For a third year, I had the opportunity to produce the NEPA Gives game shows. We’ve tried to improve them a little bit each year, but 2026 felt like the right time to see how far we could push the idea.
If you’re unfamiliar with NEPA Gives, it’s a 24-hour online giving event hosted by the Scranton Area Community Foundation that helps nonprofits across Northeastern Pennsylvania raise money and awareness for their organizations.
The game shows are a small part of that bigger picture, but they’ve become a fun way for organizations to take a break from fundraising, engage their teams, and maybe win some extra money while they’re at it.
Since we weren’t producing an in-person block party this year, we had more room to focus on the game shows themselves. That opened the door to new games, a new format, a new location, and eventually, a full game show set.
Previous years featured two games: NEPA Trivia and NEPA Draws. This year, we expanded to five after introducing: “Focus, NEPA, Focus,” “The NEPA Connection,” and “NEPA-Moji.”
Building a Better Experience
The custom game show set actually wasn’t part of the original plan.
As the games continued to grow, we realized we were putting a lot of effort into creating the experience itself. New games. New graphics. New ways to play. We looked at everything we were building and decided the production needed a set to match.
So, our Design team got to work on building a custom set specifically for the livestreams.
We also spent a lot of time thinking about how the games should feel. The goal wasn’t just to put questions on a screen. We wanted to capture the energy of the game shows many of us grew up watching on daytime TV while staying home sick from school. Bright graphics, big reveals, scoreboards, and a little bit of friendly competition all helped bring that feeling to life.
Combined with a larger venue and a live audience, the games felt much bigger than they had in previous years. The audience brought a level of energy that doesn’t exist when you’re staring into a camera in an empty room and hoping someone reacts on the other side.
That’s when it started feeling less like a livestream and more like a fully produced event.
Oh Boy, the Tech
From the audience perspective, everything looked pretty straightforward.
Behind the scenes, it was a carefully coordinated production of cameras, lighting, computers, microphones, video equipment, and a long list of other software working together in real time.
Live productions like this require a lot of moving pieces, but that’s why we focus on preparation. We spent hours planning, testing, and refining all parts of this game show experience to make sure the audience didn’t have to worry about technology.
One of our biggest improvements was in how participants actually played. In years past, answers were submitted through Facebook comments, which resulted in timing issues. This year, we moved the games over to Kahoot, allowing everyone to compete in real time regardless of where or how they are watching the livestream.
This change made a noticeable difference. Leaderboards shifted throughout each game, new players regularly moved into the top spots, and nobody felt out of contention early. It created the kind of competitive, fast-paced experience we were aiming for.
The audience—both in the room and on Facebook—were able to focus on the game and have fun winning for their nonprofits.
The Results
The game shows were designed to give those organizations a chance to step away from fundraising for a few minutes, have some fun, and maybe win additional funding while they were at it.
My favorite moment happened after the event when I came across a video shared by the Outreach Center for Community Resources. Their team had gathered together to play NEPA-Moji when one of their employees landed in a winning position. People were cheering, celebrating, and genuinely excited to see their organization win. For me, that was the payoff.
This year’s NEPA Gives raised more than $1.6 million for 300+ nonprofit organizations across Northeastern Pennsylvania, making it the most successful NEPA Gives to date!
We’re proud the game shows got to play a small role in that success. The project brought together a little bit of everything we enjoy doing at Posture, from branding and design to livestreaming, video production, and interactive experiences.
It wouldn’t have happened without a great team willing to build sets, test game ideas, move equipment, run cables, and gaff tape a lot of things (… seriously, there was so much tape on the opposite side of that game show set). A huge thank you to everyone who helped bring our game shows to life!
