We were able to get enough items donated by "Dollar Store With More" for the kids. We received donations from a local Beauty Supply Store suitable for adults. Then we spent about $10 at a Dollar Tree for the rest. We split some of the things from the Beauty Supply Store, so none of the prizes were worth more than $1.50.
Have to tell you all. We had our bingo night and it surpassed all my expectations. It was a great success, thanks to all of the advice that I received on this forum. There was standing room only. We are a small school of 240 students. Normally for meetings we might have 3 parents to come out. For our open house we only had about 30 families in attendance. Although we served hot dogs and played bingo, I really think that the fact that their children were performing had a lot to do with them coming out. We were even tipped $175.00. It was a free family night.
The best part of the evening was to have other parents come up to me and ask "what are we planning to have next and how can I help"?
We do something similar to what "mjc mom" described. We don't charge. (And I think that's why we don't need a license.) Last year we were raising funds for the playground and kept "Pennies for the Playground" jars around everywhere. We collected a little over $100 for the playground that way. We call our Bingo night, Book Bingo. We always cash the vouchers and free books earned with the Book Fair and use those as prizes. We also make sure that every child recives a ticket when they arrive. If they don't win at Bingo (we stamp their hands when they win!)they can cash in the ticket at the end of the evening for a free book. We provide popcorn and drinks free. It's just a fun family event, but everyone loves it. Last year it snowed and we still had around 200 people.
We don't have people monitor the cards as we are playing, but we do use an overhead projector to post the numbers/letters as they are being called. That way, if it gets a little chaotic in there, you minimize the problem of something being not heard or mis-heard.
At another school I was at, we were lucky enough to have the old bingo board from the local fire department donated to us when they upgraded. That was very cool! Couldn't miss the numbers with that.
