Educational Fundraising Success

Selling Raffle Tickets to support your local school is perhaps the simplest way to help earn more money for education. You need not organise food, drink, and entertainment, as you must for some charitable events, and no one need sort and delivery boxes of biscuits, candies, or other popular fundraising sales items. I might point out that such fundraisers also mean that a large percentage of your money goes to the organisation that sells the biscuits and candies to your school, whereas all prize draw profits stay at the academic institution.

The key to successful school prize draws is to motivate the salespeople: that is to say, your children. Small children may not be able to visualize the outcome of a successful draw. Perhaps they don’t understand why you need the money, or the long-term benefits they will receive. But they can certainly visualize winning a prize on their own.

You may choose to offer a large prize to the top salesperson, but an even better way to motivate them is to instead set up a second raffle for the kids, but they cannot buy tickets to this draw. Instead, they must earn those tickets. For instance, for every ten pounds of money they raise, they earn one ticket for a prize draw to win something they really want: such as an iPod or a new bicycle. Take a survey and determine what prize will best motivate them, and then watch them start selling!

Here’s a new tip for earning more money: the “fill in service.” If supporters buy a large amount of tickets, your students can fill in their names and contact information on the tickets for them. Make it a number worth your time: say, twenty-five pounds. You’ll be surprise how many people will buy more tickets to earn this free service!

{ 0 comments }

At a local fair last weekend, a pair of young boys approached me as I was talking to a fellow I knew from my gym.

“Buy a raffle ticket?” the bigger one said, waving a single ticket in my face.

“Um…” I replied.

“What’s it for?” my friend asked.

“For our school.”

But what would that ticket do for his school? The little chap couldn’t say. He didn’t know anything about the cause for which he was raising money. All he knew was the name of his school, but he couldn’t say whether they needed to raise funds for a new gym floor, to send the band to a competition or (as is the case with some schools) to purchase base essentials like paper and pencils!

“You can win $500!” the kid continued. “And the ticket is only $1!”

“But how many tickets do you think you’ll sell?” I asked. “How many did they print?”

The child didn’t know. And while $500 is a fair sum, the odds of winning depend only the number of tickets sold. For a cash raffle with a prize of $500, they would need to print at least 1000 raffle tickets and sell them all to make an appreciable profit. A “50-50″ cash raffle is the standard, although, by selling enough tickets, one could offer a large prize and still keep an even larger profit. In the case of a $500 50-50 cash raffle, that $1 ticket has a 1 in 1000 chance of winning.

But I couldn’t calculate the odds. I simply wasn’t given enough information to be moved by the child’s pitch, and these boys were old enough that there were no adults kept handily about to answer my questions. (Meaning, of course, that they were old enough that I wasn’t moved by the cuteness factor of their pitch, either.)

This underscores the need to prepare your sales team, whether they are seasoned professionals or 10 years old. Make a list of all the questions someone might conceivably ask about your raffle before you start selling booklets, and coach your crew to memorize the answers.

Needless to say, those kids didn’t sell me a raffle ticket that day.

{ 0 comments }

Time is of the essence.

Your fundraising needs may be extensive, and your schedule is important, but you must keep in mind the needs of your donors as well. If you intend to sell Raffle Tickets for multiple prize draws in 2011, it is in your best interest to stagger them out.

Our experienced correspondents note that constant requests for money, particularly in a sluggish economy, can be irksome for your supporters. You may need it quiet badly, but remember that your fans are also experiencing the economic downturn. If they are good enough to give money a few times a year, the last thing you want to do is alienate them with repeated solicitations that seem endless.

Instead, schedule your prize draws so that you are selling Raffle Tickets at particular times when you are most likely to have success. A big raffle at the end of the year is a good idea, as is one that corresponds with a large event you hold annually. If you hold too many raffle, however, you may trigger a compassionate burnout, where followers begin to resent your request. Rather than continual, small draws, combine your funds or your prizes to hold a few larger draws at fortuitous times throughout the year.

{ 0 comments }

Item 3 in our countdown to Christmas tips and hints for prize draw sales success is a combination of factors that can work on their own, or, when joined together, become a dynamic powerhouse for selling event tickets.

