Raffle Secrets Ebook

Raffle Secrets: Formula For Successful Raffle Ticket Fundraising
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Copyright © 2006 by Chris Brisson. All rights Reserved.
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© 2006 RaffleSecrets.com I www.RaffleSecrets.com 2
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Why Should I Use a Raffle as a Fundraiser? 5
Raffles and Legal Issues 6
Organizing a Raffle Fundraiser 11
Identifying Major Potential Donors 15
Different Types of Raffles 18
Pricing and Ticketing 22
Ticket Pricing: A Three Step Approach 25
Marketing 29
Joint Ventures 38
Prizes 40
Conclusion 44
Introduction
Hello and welcome to Raffle Secrets. This book is written with the intent of
informing and educating nonprofit organizations interested in learning more about
raising money for their organization through the use of raffles. I want to
congratulate you for taking one step closer to successful fundraising.
Once you have learned the formula for successful raffle ticket fundraising, you
will learn that the money generated by raffle ticket sales is only limited by your
determination.
Many people assume raffles are easy. It's just the opposite. There are many laws
and regulations in order to organize and conduct a successful raffle. Most raffles
that fail do so because of misinformation and disorganization. When you
approach a raffle ticket fundraiser in an informed and methodical manner, raffles
can be a dream fundraiser. After reading the information presented in this book,
you will learn all the tips you need in order to organize your own raffle fundraiser.
The idea of designing, organizing, and running a raffle may seem overwhelming
at first, but once you learn the ins and outs of raffles, you will find raffle
fundraising to be an easy and fun way to raise money for your organization.
This book is a tool for fundraisers. Once you read this book, you will find yourself
referring to the tools in this book when preparing a variety of fundraisers. Good
luck and happy fundraising!
Why Should I Use a Raffle as a Fundraiser?
Raffles are simply the quickest, fastest, and most profitable fundraising method
around. Organizations of all sizes can benefit from a raffle fundraiser because
the size of the raffle can be easily controlled by the organizers. The cost
involved in the organization of a raffle is low, and the profit margin is affected by
the number of tickets sold, the cost of the prizes, and the marketing and
administrative costs. The more determined you are, the more profitable your
raffle will be.
Raffles are also an excellent way to draw attention to your organization. More
people will learn about your organization and tell others about the raffle tickets
they purchased in support of your organization. The more the community learns
about your organization, the more likely they will be to contribute funds in support
of your organization in the future. Raffles not only generate money for your
organization, but also help spread community awareness.
Raffles and Legal Issues
The organizers of raffle fundraisers must take care to follow the letter of the law
when running a raffle. Unfortunately, there are no consistent Federal laws
regarding raffles, so it is the sole responsibility of the organizer to research state
and local laws regarding raffle fundraisers. In this chapter, I will focus on the legal
aspects of organizing and conducting a nonprofit raffle.
Drawings vs. Raffles
What is the difference between a drawing and a raffle? This is a commonly
asked question by those unfamiliar with fundraising. While researching this
book, I interviewed several experts in the field.
In my interview with Terrie Temkin from Core Strategies 4 NonProfits, she
offered a concise explanation illustrating the differences between drawings and
raffles. Temkin explains:
"There really isn’t a difference. The concept is that with the raffle, it is pure
gambling. The free drawing – the word free are very important here. It says that
anyone can ask you for a free chance to participate in your drawing and you
must provide it. We tend to think that it’s a charitable organization. People are
really doing something good for the charity. So, of course, they should be
willing to pay for the raffle ticket. The truth is… this state (FL) requires that
people make a drawing ticket available for free if someone asks for that."
Terrie Temkin
www.corestrategies4nonprofits.com
According the Florida state regulations regarding raffles, fundraisers do have to
offer tickets for free when they are requested. However, organizers can make it
difficult for people to acquire free tickets by placing limiting conditions under
which free tickets will be distributed.
Here is the advice Temkin offered when asked about giving away the free raffle
tickets.
"Now of course you can make it more difficult for them by telling them they
have to come to the office at such and such a time. But it must be made
available. Legally they have to be made available."
Terrie Temkin
What is a Drawing?
A drawing is considered the same as a sweepstakes. There must be "no
purchase necessary" to organize such an event. First you need to check with
your state Attorney General’s office to become apprised of the laws and
regulations for setting up a sweepstakes. It's just like a coke bottle's cap where it
says "no purchase necessary"; it must be free. There is no entry fee to
participate.
A raffle is often held in order to raise funds for a specific event, charity, or
occasion. Raffles can only be organized and conducted by a legitimate
nonprofit organization.
Raffles involve many people buying tickets for the chance to win a certain prize
or certain prizes. On a predetermined date, the winners are drawn from a
container holding a copy of every number issued. The purchased ticket is then
checked against a collection of prizes with numbers attached to them.
A raffle also often involves several different possible prizes that can be won, and
a ticket will simply be drawn from the group at random for each of the prizes one
by one. In this manner, you are not playing the raffle to win a specific prize.
Ticket holders are then participating in the raffle drawing with the possibility of
winning any one of the possible prizes, as the prizes do not have any specific
numbers attached to them. In this type of raffle, players accept the possibility of
many outcomes.
Who Can Conduct Raffles?
Raffles are considered a form of gambling. Gambling is carefully monitored by
state and federal regulations. The three basic criteria that satisfy the definition of
gambling are:
(1) A prize is awarded
(2) The winner of the prize is determined purely by chance
(3) Some consideration or payment is required to participate.
The only "legal" organization and people that can organize a raffle are nonprofit
organizations. If a raffle is organized by an individual, and it's called gambling,
which as we know is illegal.
Both large and small charitable organizations can legally benefit by using raffles.
The most important step, regardless of the size of the organization, is to conduct
the proper research. Each state has different laws regarding raffles. Sometimes
even individual counties and cities will have their own regulations. It is in
everyone’s best interest to ensure that your raffle is following the law to the letter.
Which States Allow Raffles?
Since every state, county, and city have different laws and regulations, there is
no set standard or one consistent law for all states. We have created a list of the
states and their Attorney General's office. We recommend that you contact your
state Attorney General for more information about the laws, rules, and
regulations for conducting a nonprofit raffle fundraiser.
Below is a list of links to the state laws that govern raffle ticket events. Please
use this list to begin your research and make sure that your raffle ticket drawing
is in accordance with local raffle laws.
Alabama Alaska
Arizona Arkansas Illegal
California Colorado
Connecticut Delaware
Florida Georgia
Hawaii Illegal Idaho
Illinois Indiana
Iowa Kansas Illegal
Kentucky Louisiana
Maine Maryland
Massachusetts Michigan
Minnesota Mississippi
Missouri Montana
Nebraska Nevada
New Hampshire New Jersey
New Mexico New York
North Carolina North Dakota
Ohio Oklahoma
Oregon Pennsylvania
Rhode Island South Carolina
South Dakota Tennessee
Texas Utah
Vermont Virginia
Kentucky Louisiana
Washington Washington, D.C.
West Virginia Wisconsin
Wyoming
Can I Work Around the Law?
I often get the question:
"My state doesn't allow raffles. Is there a way around this by calling it a drawing?"
Unfortunately, there is not away around this. The states that do not allow any
form of gambling or charitable raffles are Utah, Tennessee, and Hawaii.
I would suggest that you do not try to scoot around this since you are dealing
with the government. You must follow the rules. If you do not, well, I don't need to
go into that, but it's not good, so just follow the laws that your state stipulates for
nonprofit organizations.
Fundraising with raffle tickets is a legal and effective way for most types of
organizations to raise money. However, care must be taken to ensure that the
raffle is conducted in accordance with all applicable raffle laws and regulations.
Raffle ticket drawings are considered a game of chance, similar to lottery tickets
and bingo games. As such, the laws that regulate raffles are administered by
state and county governments in the United States. The laws that govern raffles
also vary greatly from state to state (and county to county in some states),
making it difficult to provide the exact regulations for your area.
Is There a Maximum Amount of Money That Can Be Raised?
As most states have their own raffle rules and laws, some areas have a cap on
how much you can raise in a single raffle fundraiser. It is your responsibility to
research if such a cap exists in your state, county, or town.
I would contact your Attorney General for more details about the maximum
amount of funds that can be raised by a nonprofit organization. It is always best
to take preventative action in order to protect your organization at a later date.

