charitable Donation Scheme must not give the giver or a connected person a benefit, so do not describe quiz fees as donations or promise relief on them. If you are unsure, ask Revenue or your adviser.

Use your donate page for everything that is truly a gift: a team captain who rounds up, a local business that sponsors a round, or someone who cannot attend but wants to give. With WeGlow.world you can create a donate page in three steps, with one-time and monthly gifts, and share its link or QR code on the night.

Can you run a raffle or prizes safely?

Prizes for the winning team are fine when someone donates them and nobody pays extra for a chance to win. A raffle is different, because it is a lottery, and lottery rules apply. Do not announce one before you have checked them.

On the safe side, the Irish rules we confirmed allow a small charity lottery without a permit only when all of these apply:

total prizes of no more than €1,000
tickets of no more than €5 each
no more than 1,500 tickets
no personal profit for the organisers
no other lottery under the exemption in the previous 3 months

Above that, a Garda lottery permit may apply, with an application at least 60 days ahead, so for a December quiz start in October. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) lists a higher exemption of €2,000, and the law is changing, so we cannot say which limit applies in December. Stay within €1,000 or ask the Gardaí or GRAI.

We could not confirm whether a raffle at an event, or ticket sales online, fall under the same rules, nor the cost of a permit. Ask the Gardaí before you sell a single ticket. See our raffle and lottery guide.

What about collecting money in the room?

Passing a bucket around a public place may count as a collection, which needs a Garda collection permit, including for electronic payments.

We could not confirm how this applies to a quiz in a private function room or a pub. Ask your local Chief Superintendent, or point guests to your donate page so that gifts arrive by card, with a record of each one.

How to do it with WeGlow.world

Use one donate page as the home of your night. Put its QR code on every table, in the quiz sheet and on the final slide. Teams or supporters can also start their own fundraiser page, so a workplace team can gather sponsors before the night, and thank you texts go out to those who give.

For something extra, WeGlow.world has four Christmas experiences, still a concept until the official launch, so plan nothing around them until confirmed. In the Glow Room, every gift becomes a decoration on the tree. In the Starry Sky, every gift becomes a star. The Gift Yard lets you pick a setting, such as a forest or a village, and fly to the next present. The Card Wall hangs cards like stamped envelopes on a string. Read more in our guide to online Christmas fundraising.

Plan the weeks ahead with how to plan a Christmas fundraiser. You can start free with an account at any time.

What should you do in the 6 weeks before the night?

6 weeks out: book the venue, set the date, agree the entry fee.
5 weeks out: ask businesses for prizes. A Garda lottery permit needs an application at least 60 days ahead, so start that earlier.
4 weeks out: open entries and share your donate page.
2 weeks out: finish and test the questions.

After the night, thank teams and donors within 48 hours with the results and the total raised.

FAQ

How much should we charge for a quiz entry?

A first quiz might charge around €10 per person or €40 per table of 4, then adjust to the venue and the crowd. Gifts that come through your WeGlow.world donate page are extra.

Are quiz entry fees donations?

No. Teams receive something in return, a place in the quiz. Revenue says a qualifying gift must not give the giver a benefit, so do not promise relief on entry fees. Keep fees as ticket income and use your donate page for true gifts.

Can we run a raffle at the quiz?

Only after you check the lottery rules. Without a permit, the confirmed safe line is €1,000 in prizes, tickets of €5 or less and no more than 1,500 tickets. Above that, or if unsure, ask the Gardaí or GRAI before you sell tickets.

Do we need a permit to take donations at the venue?

A collection in a public place may need a Garda collection permit, and card gifts count too. We could not confirm how it applies to a private function room, so ask your local Chief Superintendent. A QR code to your donate page keeps things simple.

Can an online quiz work as well as a venue night?

Yes. An online quiz reaches supporters across the country and needs no room. Send teams a link, run 6 rounds on a video call and share your donate page in the chat. WeGlow.world works on mobile, so guests can give from their phones.

Sources

Checked on 9 October 2026.