Simple tips to organise a successful charity raffle

Charity raffles and draws are a great way to fundraise and raise awareness for your cause. In the UK, raffles and draws raise millions of pounds every year for good causes, so deciding to run your first charity raffle is a great choice to make! But now you’ve decided you want to hold a charity raffle, how do you go about organising a successful event?

Get your licence
If you’re planning a dedicated raffle, rather than holding a raffle as part of a larger fundraising event, you will need to get a licence from your local authority licensing office. You can get a small society lottery licence with an upfront fee of £40 for the first year and £20 every year afterwards.

This allows you to run as many raffles you want in a year that add up to £250,000 in proceeds for your charity. You can have a top prize of up to £25,000 and ticket revenue proceeds of up to £20,000.

Find your raffle prizes
One of the best ways to make as much money for charity as possible is to source donated prizes. You will need to think about the kind of people you hope to buy your raffle tickets, and find prizes that will interest them enough to draw them in.

Usually, the more unusual the prize is, the more likely you are to sell tickets. Cash prizes also bring in lots of ticket sales, but they’re nowhere near as cost-effective. You may wish to get local businesses to support your raffle by donating or contributing to your prize.

Leave plenty of planning time
In order to make your raffle event a success, you will need to know exactly what your goals are and how you’ll achieve them. By having reports on your charity raffle and planning, you can then improve your subsequent events for even greater impact.

You will need to accurately price your tickets, as well- if the price is too high, people won’t buy them and if the price is too low, you won’t make enough to give to your charity. Once you know who you’re aiming your raffle at, your goals and how to achieve them, you have the foundation for a successful charity raffle event.

Promote your event. Promote it and promote it some more!
Your raffle won’t be successful unless you promote it and let as many people as possible know about it. Social media, posters and talking to people about it will all help to raise awareness about it. You need to remember include your raffle details in your marketing material, as well!

Legal information about your raffle
It’s a legal requirement that at least 20% of your total proceeds gained from the raffle must directly fund your charity work. After your raffle event, you need to make a submission to your local authority within three months. You’ll receive a template you need to fill in with the following information and return:

• Details of the raffle: when were the tickets sold, the date of the raffle draw, the arrangements for your prizes (including any rollover prizes)
• The proceeds of the raffle
• The amount deducted to provide a prize or prizes
• The amounts deducted due to other costs of holding the raffle event
• Expenses that were paid for in alternative ways to deducting from the proceeds

At Remmer Print, our raffle and draw tickets are used by charities or organisations throughout the UK as a vital part of successful fundraising campaigns. For more information, on our raffle and draw tickets, simply call us on 01642 671 651 or email john@remmerprint.co.uk today.