Organizing a Raffle Fundraiser
One of the most important aspects of organizing a fundraiser is to seek the
knowledge of experts. These individuals have expertise which will prove
invaluable to your raffle.
There are some states and counties that do offer free nonprofit advice for local
nonprofits. Again, seek out this free information. You can get some great advice
and assistance on how to setup your raffle fundraiser. It is always best to learn
from other people’s experiences.
To find out more information about these free services, contact your state’s
Attorney General's office for more information.
Hiring a Lawyer
I highly recommend that you seek out legal assistance when setting up your
raffle fundraiser. It is always better to be safe than sorry. You do not want to
jeopardize your organization or your professional reputation by not following the
rules.
Illegal raffles are not taken lightly and you should at least speak with a lawyer
regarding your raffle. Gambling laws are restrictive and the burden of proof,
should you fail to follow the law, falls solely on your shoulders.
To find a lawyer that specializes in this area, you can visit www.lawyers.com or
on www.yellowpages.com. These websites are designed to help people find
local lawyers according to their needs.
Use your connections within your field. I recommend asking other nonprofits
who they use for their legal services. By getting these referrals, you can
sometimes get a discounted rate.
Some people are intimidated when faced with the prospect of interviewing
potential lawyers. This process does not have to be difficult. When choosing a
lawyer, you want to focus on their expertise within the nonprofit industry.
Specifically, you want to ask them about their experience in setting up raffles.
Listen carefully to the experiences described by the lawyers. There may be
valuable information in those stories. Remember that every experience is a
learning experience.

The Raffle Police
Some people envision being swarmed by officials. However, this scenario will
most likely never happen. You see, there are no raffle police that will come to
you and double and triple check your organization. You need to follow the rules
and regulations of your area in order to protect you and your organization. As
the organizer of the raffle, it is your responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety.
Most states simply trust each nonprofit will follow the rules. In other words, most
states take your word for it, but this does not mean to take advantage of their
lack of checks and balances.
Obtaining an Accountant
You will most likely need an accountant to handle the finances of your raffle
fundraiser. If you have an accountant or bookkeeper you should make sure that
they are proficient in nonprofit laws. This interview process should be
approached in the same manner as you interviewed potential lawyers. Focus on
their experience with nonprofits and raffles and learn from their past
experiences.
It is vital to maintain accurate records while running a raffle. Whenever money is
changing hands, it is always best to keep meticulous records. The records should
be current and easy to read. The last thing you want is to pay big fines and fees
for not reporting earnings and donations. Be sure to hire a good accountant and
document everything. This will protect you and your organization.
Registering Your Raffle
It is necessary to register your raffle with your state. The first step in registering
your raffle is contacting your State Attorney Generals Office. While interviewing
Sandra Sims with StepByStepFundraising.com, she revealed that the registration
process can begin simply by using your computer. Often, the information you
need can be found on the State Attorney General’s website. If this information is
not available, you can visit StepByStepFundraising.com, where you can find links
for most states and Canada.
Who Should I Contact Before Conducting a Raffle?
According to Temkin, contacting your State Attorney General is a good start, but
it is not enough. Cities, counties, and municipalities can have different and
conflicting regulations regarding raffles.

It is imperative to contact your local officials. You can simply start by contacting
your local sheriff’s office. They can help direct you to other authorities if
necessary, such as your county’s consumer office. By contacting the appropriate
authorities early, you can save yourself from an unnecessarily unpleasant
situation.
Who Can Purchase Raffle Tickets?
Most states only allow individuals over the age of 18 to purchase raffle tickets
from a registered and legitimate nonprofit organization. Please check with your
State Attorney General’s office for more information.
What Should I Ask the Attorney General’s Office?
There are a number of questions that you must ask the Attorney General’s office
in order to get an accurate understanding of what it takes to get your raffle
fundraiser off the ground and started.
First, you want to speak with someone who can assist you in setting up your
raffle fundraiser.
When you speak with this person, you want to ask these 7 questions:
1. Are raffles legal in my state?
If yes ask question 2.
If no, then you cannot organize a raffle in your state.
2. Can raffles be advertised outside of my state?
3. Can we advertise our raffle on the Internet?
4. What documents do I need to fill out to register my raffle?
5. What is the prize amount limit I can have for my raffle?
6. Can we raffle a (your prize) house, car, boat, tv, etc?
7. Do I need to register within my county or city?

If you required to register with your city or county, you simply want to ask the
same questions to ensure you are following the laws and regulations of their
area.
Some counties may require a registration fee of $10 or, in some cases, more. I
recommend finding out these fees before starting to fully organize your raffle.
You may also have your attorney or lawyer assist you in setting up your raffle,
which I highly recommend, so you do not get yourself or your organization in any
sort of trouble.

