Recall, of course, that you do not require government oversight for a small prize draw held in a confined location amongst a particular group of people: those who patronise a particular shop or pub on a certain day, or employees of a small business. You can sell Raffle Tickets to your particular group, at a particular time, in a particular venue, without going through the Gaming Commission. Do be sure to read up on the rules and ascertain whether your prize draw falls into the proper categories before you decide to forgo a visit to the Commission.

As you know, it is illegal to sell alcohol without a licence. It is not, however, illegal to offer alcohol as a prize in a contest! Therefore, you can earn money at a charity event by selling Raffle Tickets and offering drinks as prizes.

Some offer a single drink as a prize, which means you can offer many prizes and draw out the suspense. Or, you could help everyone get their drinks more quickly by using bottles as prizes. In theory, the winner would pour out draughts for each of their friends and the evening’s festivities can get underway with greater haste.

Consider your guests. Would they prefer an evening of drinking to another kind of entertainment? Whether they genuinely want to help your cause, or simply show up for a beer, selling alcohol Raffle Tickets can help turn your dry and dusty event into a rousing success!

Besides match balls, consider other inexpensive prizes such as:

• Team tee shirts
• England Team fan books
• A selection of flags
• Team pennants

Then, print out a run of raffle tickets and start selling! Be sure to make the rounds of all the pubs and parties where your community are likely to watch the games. If possible, bring some of the prizes with you so people can see what they may win. Come prepared to discuss your cause, explaining where the money will go and how purchasing a raffle ticket will contribute to charity.

Be prepared to wait for a commercial to make your pitch!

Prizes

The easiest way to show your supporters that you care is to offer them prizes that offer a solution. Perhaps you can find a company willing to donate some solar panels in exchange for a great deal of publicity if you’re holding a large raffle and expect to attract many donors. Or, for smaller prize draws, perhaps a simple compost bin, or a homemade solar oven. Ask a contractor to offer his or her services evaluating a home for energy efficiency.

Printing

Choose Raffle Tickets printed on recycled paper, or ensure that used Raffle Tickets will be recycled later. Find a printing company that uses environmentally sustainable processes such as recycling used printer cartridges, depending on alternative energy sources, and relying on environmentally friendly shipping companies.

Publicity

The Internet is quite green; it takes very little energy, especially if you’re using a newer computer. While you may not want to forgo traditional print publicity entirely, use all your online resources for the best coverage and promotion. Send email newsletter, post links to forums, and spread the word with social networking. Be sure to scan all your posters and upload the images. Put your website to work!

Selling Raffle Tickets helps children learn important skills: presenting themselves in front of adults, the power of persuasion, accounting for money, and more. Encourage each child to reach an appropriate sales goal. Prepare them in advance with scripts explaining who they are, what their school stands for, and what programs the money will support.

You may choose to have two levels of Raffle Tickets: a larger prize with more expensive ticket for adults, and a lower level that most children will be able to purchase with pocket money. For instance, for twenty-five or fifty pence, you could raffle off lunch with a favourite teacher or administrator, or some other coveted prize. Do your students like to make announcements over the PA? Eat pizza and ice cream at lunch? Leave class for some undirected computer time? Offer the prize that will motivate the children.

Offer prizes for those children who sell the most Raffle Tickets to grown-ups. Turn your prize draw into a math lesson: let them keep track of earnings, perhaps with a large graph shaped like a thermometer. Announce the winners in a public assembly and let their peers cheer on their accomplishment.

The first thing you’ve got to do is print more Raffle Tickets. Why? This provides that extra psychological boost you and your sales team need to keep hustling. More Raffle Tickets means more work, but it also provides you a visual estimate of how much you’ll need to work.

If you tell your volunteers they must sell fifty Raffle Tickets apiece, and each of them can do so easily, why not tell them instead to sell one hundred Raffle Tickets? Even if they don’t hit their mark on the first try, they’ll still sell more than they would have if they only had the option of selling fifty!

Plan ahead to determine when and where you’ll make up the difference. Get out the local event calendar to check out fairs, festivals, and other large, public gatherings where happy crowds can be found. You may want to check with promoters to see if you can have a booth, kiosk, or table where you’ll be able to sit comfortably and wait for the crowds to come to you.

If you’ve gone to the trouble of obtaining a licence for a large prize draw, why not make the most of it? Open up your sales to other villages or counties. Recruit out-of-town volunteers. Use the telephone and the Internet to increase your sphere of influence.

Want to get big? It’s time to start thinking big.

The Alpine villa, appraised at £1.4 million, is to be raffled off, with all proceeds goings towards Mr. Rabeder’s own microlending charities, providing small loans to self-employed people in Central and South America. He hopes to sell almost 22,000 Raffle Tickets, with each ticket selling for the equivalent of £87 a piece. Now that’s a chance worth taking!

