Cow Bingo

Eventbrite - Hillcrest Football Touchdown Club presents 2021 Cow Drop Bingo - Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - Find event and ticket information. Cow Chip Bingo, often called 'Bessie Bingo,' has been a popular fundraising event in rural areas for years, and it is a favorite at country fairs. It is a fun way to earn money for your organization, provided you can persuade a farmer to lend you some cows.

Because where there's muck there's money!

Cow Patty Bingo, also known as Cow Pie Bingo or Bovine Bingo, is a fundraising favourite at village fetes the world over.

The basic idea

The basic idea is pretty straight-forward. An enclosed area in a field is marked off into a grid of squares. Each square is given a number.

People buy a square. When enough of the squares are sold a cow or other farm animal is allowed onto the field. Spectators wait 'with bated breath' until the cow splats. The owner of the square that receives the first dollop wins.

Marking out the grid -
Also known as the 'Field of Dreams!'

The size of your grid really depends upon the space you have available. It is best however to go for squares of at least 1m x 1m. This helps lessen the chances of the 'line judge' having to be called in. About 100 squares is good so an area of 10m x 10m is fine.The area needs to be carefully fenced to ensure that no harm can come to spectators or the cow.

The grid is marked with sports-ground line paint, construction workers marking paint or, for a non- permanent option, thin lines of sand.

Selling the squares

The best way to do this is to mark off a corresponding grid of squares on a large piece of card. Number the squares.

People can then select their own lucky square and enter their name and phone number.

Choose a price per square that works for your event and the prize on offer.

If offering a cash prize you need to be sure of selling enough squares to cover it.

For most people playing however it is really all a bit of fun. You can add to this by perhaps awarding a jokey Cow Patty Bingo certificate or small trophy to the lucky winner.

For most fundraising events you need to get your timings right. Start selling tickets early on and let everyone know when the cow will enter the arena. In the meantime you might be able to have it in a pen whilst it awaits its turn in the spotlight. People love to pet the cow and take photos of it with their kids etc. Use this opportunity to sell squares.

If you have a public address system don't forget to draw attention to the Cow Patty Bingo to come later.

Splat time!

At last the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives. A hush falls over the expectant crowd as the cow enters 'The Field Of Dreams'.

Everyone holds their breath..........and.........nothing happens.

Ok it does sometimes take a while. Make sure you have a good commentator.

It might be a case of on to the next attraction. As long as a 'poo official' is watching to verify the splat when it comes!

The alternative - Cock-a-doodle poo

Not everyone has access to a friendly farmer with a splat friendly cow for Cow Patty Bingo. Not everyone either has a large field at their disposal. This is where Cock A Doodle Poo can be a great alternative.

Still don't know anyone with a Cockerel? You'd be surprised but there are many backyard chicken keepers.

If still no joy try your local small holders association, farmers market or fancy poultry club. They might even help run the event for you.

The advantage of Cock-A Doodle-Poo is that it doesn't take too much space making it perfect for a great many fundraising events, fetes and fairs. You can also run it indoors.

For a reasonable set up you need a sheet of plywood approximately 3m X 3m marked off in squares. Fence it off with chicken netting.

You may like to have a rope barrier set a little way back to stop the crowds intimidating the cockerel. After all who can go when everyone is shouting at you!
So there you are. Another classic to make your fundraising event just a little bit more special with all the fun of the farm.

This great fundraising idea was originally sent in by Tim Fellencer from Kansas City (USA). Thanks Tim.

Do you know any great fundraiser ideas for fetes and fairs? Or do you know a little tip that makes a well known idea even better. Send it in to us to include on these pages. Your idea could end up helping good causes all over the world

(Chicken Poop Fundraiser & Poop Pool Fundraiser)

Experience the “sweet smell of success” while hosting a cow pie fundraising event during a country fair, rodeo or other event. A cow is turned loose on a fenced-in area which has been marked off in 500 three-foot, numbered squares. The cow determines the winner by making the first “deposit” on one of the squares. Chances on each square are sold for $5. The winner receives $500 or 20% of the sales, whichever is less ($1 for every square sold.) Kids and adults will both love this fun event.

Make sure that the animal is well-fed on the day of the fundraising event, to assure a timely “deposit”. Sell squares in advance as well as before ‘turning out’ the cow. A line judge is required for close calls. Set out clear rules to avoid problems and assure impartiality. If possible, choose a field with stands for the ticket holders to wait and watch for the big moment. A football or soccer field (in off season) might be used if fenced or you have enough volunteers to keep the animal on the grid. Possible sources of the star player: a local dairy, horse farm, etc to donate the critters “time” and the field to make a grid. In place of a cow, you could also use a horse, goat, or sheep, even a dog in a pinch! However using a cow will usually guarantee media interest and greater publicity for your group. Choose a docile animal and groom resplendently for the event. Have several volunteers available to patrol the fence and assure no one is able to influence the event in any way. It’s best to have a rain date arranged ahead of time, if needed.

This can take either a short time, or a good long while, and some groups find it a good time to sell concessions like hot chocolate, popcorn, and hot dogs. There may be other entertainment on hand as well. Source: Fun-Attic, Inc. (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Alternative: Seek approval to allow a cow to come onto a protected gym floor or set up a staked out field area. Find a farmer willing to bring in a calf or calm cow to your event. Once you’ve figured out where the event will take place, sell squares for the area that the cow will be contained in. You can use large cardboard boxes-flatten, tape together that are number. In a field you could use line chalk or some type of safe quick-drying spray paint to mark off squares and number each square. Sell the marked off squares for a set dollar amount. You could even let people pick their own lucky squares. If there were more than one person on a winning square, the money allotted for the winner would be split among the owners of that square. And what does it take to be the winner this fundraising event? The first person that receives a fresh cow patty from Betsy is the winner.

Chicken Poop Fundraiser

Not everyone has access to a friendly farmer with a splat friendly cow for Cow Pie Bingo or a way to transport the friendly creature. Not everyone either has a large field at their disposal. This is where Chicken Poop can be a great

alternative. Still don’t know anyone with a chicken? You’d be surprised but there are many backyard chicken keepers. If still no joy, try your local farmers market. They might even help run the event for you. Numbered lotto tickets are sold ahead of time. Then a chicken is put into a cage where it walks atop a grid of numbers. The number that the chicken’s “spot” lands lands on (because all chickens “spot” eventually) is the winner. The person with the corresponding ticket gets half the money raised with ticket sales. The other half is profit for your group!

Poop Pool Fundraiser

Cow Bingo Flyers

This idea was really creative. It is stolen, I mean leveraged, from the Akita folks. They set up a large pen, put a dog in after he had just eaten, and sold 12 inch X 12 inch squares of the territory for $20 a square. The winning square would get $500, the rescue fund would get the rest. They had 196 total squares, so the rescue fund got $3500!! (There were pre-defined rules about pooping on the lines, pooping while walking etc.!) Source: DPCA Rescue Committee of the Doberman Pinscher Club of America

Brown Cow Bingo

We have included a number of do-it-yourself fundraising ideas in this section that offer a break from traditional product sales. They were developed by groups just like yours in an attempt have a little fun with their fundraiser. Some of them are tried and true while others show a lot of creativity … and even wackiness in some cases. All of them are obviously not appropriate for every group, but sometimes, with only a little modification, your might find some fund raising ideas that are perfect for your group. If you have an idea for a do-it-yourself fund raiser you are willing to share with others, please send it to us via email. Include anything and everything you would want to know if you were hearing the idea for the first time.