Identifying Major Potential Donors
Any fundraising campaign, including those relying on major gifts, begins with a
question every organization, new or old, must ask at the outset: Who cares about
us and why? Make a list.
Next, ask the second most important question: Who on this list cares most about
the purpose of this campaign and why? These questions are paramount when
an organization is conducting a campaign that will rely on major gifts. The answer
to these questions will help direct your fundraising campaign.
Donors, especially major donors, almost invariably fall into one of two groups:
1. Those who are personally touched, inspired, or motivated by the
organization's programs and services
2. Those who, while not personally touched by an organization, are
influenced and impressed by what it does
Individual donors fit easily into either of those categories. However, foundations
and corporations fall almost exclusively into the second group. Exceptions do
exist, however. Sometimes an individual who has been touched by an
organization is a person who has influence over a corporation’s charitable
donations. Under these conditions, the individual uses their connections in order
to garner donations for the organization.
Those who directly benefit from an organization are most often those who have
benefited from its programs and services or whose family members have
benefited. This is because people feel a connection to an organization which has
helped them. Hospitals always put former patients high on their list of potential
donors. Schools and universities have entire departments devoted to alumni
relations. Realizing and capitalizing on these connections can help increase
donations.
A friend of mine, who worked at the Cleveland Orchestra, ran a successful
campaign using connections. She collected the names and addresses of
everyone we could find who purchased tickets or gave donations in prior events.
Even though these folks were paying dearly for their seats, many of them
became significant donors because of their connection to our organization. As a
group, they contributed 40 percent of our campaign goal.
Every organization should have a database of users that could also be
prospective donors. Even if the organization serves a clientele unlikely to be able
to make major gifts, those clients may lead to surprisingly large donations. Again,
connections are the key. A client may not have the money to make a large
contribution, but they may have a relative or friend who could be approached

about a larger donation. People are more willing to help when they can see
firsthand how someone they know has directly benefited from your organization.
At Big Brothers of Greater Cleveland they served more than 500 boys who did
not have fathers at home. The boys' mothers weren't able to donate much, but
we did a little research and discovered that more than ten percent of the women
were employees of a local utility. We sent a funding request to the utility which
pointed this out. Included with this funding request were endorsements from
many of their employees, describing how Big Brothers has impacted their
families. This tactic proved successful. The gift we received was far larger than
the utility's usual contribution.
When you are looking for prospective major donors, you need to research your
existing donor lists relentlessly. To do that, you need to develop profiles of each
individual donor who contributes on a regular basis. Not all contributors to the
annual fund, for instance, are equal in their ability to give. But, you won't know
which donors are capable of giving the most unless you have a system of
profiling your donors.
Also, a person contributing $50 to the annual fund may be in a position to
influence larger gifts. He or she may actually work at a foundation or corporation
and have an influence in that corporation’s decisions. They may also know
individuals who are capable of making larger private donations.
For the most part, a major gifts campaign needs to concentrate on individuals.
Most successful fundraising campaigns receive 70 to 80 percent of their money
from individuals. Unlike corporations and foundations, individuals are able to
make a decision on the spot and direct their money to as many or as few
recipients as they want. Individuals are the most flexible and spontaneous givers,
and this is especially true when it comes to large gifts.
The larger the request made to a corporation or foundation for funds, the more
involved and drawn out the solicitation and decisionmaking process is likely to
be. A solicitation presentation is made to a corporate contributions manager or
foundation program officer. This person then chooses whether or not to pursue
the case. The nonprofit then has to rely on that person to present the case to
one or more committees.
This makes the solicitation process with corporations and foundations more
remote and less personal. A lot can be lost in the translation as you deal with
stewards of other's money. All of these conditions make it harder to base an
appeal on key emotive factors, such as compassion and empathy, which
resonate well with individual donors. Individuals also derive personal pleasure
and reward from the giving experience. This feeling cannot be replicated or
replaced.

Major gifts campaigns do not succeed without an identified base of prospective
donors capable of making large gifts. A nonprofit organization contemplating
such a campaign needs to have an established relationship with nearly all of
those prospects. It also needs to be committed to raising the majority of the
money from individuals not corporations or foundations. It is under these
circumstances that you will run a successful raffle fundraiser.

Different Types of Raffles
This book will examine two forms of promoting your nonprofit raffle: Internet
raffles and mail raffles. Both are common types of raffles, each with their own
pros and cons. It is up to you, the raffle organizer, to determine which type of
raffle will work best for your organization.
Internet Raffles
In the past decade, the Internet has gained quickly popularity and is now in
nearly every household in America. Nonprofits are now starting to realize the
capabilities of selling raffle tickets online.
Selling raffle tickets online is a grey area in the nonprofit community. Organizing
an online raffle is challenging because each state has its own rules and laws
nonprofit organizations must follow. There are no set laws that are consistent
throughout the country. Some states allow online raffles while other states do
not. It's simply a matter of calling your State Attorney General’s office to find out if
you are allowed to conduct your charity raffle online and learn the laws your raffle
must follow.
WireWager Act of 1961
Congress enacted the Wire Wager Act in 1961 as a part of a series of
antiracketeering laws. The Wire Wager Act was designed to help U.S. states
enforce gambling laws and stop the spread of organized illegal gambling. The
section of the WireWager Act pertaining to raffles is as follows:
“[58] Subsection (a) of the Wire Act, a criminal provision, provides:
Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly
uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign
commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets
or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire
communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a
result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or
wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years,
or both.[59]”
Raffles are considered to be a game of chance, even though purchasing a
raffle ticket is not the same as placing a bet on a football game. Therefore,

raffles are treated by the law as form of gambling. Although the Wire Act
precludes the rise of the Internet, the language of the law implies that selling
raffle tickets online would violate the law.
The Internet Gambling Act of 1999 prohibited all Internet gambling. This
act is also controversial and unclear when it comes to raffles. The best advice
regarding the online sale of raffle tickets is for each organization to consult a
lawyer in order to make an informed decision.
Below is a collection of quotations from my interview with Terrie Temkin
regarding the WireWager Act of 1961 and the Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999,
discussing the implications these laws have on raffle fundraisers today.
"So for instance they have used the WireWager Act of 1961 to crack down
on those who are involved in online gaming and it is interesting because
while sometime raffle purchases for charities have been given a pass,
partially because the lawyers and the legislature has argued that:
‘Gee, the WireWager Act wasn’t number one designed to catch the
casual better or to interfere in placing wagers in states where betting
is legal.'
But the Justice Department, at least during the Clinton administration, along
with several Attorneys Generals, said that:
'Wait, you’ve got to interpret the WireWager Act
broadly and this covers all forms of gambling, and
therefore it covers nonprofit raffles as well.'
Well, right now the Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 was then enacted to
specifically say,
‘Okay, if the WagerWire Act didn’t do it, then the
Gambling Prohibition Act is going to.’
And this includes all games of chance, which would be raffles. The thing is
this one is currently on appeal and it is actually expected to come up very
shortly. It hasn’t come up yet, but my guess is it will be a very interesting
debate."
Terrie Temkin

More information regarding the WireWager Act can be found at :
http://www.gamblinglawus.com/FederalLaws/wireact.htm
Mailing Raffle Tickets
This seems to be a hot area as well for nonprofit organizations as there is
debate if nonprofits can legally send raffle tickets through the mail. Your lawyer
can help you make an informed decision about mailing raffle tickets.
Again, I turn to Terrie Temkin for advice and information on mailing raffle tickets:
"Because what happens is that the Post Office has mailing regulations that are
published and the thing is that they are not super clear. So what happens is
while the Domestic Mailman, this is what these mailing regulations are called,
does say that nonprofit organizations are qualified as taxexempt under the
Section of 501 in the Internal Revenue Code may send lottery materials
through the mail if the lottery is not itself prohibited by the states involved. But
what it does not specifically talk about are the lottery tickets.
So while we think if the lottery is not illegal in my state, and it is saying that a
registered 501 organization is fine, but if the lottery tickets are not specifically
spoken about then what has been happening is different postmasters have
been interpreting this differently because it does refer to materials such as
advertisements and prize lists, and so on and so forth."
Terrie Temkin
My recommendation is to call your State Attorney General's office and follow your
state laws and rules. I then recommend discussing your findings with legal
council. Your attorney can help you make an informed decision about mailing
raffle tickets.
Mailing Certificates Rather Than Tickets
What I've seen many organizations do is rather than sending raffle tickets, they
send certificates, or certificates of purchase.

