Holding raffles are a fun way to raise some funds for your organization. Raffles can be a part of a larger event, held online, or even simply by mail. While it aims to raise more money, it can also help an organization differently. If your organization wants a unique way to promote your mission or a specific program, a raffle is a great way to get the word out.
Here’s how you can encourage and maximize the sales of your raffle tickets:
Send booklets to members of your organization.
Having members purchase booklets of raffle tickets will make everyone feel compelled to support your fundraising efforts. Once they have booklets in their hands, they will feel responsible for selling them. Have everyone ask their friends and family to buy tickets to the raffle.
Sell stapled booklets.
Selling multiple items is easier if you offer tickets stapled together in a booklet. You may offer a discount for buying a certain number of discounts to encourage more sales. In any case, make sure the cost of a booklet rounds out to an even number, so people can quickly pay without needing change.
Make it a family event.
Turn your raffle draw day into a party. Add games, entertainment, refreshments, and music – better yet, make it an exciting event – to make it exciting. Keep selling raffle tickets throughout the big event, with actual price drawings capping off the festivities.
Know your audience.
Sell it to the right people and choose a reasonable ticket price. There are handy ticket calculator tools online that can help you decide on pricing, but choosing raffle prizes that supporters would find exciting is about knowing your audience. Send your sales team where you know you’ll find the ideal customers, whether it’s an art show, a church, a county fair, a high school football game, or specific neighborhoods. The demographics of your audience will also determine the best way to sell tickets – whether by physical tickets or online tickets.
Accept cash, checks, credit cards, and online payments.
Your organization must be prepared to accept cash, checks, and credit cards as payment for raffle tickets. Raffles that accept many payment methods sell more tickets, as people who have no cash at hand can easily take a chance on winning. Make sure that you advertise that you are accepting these payment methods at the raffle table through signage and announcements.
When possible, display the items.
If you are selling raffle tickets on a kiosk, you may want to display the prize items. Nothing gets people more pumped over the possibility of winning an item than being able to see them right in front of them as they purchase their chances. When it’s possible, create a nice display with items that may be won so the event attendees can see them easily. If the items are too big to display (or too precious to keep outside), you can opt for big, eye-grabbing posters showing the prizes in an enticing way. You can also share high-quality photos and videos of your prizes on social media.
Be visible.
There are many non-profits that hold fundraising events, add a raffle event, place the raffle table in a corner out of the way, and then wonder why they didn’t sell as many tickets as they thought they would. Avoid this mistake by placing your raffle table front and center as people come into your event hall.
Make the prizes exciting.
To build hype and boost ticket sales, you must make the prizes exciting so people will buy your tickets. Not all are willing to give donations for your cause, but if there’s a chance they might get something amazing in return, people will most likely try it.
Prizes like cash or gift cards work for any demographic, but you should still keep factors like age, income bracket, and location in mind. For instance, college students won’t get excited about full-size stoves, but a mini-fridge for their dorm will do. Also, the prize value must match the scope of the fundraising event or campaign. For example, you may not want to offer a European getaway cruise when ticket prices are only $10-$15.
To give you ideas for exciting raffle prizes, here are some ideas:
1. Big-ticket prizes
You can go for big-ticket prizes if you’re holding a high-dollar fundraising event like galas and silent auctions. Most likely, you need to get these items donated by a sponsor or be willing to invest a lot of money to make a profit.
- New house – This is the biggest one. Raffling off home will take lots of planning and research, but it’s sure to turn heads and get some sales.
- New car – Here’s another big-ticket prize that’s relatively easier to put on a raffle than a house. You can offer a chance to win a brand new car or cut some costs by raffling a pre-owned car or a vehicle subscription service.
- Destination vacation or cruise – A trip for two to an exciting location would surely turn heads. Who will say no to visiting a tropical paradise or a winter wonderland?
- Designer clothes and accessories – Check if luxury brands or boutiques can donate pieces or if a designer can sponsor and create a custom piece. You can also go hunting for nice deals at consignment stores.
- Private club membership – Membership dues at exclusive clubs like golf clubs and country clubs can run into thousands of dollars.
- Artwork – If your community is into art, you can partner up with a local artist to create a compelling custom art piece as raffle prize.
- Cash prize – Want to make raffle drawing a real exciting? Your grand prize can be a set amount of money or a percentage of your overall raffle earnings.
2. Medium-ticket prizes
For the most part, the cost of the raffle depends on the number of tickets you sell and how much you spend on the prizes. Middle-ticket items are great for a variety of budgets and can offer something for everyone.
- Home Appliances – Appliances are fun and functional! Homeowners and parents wouldn’t want to miss out on a new refrigerator, grill, vacuum, oven, or more.
- Electronics – Everyone, especially the young and tech-savvy, would be drawn to a raffle handing out the greatest tech, like smartphones, laptops, Bluetooth headphones, TV, game consoles, speakers, and more.
- Furniture and décor – Furniture like beautiful sofas, dining sets, dressers, vases, and amazing lamps would catch the eyes of homeowners. Vintage items can also stand out.
- Weekend getaway – A weekend of bliss is another amazing prize to give away. For instance, you can give away a one to a two-night stay at a five-star hotel, plus dinner and theater tickets for two.
- Event tickets – Tickets to concerts, sporting events, ballets, and theaters are enticing to those who love making memories.
- Theme park tickets – What’s better than fun for the whole family? Tickets to Universal Studios, Disney World, Six Flags, and other fun parks are always popular.
- Classes and workshops – You can give the gift of learning and mentorship from a distinguished pro.
3. Small-ticket prizes
Inexpensive items allow you to offer more prizes. The ideas below would be good enough to get people in the door and into the donation box, but they are also affordable enough to make sure you can hold on to your hard-earned funds. These items can also serve as a third prize or consolation prize for the raffle if you have bigger ticket items as the first prize.
- Gift cards – This option has the broadest appeal of all the raffle ticket prizes. Most stores, restaurants, and shops offer gift cards nowadays, making it an extremely useful prize.
- Gift baskets – Gift baskets can be tailored to any group to make them appealing to your target audience. It’s also easy to DIY.
- Subscriptions – You may opt to treat your winners to free months or a year of subscription services like skin care boxes, Netflix or Hulu, magazines, cheese-of-the-month programs, and more.
- Food and drink – You can try offering a gift certificate to a popular restaurant or a collection of some gourmet snacks and drinks that will entice your winners.
- Movie tickets – You can never go wrong with offering a movie trip. Throw in vouchers for snacks and drinks to complete the package.
- T-shirts – Hold a design contest before the raffle, and raffle a one-of-a-kind shirt that highlights your cause.
- Spa treatments – Everyone could use pampering every once in a while, and it’s easy to get spa packages. You can offer massage, pedicure, manicure, waxing, and hair styling packages.