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

Your fabulous ticket girl expects that you found plenty about which to feel jolly, with no coal in your stockings and all the eggnog you could stomach. It’s a new year and a new decade, so how about making a new start with your fundraising efforts?

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Your group can make a difference in 2010, and you can power that change machine with the proceeds of your next prize draw. Start planning today and you can start printing your own Raffle Tickets online tomorrow.

Don’t think you have the funds to get started? You’d be surprised. Raffle Tickets, even beautiful, customised, full-colour Raffle Tickets, are not terribly expensive. If your organisation is a charitable one, prize donations should be easy to obtain. And even if you can’t find proper prizes, remember that certain services are always welcome.

• Cleaning
• Animal Care
• Tax Preparation
• House Painting
• Auto Service

Gift certificates for local companies that provide the services we always need are always welcome. So be creative! It’s a new year; time to make a new start for your group!

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?

UK raffle laws allow for certain types of small raffle without council oversight. However, large prize draws always require proper licensing. This may involve the filling out of forms and the paying of fees.

Of course, having gone to such trouble to begin, you really feel compelled to do the job right: in for a penny, in for a pound, you know! In that case, you’ve surely selected some lovely, high-quality designs and are planning to print your own Raffle Tickets.

And having gone so far as to print your own Raffle Tickets, indeed you want to sell every single ticket and recoup your investment. You need to work smarter, not harder.

Raffle Tickets sell themselves when they find their receptive audience. Clearly, your legwork can have a big impact, but you can only be in one place at a time. The solution: matching publicity materials to advertise for you!

Many Raffle Tickets can be paired with matching Posters and Flyers, so you can advertise your draw with minimum fuss and maximum style. If you prize draw occurs in conjunction with a larger event, you can even choose to match your Admission Tickets and Invitations to your Raffle Tickets.

The power of print can work to your advantage! Find a proper design and combine it with the proper materials and you’ll soon witness the strength of superior publicity!

You want to make a mint, and a successful raffle will put you on the path to success. You’ve chosen the perfect design: perhaps elegant, perhaps playful. Either way, you know printing the right image will catch the eye of your target audience. Striking tickets sell more.

Of course, you haven’t neglected to proofread your tickets before printing!

You may have chosen to have them stapled into booklets, which will make your sales team’s lives that much easier. Everything stays neat and orderly with this feature. When you print your own raffle tickets, raffle ticket books are only one of the many benefits.

Do you have a professional sales team? They’ll have so much more to be enthusiastic about when they see the lovely design you’ve chosen to represent your organization and your cause. This helps you sell more.

If you haven’t a professional sales team, who will sell your tickets for you? May I suggest the most adorable of all salespeople? I refer, of course, to small children. Who can resist the allure of a child who’s painstakingly memorized a sales pitch in aid of a great cause?

Target your audience. Where will you sell? In the City Centre? At arts events? Door to door? Who are your patrons. Determine where they are and bring your raffle to them!

Whoever you are, whatever your cause, if you’ve found worthy prizes, printed your own custom tickets, and taken the time to sell them, you’re well on your way to financial success!