Sending certificates, I believe, bypasses the laws for sending raffle tickets
through the mail. This is what I have observed on the famous Naperville Charity
Raffles which can be found at:
http://www.houseofdreamscharityraffle.org
The first step you should take is to contact your local post office and ask about
the mailing requirements for sending your raffle tickets. These decisions are
made by local postmasters. All you have to do is ask if you can send tickets or
certificates through the mail. This simple step will save you countless
headaches.
Terrie Temkin offers this advice regarding raffles and the postal system:
"I would always suggest to somebody who is going to send something
through the mail that they contact their local post office and ask the mailing
requirements department to give you an individual ruling to say whether or
not you can send this through the mail. Because you really don’t want to get
in trouble with the government, you know, that is not a good thing. So that is
one issue.
The other thing is the large prizes that I think is important. In Florida, if you
offer $5000 or more in either cash or prizes, number one you have to file
with the Department of State. You also have to post a bond or have a trust
account that says, ‘Hey, our organization has sufficient funds to cover what
we say we are giving away.’ If it is the Mercedes you mentioned or the
house you mentioned, we have to post a bond as an organization saying
that we can cover it.
Now there are also some other things that have to be done that a lot of
organizations don’t realize, and that is, for instance, that you need to take
the winner of anything where a prize is even $600 or more; you’ve got to
notify the IRS, meaning you have to send them a 1099 miscellaneous form
under prizes and awards saying this person won this amount of money.
Because, unfortunately the government doesn’t trust that the winner is going
to do this, so we have to be sure we do. "

Pricing and Ticketing
So, how many tickets should you sell?
This question can be answered in many ways.
First, how much money do you wish to raise?
Let's say that you wish to raise $25,000 for your organization. An easy way to
determine how many tickets you wish to sell is markup the cost by 50%.
So if you are raffling off a $25,000 car, you would have to sell $50,000 worth of
tickets in order to meet you goal and pay for the purchase of the vehicle.
If you were selling your raffle tickets for $100 a piece, then you would need to sell
500 tickets to make the $25,000 less your expenses.
If you have your car or item donated, then this is virtually 100% profit. In this
situation, you can raffle off your item at any reasonable price without worry of
large cost overheads.
In this section, I will take a closer look at all the factors that need to be
considered when determining a ticket price.
Hidden Costs
There are many factors to consider when making decisions on pricing. Before
you design and purchase raffle tickets, you must determine the price you will
charge per raffle ticket. In order to determine pricing, you will need to figure out
how much you wish to raise and how many tickets that you want to sell. Once
you have estimated these two factors, you can set your ticket price accordingly.
Many organizations think, "Hey let's sell 5,000 tickets at $5 apiece. We could
raise $25,000!" Well, that may have some merit, but you want to take into
consideration the costs of printing, mailing, fulfilling, and other expenses
associated with the tickets costs. These expenses must be considered when
determining ticket prices. Once these expenses are added up, you may be
surprised by the results.
For example, it may cost you two dollars per ticket when all expenses are
considered. Therefore, you would only be able to raise $15,000. If your
organizations goal is to raise $25,000 for a particular expense, then your raffle
would fail before it even begins.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to mail out 5,000 raffle tickets to only
profit $3 after all the costs are taken out.
I would rather sell fewer tickets at a higher ticket price. In order to sweeten the
deal and attract donors, I would add more value and bonuses to the prizes. By
doing this, you will have less work to do and more time to allocate to other tasks.
You can use this valuable time to work on marketing your raffle and promoting
your organization.
You can use TicketPrinting.com's calculator to determine your price point and
your potential profit for your raffle fundraiser.
Use the Raffle Ticket Calculator
How Do You Determine a Price Point?
To determine the price you will charge per ticket, you first need to determine
what your main raffle prize will be. This prize has a direct impact on the ticket
price you will be able to charge. Most people are willing to pay at least $50$100
per ticket for a car, vacation, boat, or house because they are luxury items.
People know the approximate value of these prizes and feel that the ticket price
is a bargain.
If the main prize is a smaller valued prize, I suggest you sell your raffle tickets at
a price that is close to what a person will pay for the item. People will still feel that
they are getting a bargain and will be willing to purchase a raffle ticket. For
example, I wouldn't pay $100 for a 2 night hotel stay. Most people feel the same
way and would not purchase the ticket for that price. A more reasonable ticket
price for this prize would be around $10. People would still feel they are getting a
deal and would be willing to purchase the tickets at that price.
So ask yourself this simple question:
"How much would you be willing to pay for the prizes for your raffle?"
If it's a cheap car like a KIA, most people would not take the chance to pay $100
when they have a 1 in 1000 chance. For a small item, you want to make the odds
understandable so that people will see that there is a possibility that they could
possibly win the prize. This encourages people to buy more tickets.
For a smaller prize, I would make the odds a 1 in 500 chance, but this depends
on the amount of funds to be raised and the costs involved.

If you are raffling a popular luxury vehicle such as a Hummer H2, you can easily
get $100 per ticket for a 1 in 1000 chance. You can even drop the odds more,
which will produce more ticket sales. The more desirable and expensive the item,
the more control you will have over the odds and ticket sales.

Ticket Pricing: A Three Step Approach
There are many factors that go into determining the price of each raffle ticket.
You want to figure out what the marketplace is willing to pay, the amount you
wish to raise, the type of prize, and how many tickets you wish to sell. All of these
factors will influence the maximum price you will be able to set for each raffle
ticket.
This section is a step by step approach synthesizing the information previously
presented. You can use this section as a quick and easy reference when you
are making a decision on a ticket price.
Step 1: Determine what your local area is willing to pay.
First, you want to determine the price people in your city or town are willing to
pay per ticket. If you are able to advertise your raffle on the Internet, then you will
have some leeway to sell your tickets at a higher price since the reach is far
greater.
What I mean by this is if your city does not have a moderate disposable income,
then you will want to charge less for your raffle tickets. Here is a great example
from a wonderful woman I spoke to about her raffle.
A woman called me one day inquiring about how she can get more exposure for
her raffle. After talking with her, I learned her Latin Community Church needed to
raise funds so they can build a new driveway. They had a 1979 Harley Davidson
donated to them by a friend and member of the church. If I might add, it was
beautiful and a prize most people would fall over themselves to win!
After six months of trying to sell tickets, they had only sold between thirty or fifty
tickets at $50 apiece. As it turns out, no one in their town could afford to dish out
$50 for a chance. Their church was located in an agricultural area in the Midwest
and no one could afford to spend $50 on a raffle ticket, no matter how desirable
the prize.
The reason that their raffle wasn't selling well was simply because her town and
market could not afford to pay that much money. So, if you live in a market where
a $100 raffle purchase is not a problem, by all means take that into
consideration. On the other hand, if your market cannot afford a high ticket price,
lower your price to an amount that people are willing to pay. If your raffle is not
accessible to your market, then your raffle will not be a success.

