Yes, it’s true that we have some restrictive laws regarding prize draws in the UK, but small businesses can legally use raffles to draw customers into the shop, generate interest in the business, and reward those who have made them successful. While, in most cases, you will not be allowed to directly profit from your business raffle, there are still benefits for your organisation to such a game.

Running a prize draw out of a business carries its own rules and restrictions. If you already have a solicitor, it’s best to consult him or her before you print your Raffle Tickets, just to play safe, but here are some things to keep in mind:

• You must run your raffle directly out of your place of business
• You may only sell tickets to your customers
• Ticket sales can take place over no more than 7 days
• You may not offer prizes worth over 50 pounds
• You may not make a profit from your prize draw

Under the Gambling Act of 2005, your business raffle falls under System B. As such you are required to print certain information on the body of your Raffle Ticket: your name and address, the price of the ticket, the category of people who may purchase the ticket, and some verbiage stating that the rights conferred by the ticket are non-transferable.

Fortunately, most ticket templates for sale in the UK make it simple to comply by these rules. Often you will find a space on the template for specific information, or even suggested text.

While your business raffle may not, legally, allow you to do all you wish to do, it’s certainly a brilliant way to inspire your customers! If you choose your own popular merchandise for prizes, basing your sales on the 50 pound retail price of the item still allows you to come out ahead, and it allows your customers to take a chance on something they probably already want. Everyone wins!

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It’s time once again for

More Raffle Prizes That Never Were!

For the busy fundraiser, drumming up suitable donations for your organisation’s prize draw can be a time-consuming element of the job. Bumping elbows with the bigwigs, drumming up sympathy for the cause. Courting your monied supporters can get tiresome. Perhaps you have some valuable prizes right there in your own home. You can start printing your own Raffle Tickets even sooner once you know what you’ll be raffling.

• Your child’s macaroni collage: It’s priceless! The only question is, can you bear to part with it? It’s for a good cause, you know!
• Pile of comic books: Your spouse swears “they’ll be worth something someday.” Why not today?
• Collection of old tins from back fence According to Grandfather, these are genuine antiques! Suitable for target practice.
• How about a nice shrubbery? There’s loads of them just growing by the side of the road. Bring your own shovel.
• Chance to win more Raffle Tickets You could get quite a bit of mileage out of this one. No shortage of prizes, no end to the fund raising possibilities.

Of course, you’ll need to make all these decisions in advance prior to printing your Raffle Tickets. Must abide by the law, after all. Your supporters will thank you for it, and so with the Gaming Council!

Happy drawing!

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For charitable organisations

raising money is often the process of persuading others. When you sell Raffle Tickets or Event Tickets for your fundraisers, you are selling yourself as much as you are selling your charity. It’s not enough to represent a worthwhile cause: your event must be appealing, and your organisation must appear worthy.

Consider how your group appears to others. When you approach a potential donor, are you well-dressed and well-groomed? Can you discuss your philosophy with accessibility and intelligence? In short, do you appear to be a good investment?

Of course, there are those who will buy Raffle Tickets simple for the sake of buying Raffle Tickets: because they covet the prizes, or because they are used to supporting your organisation. But you want to take advantage of all potential markets.

When you’ve gone to the bother of printing your own Raffle Tickets, be sure your sales crew looks as good as your print job. Create an aura of professionalism so that potential supporters who are unfamiliar with your work can easily believe in you and your cause. Remember: individuals donate to people as much as they donate to causes. Sell yourself as your sell your Raffle Tickets and you’ll reach a wider audience, leave a better impression, and come away with more money for your work.

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…and standing out

Now that autumn is here again, a whole range of fundraising opportunities become relevant. If your customers love the great outdoors, wildlife, hunting, camping, and stalking why not reward them with a Camouflage-themed Raffle Ticket?

You can even use this Camouflage Raffle Ticket for military-themed events!

You’re sure to draw a crowd if you can dig up the right prizes: tents and other camping equipment, guns and gadgets for hunters and stalkers, or even camouflage clothes in popular designs. These are all great crowd-pleasers.

