How to run a raffle fundraiser that actually raises money
By Arhum Waheed · Published · Updated
A raffle looks like the easiest fundraiser there is. Get some prizes, sell some tickets, pull a number out of a bucket. Then the night comes and you're standing at the front with 600 ticket stubs, a gift basket that's missing its gift card, and a parent asking why their four tickets never came up.
Most raffle problems are planning problems. This guide walks through a six-week plan for a school, club or charity raffle, with the numbers worked out so you can see where the money comes from.
One thing before anything else.
Step zero: check whether you need permission
Raffles are a form of lottery, and in many places they're regulated. Depending on where you are, you might need a permit, be limited to registered nonprofits, have a cap on prize value, or have rules about selling tickets online. Some places treat raffles very differently from free prize draws.
I can't tell you the rules where you live, and nothing here is legal advice. Before you print a single ticket, check with your local or state authority, or ask your school district or charity's governing body. They've usually been asked before and have a one-page answer.
Six weeks out: decide what you're raising money for
"Raising money for the school" sells fewer tickets than "Raising $1,500 for new library books." Pick a goal with a number and a purpose. Put both on every poster.
Then work backwards. A raffle's income is ticket sales minus whatever you paid for prizes and printing. If most prizes are donated, almost everything you sell is profit.
Five weeks out: line up prizes
Ask for donations early. Local businesses get a lot of requests in November and December. A short, polite request works better than a long one:
Hi, I'm with the Oak Street Elementary PTA. We're running a raffle on December 4 to raise $1,500 for library books. Would you consider donating a prize? We'll thank every donor on our posters and on the night.
What tends to work as prizes:
- One headline prize people will talk about. A weekend stay, a tablet, a family pass to a local attraction.
- A handful of mid-range prizes, like restaurant vouchers, a haircut, a themed basket.
- Lots of small prizes if you want more winners and happier buyers. Bakery boxes, car washes, books.
Baskets are popular, but someone has to assemble them. Assign one volunteer per basket and a drop-off date, or you'll be building six baskets the night before.
Write the prize list in the order they'll be drawn. A common habit is to draw small prizes first and the headline prize last, so people stay until the end.
Photo: Jonathan Cooper on Pexels (Pexels License).
Four weeks out: price the tickets
Here's a worked example. Your numbers will be different, but the shape of the math is the same.
- Goal: $1,500
- Prizes: all donated, plus a $100 gift card the PTA buys to round out the top prize
- Printing: $40 for double-stub ticket books
- So you need to sell $1,640 in tickets to hit the goal.
At $2 a ticket, that's 820 tickets. At $5 a ticket, it's 328.
Most raffles offer a bundle, like $5 each or 3 for $10, and the bundle changes the math more than people expect. If half your buyers take one ticket and half take the bundle, every two buyers get you four tickets for $15. That's $3.75 a ticket, not $5. At that average you need about 440 tickets to hit $1,640. With 25 families each selling a book of 20, you'd have 500 tickets out there, which leaves a little room for unsold ones.
Don't print far more than you can sell. Unsold tickets don't hurt the draw, but they make it harder to keep track.
Three weeks out: sell, and track every stub
Use double-stub tickets: the buyer keeps one half, and the other half, with their name and phone number, comes back to you. Number each book, write down which volunteer took which book, and ask for unsold tickets back with the money.
Keep one simple spreadsheet: ticket number, buyer name, paid (yes/no). It sounds fussy. On the night, it's the difference between "ticket 214 wins" and "ticket 214 wins, that's the Garcia family, they've gone home, let's call them."
If you sell some tickets online and some on paper, give the online ones their own number range so they never overlap with paper stubs.
The night of the draw
You can draw from a bucket, and plenty of raffles do. But if you've got hundreds of tickets, several prizes, and a crowd that wants to see it's fair, an on-screen draw is quicker and easier to follow.
With the raffle generator:
- Choose Number range and enter the first and last sold ticket (for example 1 to 500). Add a prefix or zero padding if your stubs read A-001. List unsold or void numbers under Leave out. Or paste one sold ticket number per line in List mode, and turn One entry per name off so each number stays in as its own ticket.
- Check the count against your sales sheet before you press anything. Say it out loud: "We sold 452 tickets, and there are 452 in the draw."
- Type the prizes in draw order, smallest to largest if that's your plan.
- Add a few alternates, say three to five. Alternates are drawn after the winners, in order, so if a winner can't be reached, you already know who's next.
- Draw, on a screen the room can see.
Each pick takes one ticket at random from the tickets still in the draw, and every one of those tickets has the same chance. A drawn ticket leaves the draw, so the same ticket can't win twice.
One honest caveat: the generator sees ticket numbers, not households. If the Garcias bought ten tickets, they have ten numbers in the draw, and two of them could come up as winners. The tool will not skip a second Garcia ticket on its own. If your house rule is "one prize per household," write that on the poster and, when a second family ticket is drawn, pass that prize to the next alternate by hand.
Read each number out twice, slowly. Wait for the holder to come forward, or check the spreadsheet if they've left. Write the winner's name next to the prize on paper as you go.
Photo: Pexels (Pexels License).
After the draw
- Contact winners who weren't there within a day or two. Say how long they have to collect.
- Post the winning numbers where buyers will see them: the school newsletter, the club's page, a notice by the front door. Numbers only is fine. Don't publish phone numbers.
- Thank donors publicly. They're far more likely to give again next year.
- Tell everyone what you raised. "You helped us raise $1,555 for library books" is the best advert for next year's raffle.
If you want a smaller, livelier giveaway on the same night, say a lucky spin for kids, the prize wheel works well for that. Just remember every slice has an equal chance, so a big prize and a pencil are equally likely.
Frequently asked questions
How many tickets should I print for a raffle?
Work out how many you can realistically sell from your sellers and events, then print a little more. The worked example above shows how to go from a money goal to a ticket count.
How do I draw raffle winners fairly?
Draw only from sold tickets, check the count against your sales record, and draw where people can see. The raffle generator takes one ticket at a time from those still in the draw, with an equal chance for each, and the drawn ticket leaves the draw.
What if a raffle winner can't be reached?
Draw alternates when you draw the winners, and say on your poster how long winners have to claim. If the winner doesn't respond in time, offer the prize to Alternate 1, then Alternate 2.
Can one person win more than one prize?
That's your call, and it needs to be on the poster. If your rule is one prize per person or household, and a second ticket from the same buyer comes up, pass the prize to the next alternate.
Do I need a license to run a raffle?
In many places, yes, or at least you need to follow specific rules. They vary a lot by country, state and city. Check with your local authority before you sell tickets. ExesTools is a random picker, not legal advice.