Step 2: How much do you want to raise?
Have a clear and realistic goal in mind when determining how much money your
organization will attempt to raise.
Are you looking to raise $1,000, $5,000, or $50,000?
If your total cost for the raffle is $30,000 including prizes, marketing, and other
expenses, do you want to raise $5,000 above the total cost, resulting in total
sales of $35,000? This is important because at this point, you can either lower
the ticket price or lower the amount of tickets sold.
For example, let's say you wanted to raise $20,000 and you spent $20,000 on
raffle prizes. Your total sales must equal $40,000 in order to raise that $20,000.
Here are some calculations in order to illustrate this point:
Total Sales Needed: $40,000
Raffle Costs: $20,000
Ticket Price: $100
Amount of Tickets: 40,000/$100 = 400 tickets
Your odds are 1 in 400
Ticket Price: $50
Ticket Price: $25
These are three scenarios that you can apply to your raffle fundraiser. There are
many reasons for each possible decision. It is up to you as the organizer to
determine the optimum pricing for your raffle tickets.
Step 3: What are the Prizes?
This is probably the most important factor when trying to determine your raffle
ticket price. Are you raffling off a brand new car or a TV? Is the car a Mercedes
or a Kia?
You see, the people will place a value on whether or not your ticket price is too
high or if it's even worth it at all. From previous experience and talking with other
nonprofits, most people are not willing to pay $100 for a 1 in 500 chance to win a

brand new Kia. There's no great value in a Kia, but most are willing to pay $20 or
$25 for the chance to win a new car.
On the other hand, people line up for a chance to win a Porsche for $100. Again,
people place value on valuable items. You need to find out the market price
match point. It's quite simple go back to Step 1 and see if people can afford the
raffle ticket or not.
Again, people will readily spend more money on a raffle ticket when they believe
the prize to be desirable and valuable.
Mailing Your Tickets
Earlier in this book, I advised you to thoroughly research the legality of mailing
raffle tickets in your area. This next section is to be read when it is determined
that mailing tickets is a legal practice in your area.
The best way to mail tickets is to put them in envelopes with the following inserts:
· A sincere thank you letter signed from the President or a representative on
your organization's letterhead.
· The raffle ticket or certificate
· An insert for a special "buy one get one free" or another special to solicit
more ticket sales.
· Use a referral or "tellafriend" letter. See the marketing section for more
information)
This one time will make it irresistible for the client to not buy another ticket. After
all, they are getting a special deal as an incentive. In order to benefit from this
one time opportunity, they will have to contact your organization. These
parameters are controlled by you, and can include calling your organization,
mailing a check, or visiting your website to order this one time offer.
For example, if your tickets are $100 each, you can offer a two for one deal in
this letter. However, this special deal is only valid if they take advantage of it
before a certain date which has been predetermined by your organization.
By doing this, you will create a sense of urgency in the client which will compel
them to buy more tickets. You will establish the idea that your raffle tickets are a
hot and limited commodity, and they only have a certain window in which they
can obtain more tickets.

Where Can I Get My Tickets Printed?
There are many resources and websites to get your raffle tickets printed. In fact,
you can print raffle tickets right from your own computer. I don't recommend this
simply for image and creditability reasons, but this service is available.
There are many raffle ticket printers that can print your tickets, but who has the
best service, pricing, quality, and turn around time? After conducting much
research, we have categorized the top printers for your tickets. They are the
following:
1. TicketPrinting.com – They offer a great quality card that can be easily

customized directly from their website or uploaded into their system. You
can also choose from a wide range of predesigned raffle tickets.
2. PrintBox.com – A very reliable and quality printing job with inexpensive
options. Their TMPro software enables you to print your raffle tickets right
from your computer. You do need to order the ticket blanks to use this
software correctly.
3. RafflePrinter.com – They offer a FREE ticket printing software to create,

design, and print your very own raffle tickets.
I recommend that you get your raffle tickets designed with a professional look
and feel to reinforce the creditability of your organization. Clients will be reluctant
and even unwilling to purchase tickets for a raffle if the ticket looks
unprofessional. This will reflect poorly on your organization and will impact both
raffle sales and future donations.
In my opinion, it is worth the extra time and money to purchase professional
quality tickets. You are representing a professional organization and must
present a professional image to the public. Your reputation and the reputation of
your organization are on the line.

Marketing
Marketing your raffle is an essential component of a successful fundraiser.
People need to know about the needs of your organization and be aware of how
they can participate in the raffle. If people do not know about the raffle, they will
not be able to purchase tickets, and the raffle will fail. Therefore, every effort you
spend on marketing is worthwhile.
There are many options to consider when making decisions on marketing. This
section will highlight several tried and true marketing techniques which have
proven successful.
Direct Mail
Using direct mail can be a very effective way to promote and market your raffle to
people within your community. Direct mailing can also be used to contact news
outlets in order to promote your fundraiser. The more community awareness of
your raffle, the more money will be raised.
Envelope Piece
When promoting your raffle fundraiser, you can send out envelopes to your
current subscribers and others within your community containing a newsletter.
This newsletter should highlight current programs and success stories to foster
good will for your organization. People will want to give their hard earned money
to organization with a proven track record.
When creating your letter for your direct mail campaign, you simply want to offer
them the prize, the price, the deadline for purchasing tickets, the raffle draw date,
and how they can order tickets. If any of this information is missing, people may
not want to contribute to your fundraiser. Clients do not want to hunt down
information about your organization. It is your responsibility as a fundraiser to
provide clients with all the information they will need in order to participate in your
raffle.
I find that direct mail can be too expensive, especially if you have a large client
list. I use postcards as a cheaper and more effective method to promoting a
raffle.

