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Raffle Tickets 4U

Part 4 – Choosing Your Raffle Prizes

choosing your raffle prizes

In the previous instalment of our guide to running a successful raffle, we offered you a free downloadable raffle planner to help you better organise your time and make sure your event runs as smoothly as possible.

That planner included a section on how to choose your fundraiser raffle prizes. So let’s take a closer look at popular raffle prize ideas, how to get donations for your charity raffle and who to ask for donations.

How to Choose Charity Prizes for Raffles

Your raffle prizes are the core of your raffle event. They’ll determine how many raffle tickets you sell and how much you should charge for raffle tickets.

Relevant and attractive prizes will help convince your supporters to buy more tickets. And they’ll allow you to charge a higher price for each ticket.

A great way to sell more raffle tickets is to charge £1 each and offer a slight discount on multiple purchases. For example, you could offer 3 tickets for £2 and a book of 5 tickets for £3. This is more than achievable if your prizes are high quality and relevant to your audience.

One common piece of advice is to source your raffle prizes as if you were buying a gift for a friend or family member. Think of things that would be useful to your audience, but also something they wouldn’t necessarily buy themselves to make the prize more luxurious.

Fundraiser Raffle Prize Ideas

There are a few go-to prizes that will always be a success at a raffle. These include:

  • Hampers (usually themed around an event or season)
  • Alcohol
  • Sweet treats
  • Cash
  • Vouchers

 

It’s always a good idea to think of services and experiences as well as products. For example, you could offer:

  • Beauty treatments
  • A sky diving experience
  • Cooking lessons
  • An evening’s chauffeur service
  • A B&B vacation

 

One-off or bespoke products and services are always a winner, and they can help you charge a premium price for your raffle tickets. Think about potentially sourcing:

  • Celebrity signed goods (from sports personalities, musicians, presenters, etc.)
  • A bespoke painting by a local artist
  • A behind-the-scenes tour of a film or TV set

 

Of course, there are dozens more raffle prize ideas than we’ve listed here. So think hard and look around online to find the perfect charity raffle prizes and donations for your fundraising event.

How to Get Raffle Donations for Your Charity Fundraiser

To keep costs low, raffle fundraisers rely heavily on donations. But it’s not always easy to ask. That’s why we’ve listed a few top tips and some useful advice to make the process easier.

Who to Ask for Raffle Prize Donations

Start by thinking about who you’re going to contact. In our experience, there are 4 main groups of people you can ask

Existing Supporters

People who already actively support your charity or cause are most likely to willingly donate products or services. These people could include:

  • People who participate in your organisation, community group or club
  • Your volunteers or staff, who you know have a vested interest in your event
  • Businesses who already donate money or regularly attend your events
  • Parents of pupils who bring in unwanted gifts to raffle off at your fundraiser

 

Personal Contacts

Your friends, family, colleagues and business partners might also be willing to support your efforts.

Send out a post on social media to let people know what you’re working towards and how they can help. People tend to know others with businesses or unwanted goods who can help you get charity raffle prizes, too.

Local Businesses

Local, independently run companies tend to have the time to listen and respond to your requests. And they often love to help out with local charities and events. (After all, it’s cheap publicity for them!)

Don’t hesitate to try every business on the high street. That includes:

  • Restaurants
  • Cafés
  • Hairdressers
  • Clothing stores
  • Cinemas
  • Gift shops
  • Arts and crafts outlet
  • Florists
  • Butchers
  • Greengrocers

 

Big Brands

The last place to look is your big brands and chain stores. These prizes are usually the most sort after. But they tend to be the most difficult to source because larger companies don’t have the time to respond to your emails.

However, it costs nothing except a little time. And who knows? You might score big with a prize donation that draws in a huge number of players!

Big brands to ask for charity raffle prize donations include:

  • High street shops
  • Cinemas
  • Pub and restaurant chains
  • Attractions like zoos or aquariums
  • Tech retailers
  • Airlines
  • Cruises
  • Sports clubs

 

How to Ask for Donations for a Charity Raffle

Once you have your list of potential donors, think about how you’re going to approach them.

The key thing here is to know exactly what you’re asking for. It’s always best to:

  • Be straightforward and to the point
  • Be informative about your cause
  • Ask for donations clearly

 

The worst people can ever say when you ask for charity raffle prize donations is “no”. So everyone is worth asking.

Then you must decide whether you should email them, call them or go in to see them face-to-face. You could also stand out by sending a fundraising letter or taking a number of other alternative communication approaches that grab the donor’s attention.

When asking for raffle prizes, it’s often simpler to look for local help. That way, you’re able to approach them face-to-face, especially if it’s someone you already know. This allows you to communicate your message effectively, giving that personal touch that an email wouldn’t have. Just remember to be clear, polite and thankful.

If you have had no responses, don’t hesitate to follow up on your request. If you called them the first time, try sending an email instead. And if you popped in to see them, drop them a quick email to remind them of what you discussed.

After you Ask for Raffle Prize Donations

Donors like to feel included and appreciated when they support your cause. So it’s vitally important that you follow up with a thank you note.

Always show your appreciation for their time and gift. You may even want to include them on your social media channels, newsletter or notice board to thank them publicly for their kind donations.

This could inspire your supporters to donate again and elicit donations from those who didn’t respond.

What’s The Next Step?

So far, we’ve covered how to choose a charity, ideas for fundraisers and how to plan a raffle, as well as how to get charity raffle prizes.

But hosting a raffle isn’t as simple as printing tickets, grabbing prizes and turning up. Sometimes, you need to take steps to ensure your raffle meets certain legal requirements.

Wrapping your head around the rules and regulations for running a raffle can seem intimidating. That’s why our next part clearly and simply lays out everything you need to know to keep your charity fundraising raffle totally compliant.

We hope you’ll join us there!