Write a Killer Raffle Prize Donation Letter [w/ Templates]

A raffle prize donation letter is what fundraisers send to businesses and corporations to obtain donated items as prizes for a charity raffle. The letter can be kept on file for donors to claim tax deductions for their donations at the end of the tax year. 

Follow our detailed guide to writing donation letters and look at our raffle prize donation letter templates to get the most out of your next raffle.

What We’ll Cover

• Do Your Research
• Plan Ahead
• Come Up with a List of Desirable Raffle Items
• A Few Raffle Prize Ideas
• Look to Friends for Donations
• Offer Publicity in Exchange for Raffle Prizes
• Get Writing the Raffle Donation Letter
• Always Thank Your Raffle Prize Sponsors
• Charity Raffle Software and Resources

Do Your Research

Before you start writing your raffle prize request letter, research your target company and find the department and name of the person overseeing donation requests. Visit the company’s website or social media page for this vital information. It is a good idea to call the company and appropriate department directly to make an initial, friendly introduction before sending your prize request letter.

Plan Ahead

Most companies can take up to six weeks to organize a donation, and sometimes that long to even reply if they are a large corporation. Christmas is a hectic time to request donations for charity lotteries and sweepstakes, and this timeline can even be longer.  Bear this in mind and send your raffle prize request letter with plenty of time before the raffle to ensure you have the best prizes.

Come Up with a List of Desirable Raffle Items

Planning the raffle items you hope to procure will make your efforts more fruitful. Get together with your fundraising group to brainstorm donation ideas and create a wish list for the project. It helps immensely to have the raffle items you wish to procure written down, even if they initially seem difficult to get. Having everyone on the same page will allow more ideas to flow regarding where to acquire raffle items and allow enough time to procure these items.

A Few Raffle Prize Ideas

Gift baskets are popular charity raffle prizes and a great idea to request from local businesses, as the sponsor can showcase a variety of their products. Many companies prefer to provide gift vouchers or gift certificates as charity donations, as they are easier to send and encourage new customers to visit their premises. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a cash donation, which could go towards the cost of a big raffle prize.

See our list of the best raffle prize donations for more ideas.

Look to Friends for Donations

Always start with your network of supporters when seeking donations. Often you will find that not only will some of your team members know who to contact for the benefit of the raffle, but they are also local business people or work in offices or businesses where they can ask for donations. Be sure to include your Board of Directors in lottery procurement strategies.

Offer Publicity in Exchange for Raffle Prizes

In exchange for sponsorship, let donors know they will be recognized. Publicity can include sponsor logos and giving them a shout-out in promotional materials, including print collateral and online channels like social networking posts and your fundraising website.

This will encourage generous prize donations as you will provide the companies with free publicity. Strategically place a banner or logo with the sponsor’s name on your website so that they receive extra promotion for donating prizes.

Get Writing the Raffle Donation Letter

Once you’ve determined the local businesses or corporations you’d like to sponsor your raffle, it’s time to write donation request letters. We’ve created these raffle prize donation letter templates to get you started. Simply edit them to meet your needs and be specific about what you want.

Remember to be authentic and concise in your writing. It’s important to be polite and friendly, but be careful not to drone on. You want to keep to the point and make your requests as specific as possible.  Here is a simple format to stick to:

• Introduce yourself and your organization. What charity are you raising money for, and how will the funds raised be used?
• What made you think of this business donating an item to the charity raffle? Perhaps compliment them on their company and its products or charity work they have sponsored.
• Suggest a raffle donation prize you would like – a product, service, or gift certificate works.
• Let them know they will be officially recognized on your raffle website for donating a prize(s).
• Thank them in advance and leave an appropriate closing line.

To show your legitimacy, always write your charity prize request letters on headed paper and include your nonprofit or charity registration number (EIN or CRA registration number).

Download Raffle Prize Letter Templates

• Download the raffle prize donation letter template for schools
• Download the raffle prize donation letter template for charities

Always Thank Your Raffle Prize Sponsors

Once you have connected with local companies and they have agreed to donate raffle prizes, don’t forget to thank them for their generosity.

Remember that besides the fact that they will kindly provide items to raffle off, they will also help to optimize your outreach by promoting the event to their employees, customers, and partners. Following up with sponsors after the event is vital. Including facts and figures such as event attendance, money raised for the cause, traffic to your charity website, media coverage, and so on. Include this brief report in the thank you letter.

Download Sample Raffle Thank You Letter Template

Download our sample thank you letter for raffle prize donations.

Remember, if your raffle sponsors are happy with the results, they will likely want to sponsor another fundraising campaign. This is a great opportunity to form strong links to local businesses and maximize your charitable donations and outreach.

Charity Raffle Software and Resources

Our raffle software helps nonprofits and charities plan and manage fundraising raffles from start to finish. Our platform provides powerful tools to help you raise more money with your online fundraising raffle.

• Fundraising thermometer to track online fundraising progress
• Live Stream video option for virtual fundraising events
• Sponsor promotion via sponsor logos and links to website and social media
• Ability to incorporate peer-to-peer fundraising, where fundraisers sell raffle tickets via personal fundraising pages
• The system can automatically draw winners from all entries, or the administrator can draw winners
• Include Social Media sharing options to reward supporters who share links and bring in other donors with more raffle entries
• Text to Give and mobile giving features to make promoting the raffle easy (US raffles only)