First, consider a large shop or department store where you know there will be increased foot traffic this month. If you represent a charitable organisation, or one that works for children, perhaps the owner will allow you to set up a table outside. This lets you bring your Raffle Tickets to your supporters, rather than forcing them to find you.

Second, man the booth carefully. If possible, have children or teenagers at the table, selling the tickets for you. Their pathos will improve sales. If your group represents a sport team, a band, a scouting group, or any club in which members can be identified by uniforms, make sure everyone wears their uniform!

Finally, if you can manage it, bring the prizes to the table. Set them up in an appealing arrangement. This raises interest levels in your prize draw and encourages people to purchase Raffle Tickets upon falling in love with your prizes!

{ 0 comments }

As the Christmas fundraising season hastens, we continue to advise you regarding the best ways to maximize your earning power and raise more money for charity than you’ve ever raised in the past. Foremost amongst the top tips for Raffle Ticket sales suggested by our professional correspondents is to have ones tickets stapled into booklets of 5 tickets each. If you print your own Raffle Tickets online, this should be a standard option, and adds very little to the cost of your order.

To what advantage? Stapled ticket booklets help make your prize draw a financial success by encouraging donors to purchase multiple tickets, rather than a single Raffle Ticket: one step toward multiplying your profits by 5! It’s simply a matter of convenience for you and for your supporters. Stapled booklets are simple to sell. You can encourage multiple sales by pricing tickets appropriately, and ensuring that the price of 5 tickets is an even number. Sell 1 ticket for 2 pounds and 5 for 10 and watch your profits soar!

Keep checking this blog as the winter progresses for more expert advice from fundraisers who have traveled this road before and know the best route to take.

{ 0 comments }

Has your organization begun planning your big Christmas prize draw? We’ve asked the experts for their top tips in aid of selling more Raffle Tickets this year, and might find yourself surprised to hear some of the best fundraising advice the Internet has to offer.

For instance, do you depend on a paid sales crew, or a group of dedicated volunteers? Have you not considered asking others to help? According to our most successful contacts, you’ll sell far more Raffle Tickets if you send stapled booklets to all members of your organisation. Consider the size of your mailing list. If each member receives 5 tickets to sell, how many additional sales would that create?

Include a letter asking each member to purchase the tickets themselves, or to sell those 5 tickets to friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues. It’s a small number, but it will truly add up. Just be sure that you provide a method for the home office to track these sales, so you can be assured that tickets entered in the prize draw have been bought.

{ 0 comments }

Back in March, I reported on the human egg raffle, wherein one lucky UK couple won a human egg, along with IVF services, to be provided in the US (as UK law prohibited such a prize draw). Controversial or not, apparently, the Bridge Center were not the only organisation to realize how profitable such a raffle might be.

From the States, a similar circumstance, without the donated human genetic material. Dr. Mark Trolice, an infertility specialist, started the charity Fertile Dreams to help those who, like his own wife, have difficulty conceiving. Every year, they sell raffle tickets to raise funds for the organisation, with the grand prize being a full round of in vitro fertilization treatment. The group also encourages infertile couples to consider adoption, as Dr. Trolice and his wife have, completing their family with 5 children!

Last year’s raffle winners, Niki and Fred Trusty, won big. They had already decided, after many years of failing to conceive, to give IVF a try, and attended Fertile Dreams’ annual conference, Paths to Parenthood. Hearing of the prize draw, Fred calculated the odds and the couple decided to take a chance—20 chances, actually. The purchased 20 Raffle Tickets, spending $500 (about £320) and won the treatment. Doctors harvested 18 of Niki’s eggs, one of which eventually became her son, Harrison, now 6 months old. She calls him her miracle baby.

Planning your own prize draw? No, you can’t raffle off your own children, but you can think about what your group has to offer, and what your supporters likely desire. Like the Trusty’s investment, the price of your Raffle Ticket may seem small compared to the value of winning that top prize!

{ 0 comments }

Did you ever stop to consider the people who purchase your Raffle Tickets, enter your prize draw, and support your organisation? I’ve identified eight types of customers:

Diehard fans support your organisation, no matter what. They’re always willing to help, and, provided you haven’t hit them up too many times in the last few months, they’ll buy some Raffle Tickets, just to help your cause.

