Raffle Fundraising

Raffle fundraising can be a very successful way for students to raise fundraising dollars. A school raffle can produce high profit margins. The costs are minimal, especially if you get the raffle prizes donated. You may even find local printers who would be interested in donating the actual tickets. Raffles are also a great option for a group of any size. For instance, a high-school yearbook club that has only five members can be just as successful with a raffle fundraiser as a sports team.

Successful Fundraising Raffle Ideas & Essentials

Appealing prizes make for a successful fundraising raffle. After all, this will be the first question people will ask when asked if they'd like to purchase tickets. Make sure the prizes are good and are relevant to your audience and location.

Raffle Fundraising Here are some raffle prizes that attract many people's attention

Sports Memorabilia: Autographed items from local sports celebrities and/or tickets. This is especially relevant if a sport-team is hosting a raffle.
Travel: Offering free airfare is always a great seller. Most people love to travel but are hindered by the high costs. Approach an airline that uses your city as a hub and ask for them to donate two roundtrip domestic tickets. It's great advertising for them and a high-ticket item that may help sell more raffle tickets.
Weekend Getaway: Look for desirable locations nearby and put together a compelling weekend get-a-way including hotel, spa service, dinner, etc. These are often "privileges" people will not purchase for themselves but will greatly appreciate if won for a prize!
Electronic Equipment: Flat screen TVs and stereos are always incentives, especially for guys. Is there local electronic store that may be interested in participating? The additional exposure could be beneficial in an economic environment where retail sales are slow.
Gift Certificates: These are great secondary prizes and could include any local stores, movie theaters or chain restaurants. Movie passes or free pizza may be great considerations for students. And, don't forget online gift certificates that appeal to teens like "iTunes".
Art, Jewelry, Photographs, or other items created by students. This would be a great opportunity for an Fine Arts school group.
Car & House raffles: Some schools have even had successful raffles of a car or home. Tickets for this type of raffle are generally $100 or more, so you will need to have a strong base of committed constituents for this type of raffle. The most important things to consider here are getting good legal counsel and establishing a minimum number of tickets that must be sold in order to cover your raffle items.

How are Prizes Donated?

The best way to get donations is to start is by talking to students, parents and employees at your school. Individuals could possibly have something of value to contribute, or perhaps they are close with someone at an organization you were considering approaching for sponsorship donations. Maybe someone even knows a high-profile celebrity that might be willing to help out.

Raffle Ticket Sales

Raffle ticket price should be high enough to reflect the value of the prize and raise the funds needed, but shouldn't be so high that nobody will buy a ticket! You have to know your audience. Keep in mind that if students are participating, you'll want to have some low price-point items and hope to sell more tickets. Remember, you can charge higher ticket prices (or require more tickets) for the larger prizes.

The next question may be, "Where to sell raffle tickets?" Online sales are a great way to spread the word. Students can set up a link to their pledge page from their Facebook or MySpace page, or email friends, neighbors, parent's co-workers, relatives, etc. In order to reach a broader audience, students may want to consider selling raffle tickets at other activities such as a school carnival, sporting event, or pep rally. Some groups set up booths at local grocery stores, similar to how the Girl Scouts sell cookies.

Raffle Fundraising: Setting Goals

Deciding how much money needs to be raised from the raffle is the first step in creating goals. Then decide if individuals have a minimum quantity to sell. For example, if a sports team is raising money for new equipment, perhaps each team member must sell 10 raffle tickets. Make sure to allow a reasonable amount of time for raffle ticket sales (a minimum of one month). Trying to sell raffle tickets last-minute will make it very difficult to accomplish your goals.

Don't forget to create incentives for students. Establish milestones that reward students, and possibly even a prizes for top-performers. This will motivate your group to achieve more. Lastly, make sure to thank all your volunteers, organizations who donated prizes, ticket sellers and buyers. And be sure to acknowledge your "star performers": those who raised the most funds for your cause.

Managing Donations & Pledges

One of the most important considerations when planning a fundraising raffle is how to successfully manage the money raised through raffle ticket sales and donations. DoJiggy offers a complete registration and pledge management system designed for fundraising events like school raffles, where various students collect donations. With DoJiggy Pledge, each student creates and manages a personalized pledge page and invites friends and family to make a donation through secure, online pledges. An online tool like this makes it easy for students to promote the raffle fundraiser and for the school to track which students or groups (classes, clubs, etc) raise the most money. The added incentive of offering prizes to the top fundraisers will help your school raise more money on your next fundraising raffle. Sign up for a free 14 day trial today of our fundraising software to see how DoJiggy Pledge can help your school.

For more information on school fundraising, visit our school resource center where you can learn about some of our favorite school fundraising ideas, download school fundraising flyers and more!

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