Postcards
Postcards are the most inexpensive, effective, and targeted marketing strategy
available to you today. People get mail every day. If you look at your mail, most
of it is junk envelope mail printed in black and white. Our eyes are trained to
automatically reject this mail as junk. Some people will recommend printing these
mailings in color in order to capture consumer attention. However, this tactic is
not proven to be successful. You will be lucky to capture the consumer’s
attention for a mere three seconds before the mailing is discarded as junk.
Here's the typical rhythm of a successful postcard solicitation, including the time
a prospect will spend on each phase:
Phase 1: Prospect glances at postcard's billboard side (3 seconds).
Phase 2: Prospect then turns over to read return address (5 seconds).
Phase 3: Prospect reads headline (7 seconds).
Phase 4: Prospect reads body copy (60 seconds).
Phase 5: Prospect takes action if message is interesting (15 seconds).
Postcards are the least costly direct mail tool that can capture a prospect's
imagination with fullcolor images. People love marketing techniques that use
color pictures. When you use color pictures in postcards, you give your prospects
permission to conjure up an actual image of what you're offering them. When
people can create their own pictures, they are more likely to contribute to your
organization. This is priceless and cannot be replicated by any other means.
When you craft your postcard design, don't forget the most primal tenet of human
communication: people think in pictures, not words.
Postcard Mailings
You can send postcards to your list of donators or to people in your town. There
are other ways to obtain a mailing list for your area. You can purchase lists from
many resources, including SalesGenie.com. Another simple way to acquire a
mailing list entails going to whitepages.com and searching for people on by
street, town, etc.

How Much Does a Postcard Mailing Cost?
Well, with some pretty simple math and the resources I'll recommend to you, you
can create a highly cost effective campaign for a very inexpensive price.
You can purchase you postcards from a company called Overnightprints.com.
They have the cheapest and best quality postcards I have seen on the Internet.
You can get 1,000 postcards for $65! This is extremely cheap. Most companies
charge from $120 to $200 for 1,000 postcards.
I recommend going to your local post office and purchasing a "roll" of 100
postcard 24 cent stamps for $24. As you can see, the postcards are quite cheap
to mail. You can always use a direct mail house to mail your postcards for a fee.
Look in your local yellow pages for some direct mail companies to print, label,
stamp, and send the mailings for your campaign.
A mail house company I recommend is PostCardMania.com They can do
everything for your campaign. They are quite expensive, but offer a great service.
In my opinion, the quality they provide is well worth the expense.
Money Mailer or Valpak
The Money Mailer and Valpak seem to be in every town these days. Both of
these services provide companies a cheap solution for direct mail by including
over 75 advertisements in a mail piece. Basically, they compile a coupon mailer
filled with coupons from local and national companies.
With Money Mailer, you can buy different sections of a territory with a minimum
of 10,000 houses your ad will be sent to. We paid $295 for our 10,000 house
blast. The best aspect of Money Mailer is that you can always negotiate a price.
You can also choose different territories that fit your market, which is nice too
because you can then tailor your marketing to your intended audience.
Do they work? Absolutely! For the price and the reach they definitely work.
Everyone that receives your ad is a prospect. Typically, a 1% response rate is
good. For this type of marketing, I would expect around a 1%3% response rate
from your mailing.
The “Tell a Friend” Letter
The “tell a friend” letter is a great technique that utilizes your small list of
volunteers and your list of members to your advantage. This technique requires

only a small amount of work on your part, but has the opportunity to make your
organization a large sum of money.
Let's say you have 500 members in your organization and you wish to sell your
tickets exclusively to those members. When you send your thank you letter,
simply include another letter asking them for referrals. However, you will offer
the member an incentive which will entice them to help your organization.
This referral letter is simple to prepare. All you have to do is persuade the client
to refer ten friends or family members to your organization. Chances are they
have already spoken to some of them about the fabulous raffle they have
entered. Your letter will explain to the client that if one of their referrals purchases
a raffle ticket, they will be entered into a special referral raffle.
This is most commonly a cash prize. People will jump at the opportunity to help
your organization and the possibility of winning another prize. This is a raffle
inside your raffle.
So, if John refers ten people and two of those people buy tickets, then John will
be entered two times into the referral raffle. Now he has a chance to win the main
prize, in addition to two opportunities to win the referral raffle.
This is a great way to build a larger mailing list for future fundraisers. Also, this is
a simple and effective way to spread the raffle on a budget.
Pay Per Click Search Engine Advertising
You can also use Internet resources in order to promote your raffle. By using the
Internet, you can promote your raffle to thousands of possible clients for a small
fee. You will get a large response for very little money or effort.
The term pay per click refers to the way you pay for the ads. You must first
create an account in which you will deposit a sum of money determined by your
budget. Every time someone clicks on your link, a certain amount is deducted
from your account.
The most popular PPC program is Google Adwords, although all pay per click
programs work the same.
When you create an account with Adwords, they require you to submit a list of
keywords and product descriptions. This will help the program determine the
optimum situations for displaying your advertisement. For example, if you were
offering a Mustang raffle for your church, a list of keywords might be:

Ford mustang, mustang raffle, raffle, raffle ticket, church fundraiser, mustang
fundraiser, etc.
Come up with as many keywords and search terms as possible so you can
increase the chances of getting visitors. You should consider common
misspellings of your most important keywords such as: raffle, raffle ticket, etc.
NOTE: You can use Yahoo's free keyword tool to generate even more related
search terms for your topic. Click Here
I will show you how to setup a Google Adwords account in the videos section of
the course.
Adwords ads appear on the righthand side of Google's search result pages in
shaded boxes. The ads consist of four lines: the first line is your ad's title, the last
is your site's URL, and the two middle lines are descriptive text which has been
prepared by you.
However, you are limited by the size of your ad. The title can only be 25
characters long, and the descriptive text can only be 35 characters long.
Therefore, it is imperative to take the time needed to create the most effective ad
given the length restrictions.
Adwords operates on a pay per click basis. This means you pay nothing for your
ads unless someone clicks on them. When you sign up with Adwords, you assign
a monetary limit on your campaign.
For example, you can set your daily limit for your campaign for be $5. I don't
recommend this because Google will most likely not put your ads on their site if
your budget is too small. Sometimes they get greedy and only feature ads with
larger budgets.
In addition, you will set a maximum cost per click (CPC) value for your key
words. This will help you maintain your predetermined budget and manage your
account.
Yahoo! also offers a popular PPC program called Yahoo! Search Marketing. This
program was formerly named Overture. The major difference between the Yahoo
and the Google programs is that Yahoo requires a monthly minimum expense of
$50.
Both programs are highly effective when managed properly. It never hurts to give
both a try. After all, the more people who see you ad, the more ticket you will
sell.

