Frequently Asked Questions About Raffles

2. Can a for profit business or individual run a raffle?

Contests sponsored by for profit businesses or governments would either be defined as a lottery (if a ticket purchase is required) or a sweepstakes (if no purchase is necessary) and there are other laws that govern these activities.

3. How do I know if conducting a raffle is legal in my state?

Some states allow raffles while others do not. See this list of United States Raffle Laws by State

4. Are raffles legal in Canada?

The gaming commission of the province where the raffle will take place has legal authority over raffles conducted in that province. More information about gaming in Canada.

5. Can our group sell raffle tickets online?

Selling tickets online is a gray area and I have not found a definitive answer one way or another. It is best to consult with an attorney who has experience in this area. Many charities do at least advertise their raffles online and have an address or contact information so people can order tickets.

6. What information should be printed on the tickets?

There are key pieces of information that need to be on your tickets. You need a section for the purchaser to fill out which will then be put in the drawing. On the left-hand side of the ticket include: name, address, phone and email (optional).

On the right hand side print information about the drawing: the organization’s name, address and/or city, state, phone number, date of the raffle, list of major prizes, and website. Give this stub to the purchaser to keep.

Numbered tickets will enhance the professionalism of your tickets and give your coordinator an easy way to keep track of the number sold. Numbered tickets are also required for some states. Raffle ticket software makes numbering tickets easy.

7. How much should we charge for raffle tickets?

That depends on the value of the prizes offered.

• For low value items, $1-2 per ticket is normal.
• For high value items such as automobiles, boats, or large travel prizes $10-20 per ticket is acceptable. I have seen some raffles charge up to $100 per ticket. However it can be more difficult to sell tickets at this price.
• For mid level prizes such as televisions, weekend getaways etc. $5 is a good median price.

More Raffle Questions

For a general guide that will help your group set up a raffle see How to Organize a Raffle Fundraiser. For a more extensive course check out Raffle Secrets.

More Frequently Asked Questions About Raffles

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This is already proving to be a remarkable election year. Voters are coming out in droves for primaries and caucuses in numbers not seen for a long time. The buzz word this year is “change” and this got me to thinking about the role that non profits play in change.

Effecting a change of some kind is often at the heart of what non profits do. How can your group really make an impact for your cause during this election year? The public is actively considering the messages, values and positions on the issues they hear from candidates. Make sure that your cause gets noticed this year by those running for office and those who will be voting.

The best example of how a cause can make itself known nationally is ONE Vote ‘08. This is a major initiative from the ONE Campaign to make global health and extreme poverty priorities in the 2008 presidential election. The campaign has already gotten much attention from potential candidates, celebrities and political bloggers.

There are many ways that your cause can make itself more prominent during this important time. Katya Andresen has some great advice in her blog post Get the candidates talking about YOU.

Press releases, blog posts, letters to the editor and other publicity are some of the ways you can get the written word out about your cause. How about making a list of 5 to 10 of the most important aspects of your issue? Perhaps you can come up with a list of initiatives you would like to see come to pass locally or nationally. Treehugger has done just that with Ten Ideas For The US Congress: Seize The Initiative.

Doing something active or service oriented can help boost awareness and public understanding of your cause. The Walk for the Homeless in Athens Ohio combines a healthy walk with activism through interactive displays, videos and discussion groups.

Once election time comes nearer encourage your supporters, in a non-partisan way, to vote. Perhaps offer a short synopsis of the candidate’s positions on your particular cause. This could be an article for your newsletter or a special mailing. In many communities the Leauge of Women Voters puts out a voting guide that provides a Q&A with local candidates. Connect with your local Leauge and encourage them to include questions or candidate positions that address your cause.

This year is a great opportunity, not just for us to advocate for our own causes, but also to come together for the good of all.

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Earlier this month I began serving as Board President for a local organization, Christian Women’s Job Corps. This is my second year on the board and before that I supported its fundraising efforts. Even though I’m surrounded by information about non profits and fundraising even I started looking for some advice. Here are some great resources that I found that are helpful for all non profit board members:

Advice for a new president of a nonprofit board of directors from LinkedIn

Ask the Right Questions Before Taking Over as Board Chair from BoardSource

9 Big Board Questions from Tom Suddes of ForImpact

11 Ways to Focus on Vision and Values from Hildy Gottlieb of Help4NonProfits

Board Chair - Making Your Mark from Board Cafe

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Affinity Fundraising Seminars is offering a tele class about planning a golf tournament. The seminar is appropriate for those who are never held a tournament before and those who’ve put on tournaments before and want to achieve greater results.