With the right prizes in hand and a proper design printed on the tickets, your Raffle Tickets practically sell themselves. Play up the fantasy aspect of the theme. Remind your customers that the wilderness calls to them. Evoke the nostalgic experience of their first camping trip with dad, their first buck, or the joy they will experience when they introduce their own children to the thrill of the forest.

Hype your prize draw with matching Camouflage Event Kits. Big Posters with the same design help your customers learn about your prizes and discover when and where they can buy tickets. Start generating some excitement!

Of course, if you’re ready to print your own Raffle Tickets this fall, there are dozens of appropriate design to choose from. Start hunting up your own happy ending to this year’s fundraising campaign when you print a proper Raffle Ticket for you prize draw!

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The Top Ten Reasons Your Raffle Failed

I know you tried. You wanted to make money, brand your organisation, and spread your message to the world. What went wrong?

• 10: Should not have printed “All proceeds go directly to bailing Mum out of jail…again” directly on the body of the Raffle Ticket
• 9: Sponsors misunderstood donation request, were under the impression they would all be getting free cars
• 8: Confounded everyone by printing your text in black on a black Raffle Ticket
• 7: Your 4-year-old mistook your collection of Raffle Ticket stubs for confetti
• 6: Next time, don’t store Raffle Tickets in the same area where you store sensitive documents for your assistant to shred
• 5: You delegated the job of ordering Raffle Tickets to your illiterate chav nephew
• 4: You delegated the job of selling Raffle Tickets to your agoraphobic auntie
• 3: You neglected to delegate the job of selling Raffle Tickets to anyone in your organisation
• 2: Your top prize of a brand new rubbish bin was not as big of a draw as you’d anticipated
• 1: You forgot to browse the design gallery at UKTicketPrinting.co.uk!

Ready for success in fund raising and strong Raffle Ticket Sales? Print your own Raffle Tickets with designs that fit your budget and sense of style and start selling more tickets in less time!

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Perhaps you’re wondering:

Is a raffle the proper fund raiser for you? Can your organisation benefit from a focused campaign in which you print and sell your own Raffle Tickets? Raffles are not for everyone, but they might be right for you.

Does your organisation need to make more money? If it’s not in the budget and you’ve already asked your supporters, raffles are an easy way to rake in some extra cash from new sources. You can find new supporters and spread your message in places you might not have considered.

Have you a sales team or eager volunteers? Someone will have to take responsibility for selling your Raffle Tickets. If you are already paying someone to sell for you, or if you have an office full of volunteers who need something to do, it could be the perfect marriage.

Have you supporters who are able to donate items or services? Some people may be unable to donate money, but if they have objets d’art or skills they can offer up to your cause, others will be willing to spend a few quid simple to take a chance on these prizes.

Are you afraid you’re not making the most of your gatherings? If you already host a fundraising gala, awareness event, or other community get-together, you’ve create the perfect platform for advertising your raffle, selling Raffle Tickets, and distributing prizes!

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, printing your own Raffle Tickets and holding your own prize draw may be just the thing for you!

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If you follow this blog

You’re well aware that I have won only one raffle in my entire life. A few months back, I picked up a Gift Certificate for an expensive restaurant, while my boyfriend came home with an armload of books, thanks to a charity organization for which I do quite a bit of volunteer work. Everybody loves winning, of course. In the spirit of fantasy, here is a list of prizes I wish to win. Be sure to print out your Raffle Tickets accordingly.

• Cat obedience lessons My kitty could use a refresher course in following instructions. I would especially appreciate it if he learned not to wake me up on the weekends.
• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy I love that man of mine, but he’s a bit rough around the edges. I shan’t hold my breath for the full makeover, but if they could just get the engine grease out from under his fingernails, it would suffice.
• In-house staff Why can’t I live the posh life? I want to win a butler, a maid, and a cook. While I’m at it, I might as well wish for a hereditary estate with an income. I’ll take a title, too.
• Tea with the Queen All I’m saying is that, if Buckingham Palace is strapped for cash, they could really make better use of their resources. I would pay two quid for a chance at that!
• Night at the Library Am I the only one who has dreamed since childhood of having the library entirely to myself?
• Everyone else gets a holiday In my ultimate fantasy prize, everyone around me get tickets to some far-flung locale. I stay at home and enjoy the peace and quiet.