To learn about how to use Google Adwords the right way, I suggest you check
out my friend Perry Marshall's five day course called The Definitive Guide to
Google Adwords.
Ezine Advertising
An ezine is an online magazine. Most ezines have large lists of subscribers to
their publication. There are ezines for every sort of niche you can imagine.
Sandra Sims has an ezine for her StepByStepFundraising.com website. There
are ezines for every type of car. Ezines are becoming very popular and you can
use this to your advantage. For example, if you are raffling off a Mustang, you
can place an ad in an ezine about your raffle. People who are interested in
Mustangs will see your ad and then be motivated to purchasing a ticket in the
hopes of winning the car.
Advertising in ezines will give you the best results in the shortest amount of time.
Look for ezines geared toward your main prize. If the first prize in your raffle is a
Harley Davidson motorcycle, find an ezine for motorcycle enthusiasts. If you are
raffling a dirt bike, find a dirt bike ezine.
Check out these newsletter and ezine directories to get started:
DirectoryofEzines.com – Over 3,000+ ezines and newsletter searchable by topic
and keyword.
Top Ezine Ads – Another great listing of ezines.
Jogena.com – This directory features hundreds of ezines and their list is updated
frequently.
EzineSearch.com – A directory of over 10,000+ezines and growing.
ListCity.com – Thousands of ezines, searchable by keyword.
There are three main types of ezine ads. I go into which ad's work and which do
not. First we'll start with the classified ad.
Classified Ads:
This type of ad in an ezine will give you the lowest response, but is a good way to
test the waters and see if the ezine is good for you to advertise in for the future. I

don't recommend paying for classified ads because they will be mixed in with
other ads of the same kind.
When composing classified ads, remember that you have limited space to get
your message across. Many newsletters make their profits from placing classified
ads. If you can find one relating to your topic with a large subscriber base, it may
be worth buying an ad. If the same subscribers see your ad for three weeks in a
row, more of them will visit your site.
Sponsor Ads:
There are three types of sponsor ads, but only two that are worth paying for. Top
and middle sponsor ads usually pull the best, while I consider other sponsor ads
to be a waste of money. I have never had much success with them.
Solo Ads:
This is the best and most expensive ezine advertisement you can get. It's called
a solo ad because it's just that, your ad is by itself. The subscribers will only see
your advertisement, not any others. If you cannot find it on the publisher’s
website, email them about doing a solo ad. Most publishers are amenable to this
request.
Again, you need to make an informed decision. There are a few things you need
to look at before you place an order for a solo ad:
First, you should find out how many solo ads the publisher sends out per week. If
they only send one out every day, that is not adequate. You probably will not get
any results from your efforts.
Next, you need to know if you can write a subject line, or if the publisher allows a
subject line to be used in solo ads. You always want to write your own subject
line. If the publisher does not allow this, then I would suggest finding another
publisher. Remember, this is your ad and you are paying them to provide you
with a service. If you do not agree with all the terms of service, you should find
another provider who meets your needs.
Finally, before you place your ad with an ezine, you should subscribe to their
ezine so you can get a feel for their style. You will want to pay particular attention
to how the solo ads are sent out, where the ads are arranged, and how many ads
are there in each issue. You also want to read the ezine to make sure your ad is
sent out!

MiniBillboards Method
This method is a cheap and extremely effective advertising technique. This
secret will cause your raffle ticket sales to explode within your community. If you
utilize this technique alone, you do not need to worry about running around
selling tickets. Your raffle tickets will sell themselves
The main objective when organizing a raffle fundraiser is to motivate people to
come to you to buy tickets rather than you hitting the streets to sell tickets.
Are you ready for the secret yet?
All you need in order to start the ball rolling is a large quantity of business cards.
Did you know that you can buy 5,000 high gloss, full color business sized cards
for only $100?
Well, it's true.
Here's what you do:
You want to approach every local business and ask if you can leave cards
advertising your raffle fundraiser at their business in high traffic areas. Go to your
local restaurants, subshops, gas stations, and everywhere people are known to
conduct everyday business!
You can drop these off everywhere. They cost literally nothing!
We tested this in our area and the results were the following:
Out of 25 local businesses we went visited, 24 said yes. Twelve of these
businesses even bought tickets from us on the spot!
The results were amazing!
The nonprofit sold out their 1000 raffle tickets within 42 days from the initial
launch of this campaign.
The business people who purchased tickets could then talk to people about our
raffle and sell tickets for us. You could not find better advertising than happy
customers!

Where Can I Get Cards Designed?
There are several sites online where you can purchase cards. You can get your
cards at www.axisclubflyers.com or www.overnightprints.com. They sell the
cards in quantities of 1000, 5000, 10,000 and up.
You can also hire a local designer to design the business cards for you for
around $100$300.
Are you ready for an even better alternative?
You can simply ask them to help you out for free and give them a complimentary

ticket for the raffle. It costs them nothing to design the card. Their only expense is
a little time. This approach works wonders…
BARTER your raffle tickets!
Another great resource is using Elance.com or Guru.com. These are websites
where you can post your bid for a card design to thousands of designers from
across the world. Designers then place a bid reflecting how much they will
charge you in order to complete your design.
The great thing about Elance.com is that you have access to countless portfolios
and customer reviews instead of just the few providers in your community.
Reputable providers on Elance will have their own portfolios, containing samples
of their previous work. This allows you to evaluate the quality of each bidder’s
work before deciding on which provider will complete your design.
Elance.com also allows you to invite providers to bid on your project. You can

create an “Invite Only” project, allowing only providers selected by you to bid in
order to control the quality of bids.
If you are not satisfied with the quality of bids your project receives, you are not
required to choose any bidder. Remember that you are the customer and must
be satisfied in every way.

Joint Ventures
If you want to sell out your raffle faster than ever before, this one method will
enable you to do this.
Joint ventures are the single most powerful marketing tool you can ever use.
They can used to take advantage of the power of other websites or businesses to
get your raffle across quickly and extremely cheaply. Most of the time, you can
advertise your raffle for free in a joint venture.
A joint venture is when two or more people team up to create a marketing
strategy where all parties involved benefit. The terms are negotiated and agreed
upon by each party. These terms could be anything. The possibilities are limited
only by the imaginations and resources of each party.
For example, you have a Mustang GT raffle and want to get the word out. Well,
not everyone wants to buy a ticket for a sports car, so wouldn't it make sense to
go target Mustang fans and enthusiasts?
Duh! Yes, of course!
By going creating and marketing your raffle to appeal to these types of
individuals, you will have a better chance of selling tickets than by using the
shotgun approach of trying to find anyone to buy tickets.
How Do You Find People Interested in Joint Ventures?
Don't overcomplicate the process. You can find parties interested in joint
ventures by looking through the Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines to find
websites specific to your prize.
You want to find websites that have a large number of members. Remember
when conducting your search that the websites that are at the top of the search
engine’s list get the most traffic. If you search Mustang forums, this will bring up
thousands and thousands of websites. More traffic equals more visitors, which in
turn equals more potential ticket sales.
Contacting Potential Joint Venture Partners
First contact is very important. Your first email or phone call has to make total
sense and be professional. It cannot appear that you don't know what you're

talking about. You don't want the email to sound like a third grader has written it,
so I always recommend asking others for constructive feedback before
approaching potential partners..
In your first email or phone call, you simply want to mention to them that you
have a raffle coming for a (name your prize) and this may interest their
subscribers. Then ask them the following question:
Can you help us out by sending out an email to your list of subscribers letting
them know about our raffle for our nonprofit?
It's that simple; they either say yes or they say no. There are thousands of
website owners that you can contact with the capability of sending a quick email
to their list informing them about your raffle.
You want to CALL Them!
After your initial contact, follow up with an email thanking them for their time. In
this email, you will want to provide them with more information about your raffle
and the organization you are representing.
OR
You could also send an email informing them that you left them a message on
their voice mail in regards to your raffle fundraiser. You will also want to provide
some information about the raffle and organization. Be sure to end the message
by asking them to provide you a good time for you to contact them again.
So go to the website and contact the owner of the website by either email or
telephone to let them know about your raffle.
"There really isn’t a difference. The concept is that with the raffle, it is pure
gambling. The free drawing – the word free are very important here. It says that
anyone can ask you for a free chance to participate in your drawing and you
must provide it. We tend to think that it’s a charitable organization. People are
really doing something good for the charity. So, of course, they should be
willing to pay for the raffle ticket. The truth is… this state(FL)requires that
people make a drawing ticket available for free if someone asks for that."
Terrie Temkin

