January 6, 2022January 7, 2022 by

Raffle Success and Prize Choice

In 2021, the determination of our strong-willed fundraisers saw an abundance of successful raffles hosted by RaffleLink. Raffle success begins with prize choice. To assist your future raffle plans we are sharing our clients’ raffle prize ideas; some popular prizes and others quite unusual.

Popular and Unusual Raffle Prizes

We love when our clients come up with brilliant free prize ideas that maximise their fundraising.

Once again Easter chocolate raffles were extremely popular and successful, especially for schools. Easter chocolate donations from families keep prize expenses down. Even after giving, students are still eager to participate which makes this type of raffle profitable and an easy sell. Most Easter raffles raised between $2000-$4000.

Cash Raffles

Cash prizes have become increasingly popular now that travel is so uncertain. Cash is the most generic prize appealing to the widest audience. Organisers have no initial outlay as the prize money comes from the funds raised.

Save A Horse have been conducting a successful $10K raffle for a number of years. They sell 5000 tickets at $10 over a 6 week duration raising $40,000 after the prize expense. The Good Shepherd Parish Mt Isa sold out raising $21,000 with their $10K raffle.

It is very tempting to offer a large cash prize to entice buyers. We recommend that you start small until you grow a database of regular supporters. As the old saying goes, ‘only invest what you can afford to lose’. A ‘small’ prize is relative to your organisation’s size, but usually is in the vicinity of $500-$2000 initially.

Another alternative in the cash prize realm is a 50/50 style raffle. Organisers offer a minimum guaranteed cash prize and promote the ‘potential’ to win 50% of funds raised. Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off the Streets conducted their first 50/50 raffle back in 2017 raising $9000. Six raffles later and they are raising $33,000 of which they retain half.

Car Raffles

The form of a traditional car raffle is changing. Gone are the days of 100,000 tickets at $2 for sale in a shopping centre. Instead, organisations are opting to sell limited tickets at a higher price. The better odds of winning lures buyers who spend more online using credit card.

Below we have shared some client raffle successes:

Mercy Regional College’s annual car raffle uses a similar formula each year. A vehicle prize valued between $20,000 – $25,000, 5-6000 tickets available for sale and a $10 ticket price. They raised between $36,000 – $42,000.

Clayfield College Parents and Friends Association raffled a Volkswagen T-Cross 85TSI valued at $36,000 with just 600 x $100 tickets. The raffle was almost a sell-out raising $57,800.

Dubbo Show Society opted for 2500 x $55 tickets in their $60,000 Toyota Hilux 4×4 raffle. Almost selling out they raised $122,000.

The main consideration for a successful car raffle is to think about the socioeconomic demographic of your ticket buying audience.

Pitfalls to look out for:

Do not over invest in a vehicle that doesn’t suit your audience
Ensure that your ticket price is perceived to be value for the prize on offer
Be sure not to overprice your tickets for your target audience and create a barrier to enter

NOTE: In order to justify the higher ticket price tickets need to be limited and great odds promoted.

So as our lives continue to dominated by Covid, you are now armed with ideas, insight and inspiration for your next fundraiser. An online raffle is an easy, stress-free avenue to keep your not-for-profit fundraising into the future. With the right prize you are well on your way to raffle success.

Schedule a call back to discuss your raffle plans for 2022.