Eventually, he hopes to achieve true contentment with nothing, having given away his entire fortune. He plans to live a simple existence, in an isolated mountain cabin or perhaps a bedsit in a small town. Karl Rabeder is one man who has certainly learned the value of giving and the happiness that comes from supporting a meaningful charity!

Raffling off ones home is nothing new, but, in this case, purchasing a Raffle Ticket would have a special meaning, given that the proceeds will all go entirely to worthy causes.

You can capture the spirit of the cakewalk with a book raffle. This is a fundraising activity for groups with no capital whatsoever. If your organisation can afford to print its own Raffle Tickets online, this adds a lovely souvenir to the game, but even if you cannot buy Raffle Tickets, you can still come out ahead.

Simply ask each participant to bring a gently used book to the fundraiser. Ask them to choose something they have enjoyed, which they believe others in your group will also enjoy. Each participant checks in, deposits their book on the prize table, and receives a ticket, depositing the stub into a hat or bowl. Charge a small amount to play; all those pence will add up! At an appointed time, or at intervals throughout the evening, stubs are drawn, and the ticket holder is called to choose a book from the prize table. Everyone receives a new book, and your group earns more money!

Of course, you need not make it a book raffle. Use this same model with any commodity your group may enjoy:

• Gently Used Toys
• Yarn or Fabric
• Baked Goods
• CDs
• Sporting Goods
• Clothing
• Craft or Scrapbooking supplies

Spring is still a long way off. In the absence of the sun’s warming presence, why not warm the cockles of your heart with a flowery show? Summon up the presence of warmer days with a floral-themed Raffle Ticket. Just print out a stack of Rose Raffle Tickets and your team can start selling flowers that never wilt and have no need of water. It’s the smart way to brighten those cold, dark days.

A Red or Yellow Rose Raffle Ticket is a clever set-up for a Valentine’s Day prize draw, but it also suits environmental organisations, florists, Mother’s Day events, tea and garden parties, or any celebration that anticipates the vernal equinox and the verdant growth that follows. Whenever you want to rejoice in all that is lovely in the world, consider the intricate beauty of the rose, reproduce in faithful, high-resolution colour.

With designs this lovely, you may find yourself planning a Festival of Roses simply for the pleasure of sharing these beautiful roses with your supporters! Even with frosty winds and snow in the air, warm flowery designs anticipate the coming thaw. Can’t you smell the sweetness?

If you’re prepared to start planning a prize draw for later in the year, think about printing your own Rose Raffle Tickets online. Look smashing in print, earn more money for your organisation, and start spreading the joy of the upcoming season!

Your success depends on a few factors:

• Your organisation’s reputation
• The value of your prizes
• The cost of your tickets
• The skills of your sales team
• Publicity and exposure

If your reputation is already stellar, you can build on that, but if people are skeptical of your group, use your prize draw as a means of getting your message out and creating better buzz around your name.

Regarding prizes and ticket prices, do put some good thought into these choices. You may have to make many phone calls, use your networking skills, and perhaps even call in some favors to find prizes that people can get excited about. Then, price accordingly. For big ticket items, you can certainly ask for two pounds per ticket (the legal limit), but remember, you can make the same amount of money even if you charge less, by selling more tickets.

Let your sales team speak for you and show you in your best light. Your team should be able to talk coherently about your mission, and they should be willing to follow the crowds! Sporting events and street fairs are wonderful places to send your team. The more exposure they give you, the more money you’ll make. Make sure to write about your upcoming prize draw on your own website, but also on blogs and forums. Send press releases to the newspaper. Let people know when and where tickets will be available.

Start planning now and reap the rewards throughout the year!

While not widespread in the States, bars in the American state of Minnesota are also familiar with this tradition. It seems nothing heats up a frigid night in that region than the excitement of a prize draw. For most of the year, they need not even worry about the meat going off while they continue drinking. Simply popping their cuts into the boot keeps them even colder than an icebox!

In New Zealand and Australia, such raffles are also known as “the meat tray.” As the name implies, these prize draws usually offer a tray of meats. Perhaps it will contain meat suitable for the barbecue, but more often, the trays are breakfast trays (with sausage, bacon, and eggs) or seafood trays. Care must be taken in these climates to keep the seafood trays fresh and cold!

In any event, Raffle Tickets are sold, the atmosphere in the pub remains jovial, and the charity hosting the prize draw benefits. Everyone goes home happy. Meat raffles are a simple way to make a few pounds in a short period of time, while brightening the day of everyone in the pub. Looking for a new fundraising opportunity? Try some meat?