So start arranging prizes and printing those Raffle Tickets today. You can count on my contribution. I would pay quite a bit of money to win any of these prizes!

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You did it!

You successfully held your Raffle. Prizes were donated, tickets were sold, the draw was well-attended, and everyone went home happy. Winners have received their rewards; your accounts have been filled with cash.

If you’ve printed your own Raffle Tickets, you’re left with something else: a big hat (or bowl, or steel drum) full of ticket stubs. With neat micro-perforations, they all detached quite easily, with clean edges, so that you could read the name and contact information of the winner.

Are you going to throw those stubs in the bin? Shred them for confetti? Use them for bookmarks?

Maybe later. If you’re clever, first, you’re going to make sure you’ve wrung every last scrap of useful information from those stubs.

You’ll want to hold onto the stubs until you’re sure your accounts balance correctly. It’s important to know how many ticket you sold and how much money you made. Even if you don’t care, the government does! Be certain the numbers work out so you can report appropriately to HMRC and to the directors your own organisation. If nothing else, you’ll want these numbers as a basis for next year’s draw.

You may also want to mine those stubs for information. You can easily create a mailing list of potential donors based on these details. It’s a smart idea to ask people if they mind being adding to the list and working out a system for marking the stubs in advance, but if you are doing legitimate charity work and need to expand your base, it’s a reasonable place to start.

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Have you heard this news from Devon?

Brian and Wendy Wilshaw, owners of Oldborough Retreat, Morchard Bishop, a lovely estate featuring a 5-bedroom home, 4 holiday lodges, and a fishing lake, found it difficult to find a buyer at their £950,000 asking price. They thought perhaps a raffle would seem rather an easier way achieve the value they desired.

The Wilshaws sold 46,000 Raffle Tickets at a rate of £25 each, for a sum total of £1.15m. In short, they achieved their goal. As readers of this blog are well aware, lottery laws in the UK would make a straight raffle illegal, so the Wilshaws added a competition aspect to their draw, asking participants to answer a question about fishing licences. However, their method fell under suspicion, and the draw was delayed over six months while authorities investigated the legality of the contest. Besides allegations that the question was too simple, and that those who failed to answer correctly were given second chances, the Commission worried that the Wilshaw’s personal gain in the matter violated the law of the land.

At long last, however, the Gambling Commission found in the Wilshaw’s favour earlier this summer and the prize draw proceeded without any further difficulty. Another couple, Stephen and Caroline Sickelmore, immediately offered up their home as a prize in their own raffle, and other homeowners throughout the UK have followed suit.

In today’s economy, home sales can be even trickier than lottery laws. It was a long road for the Wilshaws, but once again, Raffle Tickets saved the day!

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Bands and Theatres

Yes, you, ardent performers who put your hearts and souls in your craft. Are you prepared to harness the awesome power of your art for the sake of greater publicity and an increased fan base?

I thought perhaps you might be.

Why not couple your performance with the remarkable reach of a prize draw? Consider this: as entertainers, you need not even search for prize donations. You have everything your fans want, and it will cost you little to nothing to offer proper prizes.

• Tickets to concerts or shows
• Passes to restricted rehearsals
• Live or studio CDs or DVDs
• Lunch with the band or actors

Once you’ve chosen the items or experiences best suited to your budget and audience, you can select the design best suited to your image, print your own Raffle Tickets, and begin to sell them. Where?

• At live performances
• On your web site
• On your social networking sites
• In print newsletters
• To your mailing list
• At festivals and public venues

Now, how does this benefit you? You are growing your fan base! Word of mouth advertising will generate a buzz around your raffle as well as around your group. Without additional effort, hits on your website will increase, and so will your downloads and ticket sales. Your name will be on more peoples’ lips. You will draw a crowd when you draw the winner, and those who came simply for the possibility of winning will potentially becomes your new fans.

So consider your options. You could stick with business as usual, or you could make a small investment in money and time, and translate that into a huge return in money and popularity!

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