Prizes
When people learn about a raffle, one of the first questions they will ask is, “What
will I win?” Therefore, it is essential to arrange for major prizes that will entice
clients to purchase your raffle tickets.
It is important to know the needs and values of your community when negotiating
major prizes for your raffle. For instance, if the people in your community are
concerned about the environment, a gas guzzling Hummer may not be an
incentive for clients to purchase your tickets. In this situation, a “green” car, such
as a Toyota Prius, may be more of an enticement.
The quality of your prize and the value placed on the prize by your clients will
make or break your fundraiser. This section will help you negotiate prizes that will
ensure the success of your raffle fundraiser.
How Can I Get a Car, Boat, or House Donated?
This is a question we get all of the time. How can we get a car or a large prize
item donated to our nonprofit organization?
Organizers know clients respond to the possibility of winning large ticket items,
but are intimidated by the prospect of negotiating the donation of these items.
After reading this section, you will be able to utilize several tried and true
techniques in order to obtain these donations.
The first step is talk to members within your organization to see if they have any
connections with a person at a local dealership.
You always want to use your relationships and connections to your advantage
when acquiring a large donation.
So talk to your friends, family, and everyone you know that could possibly help
you out. You may be pleasantly surprised by the connections that may come to
light.
If someone you know has a connection at a local dealership, you can approach
them with confidence and a referral.

What Do I Offer?
Ok, here's the kicker… the dealership may ask you, "What's in it for them?"
If you do not offer them any reasons why they should donate a car to your
organization, they never will.
Here are the three components dealerships are looking for when they are
considering the donation of high ticket items:
1. They want FREE advertising.
2. They want to be recognized and demonstrate goodwill towards the
community.
3. They want a promotional opportunity which allows them to give away a

free raffle ticket when their clients buy a new car from their dealership.
Knowing the needs and wishes of the dealership will help you obtain their
participation. The dealership is always thinking, "What's in it for me?" You should
always be thinking about what you can offer to a business before you approach a
dealership about a donation.
Consignment
I once talked to a local nonprofit here in Florida which was holding a raffle for a
brand new 2006 Porsche Boxster S. This is a beautiful car valued at over
$60,000.
The best part… she didn't have to buy the car to raffle it off.
She knew the dealership and had the car put on consignment. What I mean by
this is that the dealership lent her the car and kept it on the lot throughout the
duration of the raffle.
She would then go to local events to promote the raffle. At the same time, the
dealership was getting exposure because she had placed magnets and business
cards across the car for the dealership.
It was a winwin for both parties.
The dealership received extra exposure and goodwill from the community. As a
result, the local nonprofit was able to raise the appropriate funds for their cause.

The nonprofit paid the total cost of the car after all of the tickets were sold and
the raffle had ended.
There was no up front cost for the organization to "buy" the car. The Porsche
was held specifically for them
If you plan on utilizing this method, I would first contact a lawyer to find out the
rules and regulations regarding this type of raffle donation. I'm not a lawyer, so
please seek the proper advice for this procedure.
Also, if the prize does go on consignment, make sure that you follow the different
marketing steps outlined in this book to sell all of your tickets. Once you complete
one successful raffle, that same dealership will donate a car to your organization
year after year.
Secondary Prizes
You can easily obtain other prizes by approaching various businesses within the
community, such as restaurants, and simply asking if they would like to donate a
prize.
As a fundraiser, you must present a professional image. I recommend that you
write a letter on your organization’s letterhead from the president ahead of time.
This will help foster the professional image you are trying to project and you will
receive a better response if you take the letter.
It is always more effective to go to each business in person. It is easy to ignore a
letter, but it is much more difficult to ignore a professional representing a worthy
charity.
You want to deal directly with the manager of the business. However, if manager
isn’t there you can leave the letter and call back another time. Your persistence
will pay off in the end.
Remember that businesses will want to know how they can benefit from
participating in your raffle. Prepare your elevator pitch before approaching any
businesses. You may want to practice with an audience who will give you
honest, constructive feedback.
Do not build your case around how their donation will help you personally. Focus
on how their contribution will specifically help your organization.

Also, be sure to articulate the benefits the business will receive, including the
listing of their name in your newsletter or program. Remind them of the number
of people who will see that their business is a supporter of your charity.
When businesses do give you the gift of a prize, be sure to get a business card.
Not only will you be able to send them a thank you letter, but you will also have
all of their contact information for future fundraising activities.
How Long Should I Run the Raffle?
The length of your raffle depends of the size of the prizes and the amount of
money you intend to raise. However, the end date of your raffle and the date of
your prize drawing should be clearly printed on your raffle tickets.
Remember that most raffles do not sell out, so do not feel discouraged if you do
not sell every single ticket.

Conclusion
Although raffle fundraisers require much work and research, they can be an
excellent means through which you can raise a large amount of money for your
organization. As long as you and your organization remember to follow the laws
and regulations of your area, your raffle fundraiser will run smoothly.
Raffle fundraisers are an excellent way to get to know your community. You will
get to know the needs and interests of the people in you community. You will
meet new people and make surprising new connections. Your organization’s list
of potential donors will grow exponentially, and you will develop new professional
skills that will help further your career.
This book provides links, formulas, and tools designed specifically for raffle
fundraisers. Please feel free to use this book and the attachments provided as a
personal tool kit.
Now that you know the ins and outs of successful raffle fundraising, it is my hope
that you will go out and organize your own raffle.
Good Luck and Happy Fundraising!
Chris Brisson
chris@rafflesecrets.com
http://www.RaffleSecrets.com

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Raffle Secrets: Formula For Successful Raffle Ticket Fundraising

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1. TicketPrinting.com – They offer a great quality card that can be easily

3. RafflePrinter.com – They offer a FREE ticket printing software to create,

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You can simply ask them to help you out for free and give them a complimentary

Elance.com also allows you to invite providers to bid on your project. You can

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3. They want a promotional opportunity which allows them to give away a

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