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10 September 2024
Are you looking to raise some money for a good cause this Autumn? Halloween is a celebration that’s growing bigger and bigger year on year in the UK, so a Halloween raffle is the perfect opportunity to get fundraising. Need some Halloween raffle tips to get the ball rolling? Read our Halloween raffle guide below for everything from theme inspiration to tips for choosing the right prizes.
Autumn can be the time for a productivity slump at work, so a little morale boost in the form of some Halloween fun could be a great way to pep up the team to make it through to Christmas, as well as being a great fundraising opportunity. Get the team dressed up for the day (or have to pay a penalty fee if they refuse!), or go all-out with an after-work party. Hold your Halloween raffle at the party, when spirits are high. You can even raffle off less traditional items – think, a morning off work.
Halloween is all spooks, sweeties, and having fun as the nights get longer. There is so much scope for a celebration, whether you are looking to captivate adults or kids! Make your raffle into a bigger event by maximising the ability to raise funds for your cause, by adding on an extra event or occasion. Read on for some inspiration…
Whether at work or school, a promise auction is a great chance to let the local community shine, do a little bit of self-promotion, and raise good money in the process. Get employees, local businesses or parents to showcase their extra-curricular skills and contribute an offering to the promise auction, which can then be auctioned off. They don’t have to be Halloween prize ideas (although a Halloween theme could be fun, too – what about a tour to the London Dungeon, or a Jack the Ripper tour?). Think – the great baker auctions off a homemade, hand-decorated birthday cake. The florist auctions off a bunch of flowers per month, for a year. The teenager offers a night’s babysitting. The keen host offers to cater a meal for up to 10 people. The dogwalker auctions off 10 days of dog walking. The local hotel offers a one-night stay. The chef serves up a cookery lesson. The options are endless…
A Halloween-themed cake stall is a great way to raise funds. Plenty of people are happy to do a quick bake – whether it’s a simple cornflake cake and rocky road or they are ready to unveil their baking prowess – and bakes are a great return on investment. Don’t undercharge – people have bought the ingredients themselves and spent their time baking, so 10p per cake feels like an insult! Think local cafe prices. For the same size offering, half the cost. Remember a variety of options, from real cheap go-tos, up to larger or fancier treats – from tiny mouthfuls for 50p up to full-size cakes for £6 or £10. Sell them at your own party, at your workplace, or even ask your local school to host, in support of your good cause.
Hosting a haunted house is a great fundraising activity and one that works just as well for adults as for kids. Pick that scariness level to fit the audience – keep it fun for kids. Think Egyptian pyramids and some (cheerful!) mummies, witches and wizards, bats, pumpkins and cats, fairytales from the Brothers Grimm like Hansel and Gretel, or mad scientists (no gore, but a friendly Frankenstein and some bubbling test tubes could feature)! Kids love plenty of different scenes – walk them through different rooms (and divide these further, so you don’t have to decorate metre upon metre of wall) and keep it bright and fun. For grown-ups, up the ante with jump scares (getting volunteers to dress up and do their best zombie impression is enough to scare even the hardest!).
Got a local apple tree that scatters its windfalls all over the floor? Or a friend with an apple tree heaving with a plentiful supply? Get bobbing! Keep it hygienic by only adding one apple at a time and refreshing the bobbing water – the winner is the bobber who bobs the most apples. Similarly, as Halloween approaches, plenty of local growers will have their stock rejected by the local supermarkets. Get in touch with them to see if they have any unsellable pumpkins they’d be happy to donate – and get throwing! Charge an entry fee for both Halloween harvest competitions – the furthest pumpkin throw wins a prize. And make sure to get the remnants on the compost heap afterwards to ensure they aren’t wasted.
A great workplace fundraiser is a bidding war, auctioning off the opportunity to dress one unlucky volunteer in whatever the biggest donor chooses! Create a fundraising page and let the bidding war take place – or do it live, in a break-out room one lunchtime. The highest bid chooses the outfit – wear it to a work party or for a whole working day. Hard to take Frankenstein seriously when he’s in a phone conference, or see a witch giving an office presentation! Alternatively, add it as a raffle prize to your main raffle event!
Head outside to the garden, or make use of a large kitchen or local events space. Charge entry which covers the cost of a pumpkin plus contributes to your fundraiser, and let punters come in and carve a creative pumpkin. Make it competitive by awarding a prize for the best-carved pumpkin design – with the judgment carried out either by the whole audience or by an appointed panel.
Sponsorship for a sports event is always a great way to raise funds. Set up a fundraising page and ask friends, family and neighbours to contribute – whatever distance is challenging for you. Whether it’s 5km or a marathon, running in fancy dress is an added challenge, and doing it for a good cause makes it fun. You could even raffle off the opportunity to choose your running costume!
Put the fun into Halloween fundraising by hosting a party around your raffle! Use your home, or enquire with local venues such as pubs, village halls, or commercial spaces – some of these will offer their space for free when you are fundraising for a worthy cause. Choose a theme – ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is fun for adults, whilst ‘Mythical Creatures’ gives kids leeway to lean into the witchy or avoid the spook if they want to – and instigate a fine for anyone who doesn’t dress up!
A few willing volunteers to get a spooky playlist together, bag some Halloween sweeties and pin up some decorations and you’re ready to roll. Raise extra funds alongside your Halloween raffle by including some Halloween-themed games and competitions, and a bite to eat (think ‘zombie-finger’ hot dogs), and you can even charge a ticket entry price.
For an older audience, a ‘Fright Night’ fear fest is a great way to raise funds. Set up a projector and seats and choose a classic scary film – charging for each ticket. Charge more to make a night of it, including a bag of popcorn and a drink, or film-themed snacks, in the ticket cost.
We hope this blog proves a rich source of inspiration when you’re coming up with your seasonal raffle ideas, and has outlined how to organise a successful Halloween raffle. To get personalised printed raffle tickets for your event, browse our Raffle Tickets 4 U range.