Sometimes fans support your organisation in theory, and they’ll support you financially, if they like your prizes, and if your tickets don’t cost too much, and if they haven’t just bought a 3-D TV they need to pay off.

Obligated buyers may not care about your mission or your prizes. They’re buying Raffle Tickets because they know your sales team personally. The bigger and more gregarious your sales team, the more of these supporters you’ll have.

Gamblers like to take a chance. They’re not interested in the prize or even the odds so much as they care about taking a chance. They love possibilities, so remind them about the thrill of winning.

Prize lovers don’t want to hear about your goals. They just want to know whether you’re offering the gadget they desire (but can’t afford). They love MP3 players, new phones, and trucks. They’ll pay a little extra for a Raffle Ticket as long as you offer a great prize.

New supporters are future diehard fans. They love your charity; they’ve just never heard of it. Your sales team can bring them into the fold, turning them into loyal supporters, as they sell them Raffle Tickets.

Big spenders love buying things while others are watching. Catch a guy with a fat wallet and a pretty date and he’ll buy some Raffle Tickets just to prove that he can.

Miscellaneous buyers are those occasional, extra sales. They didn’t plan to buy a ticket, they didn’t really need a prize. You just caught them at the right time, in the right mood. They took a chance. And that’s why you sales team need to take more chances, too. The more people you approach, the more tickets you’ll sell.

{ 0 comments }

At the height of the season, summer can feel like an endless joyride, but it’s already time to start planning your end-of-summer celebration, and, if you fancy adding a little extra money to the operating budget, it’s time to start planning your end-of-summer prize draw. Finding a proper Raffle Ticket for the affair is all part of the fun.

Whether you’re planning your parish’s annual Summer Fair or scheduling a golf tournament, you can find the perfect Raffle Ticket to accompany your summer celebration. Create a themed prize draw to go along with your planned activities, or sell tickets for chances to win high interest prizes.

Even small prizes can generate great interest. If you are to sell Raffle Tickets to the sun-and-sand set down at the shore, you may be tempted to invest in big prizes such as Jet Skis or boats, but consider your audience. Perhaps they’d be more willing to purchase less expensive tickets for a chance to win items such as boogie boards or even plastic shovels and pails for their children. Similarly, your golf-themed event could generate a lot of interest if you are to award a complete set of new clubs, but if your cause is a good one, you may get almost the same mileage from a gift basket of new golf balls, tees, and perhaps a visor or novelty coffee mug.

Whatever you choose, do take advantage of summertime’s good vibrations. Find the holiday crowd and capitalise on their good mood and free spending ways and ensure your group’s financial solvency for another season!

{ 0 comments }

You can turn your prize draw into a complicated and multi-layered affair, or you can keep it simple. If you fancy an easy, breezy fundraiser that fills your coffers without filling your time, it’s time to get back to the basics. What do you need to hold a successful prize draw? Interesting prizes, effective Raffle Tickets, supporters to buy them, and a distribution method to sell them.

• Prizes: You know your supporters best. They may be willing to take a 50 p chance on a small prize: a new football, for instance, or a skein of yarn, or a gift certificate to a popular independent book shop. Perhaps they will pay money to gamble on the possibility of a free lunch with someone in your organisation, or a lesson on something your administration may teach.
• Raffle Tickets: So easy to print online! You choose the perfect design, enter your event details into a ticket template, and click on a few buttons. Your Raffle Tickets are professionally printed, with perforated stubs, lines to collect customer information, individual numbering, and other security features.
• Supporters: Get the word out, in your print or email newsletter, on websites and web forums, at local meetings and other brick-and-mortar events, through local media, and with printed Posters or Fliers. Don’t forget phone trees, word of mouth, and door to door sales.
• Distribution: Take advantage of one of many online sites that sell Raffle Tickets for you. If you already have a sales team, offer them extra prizes and let them do their job. Or, incentivise small children with appropriate rewards and let them sell. Sell Raffle Tickets on your own website, at meetings, or at summer festivals. Wherever people are, that’s where you should be selling Raffle Tickets.

{ 0 comments }