Take Your Golf Tournament To The Next Level
How to Hold A Successful Fundraising Tournament
Thursday, January 31, 2008
1:00 PM, US Eastern Time
Duration: 50 - 65 minutes

For more information visit Affinity Fundraising Seminars

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Today I’m starting a new weekly feature I’m calling “Resource Roundup.” I get a lot of great newsletters each week on a variety of topics, subscribe to blogs and often find some great web resources. I often think that they would be great to post here on Step by Step Fundraising. The Resource Roundup will simply be a list of great links that I’ve found during the past week or so all around a particular topic.

This Roundup will be a nice follow-up to last week’s newsletter on reviewing 2007. Here are several great articles and blog posts with inspiration, tips and ideas to make your 2008 great!

Life and Leadership Lessons from Rich Male - Advice and encouragment for a less stressful new year

Plan Your 2008 Fundraising Strategy from Fast Track Fundraising - Tips for planning seasonal and holiday fundraisers

What I Want From My Volunteers in 2008 from Thomas W. McKee of Volunteer Power - 5 ways to make your volunteer service worthwhile and powerful in 2008

Start the New Year With a 30-Day Trial from Steve Pavlina - Forget resolutions, just try something for 30 days

2008, The Year of Authenticity from Tom Suddes - Keeping it Real

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Silent Auctions are great add-ons to many types of special events. You can offer a variety of auction items and your attendees can view and bid on items anytime during the event. Silent auctions are quite flexible since you can offer just a dozen high quality items up to hundreds.

Before planning your silent auction though, be sure that you have covered all five of these must-haves:

1. A Goal

There are many books related to goal setting and why it’s important for personal and professional success. Goal setting is just as important when planning a fundraiser. This includes setting goals for the number of attendees, your overall dollars raised and of course goals just for the silent auction.

Decide how many auction items that you want to put on display for bidding. Often it is best to put items into prize bundles or gift baskets, so while you may have 40 donations, those might be bundled into 25 auction items. It just depends on how many and what type of items have been received.

2. Bidders

You must have people attend the event in order to get bidders for your auction. It is best to have a whole committee or “go-to” person in charge of publicity and getting RSVPs for the event. Then the silent auction committee can focus on obtaining items and preparing for the auction.

3. Attractive Auction Items

Auction items get bids when they appeal to the interest of the attendees and the bid matches their pocketbook.

With the exception of events that are theme-based such as art auctions, the silent auction should have a wide variety of items. When there are items that appeal to a broad range of interests from wine gift baskets, to travel, sports tickets, and everything in between, there’s a better chance of attendees finding items to bid on.

You may get some donations of items that have a very limited audience. For example, gift certificates to a tanning salon only appeal to people who go to tanning salons. Consider putting something with limited interest in a bundle of items or asking the donor for an alternate item.

4. Items at Variety of Prices

Consider your audience and how much money they would likely be willing to spend on an auction item. Are they likely to bid $5,000 on a travel package? Or should most of your items be in the $25-$100 value range?

This is something that you’ll have to decide based on your demographics, the type of event, and the experience you’ve had with other fundraisers for your group.

In most cases there should be a variety of types of items that fill a range of values. Then attendees are more likely to find something they are interested in at a price they can afford.

You can also use add-on fundraisers like raffles and grab bags to appeal to all interests and give everyone a chance to take something home.

5. Volunteer Support

While silent auctions are good fundraisers because they are low cost, they do require some leg work. Getting the auction items donated, sorted, and displayed can take quite a bit of time so volunteers are essential. The actual number of volunteers needed depends on how large the auction is going to be.

It is recommended that you have at least two Auction Captains to oversee the main parts of hosting a silent auction – getting items and auction set up/operation. These Captains can be staff persons or volunteers. Then additional volunteers can report to the Captains to help them get everything done.

This article is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Step by Step Fundraising Guide to Silent Auctions

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Affinity Fundraising Seminars is presenting an teleseminar with noted author Heather McLeod Grant on January 10th. She’ll be discussing the 6 practices of high-impact nonprofits, how nonprofits have moved “from good to great” and how to apply these ideas in your work.

The first 20 registrants for this seminar will receive a FREE copy of Forces For Good (courtesy of Jossey-Bass). Others will receive a discount code for 15% off the purchase of the book.

Fundraising & The 6 Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits
A Conversation With Heather McLeod Grant
Thursday, January 10, 2008
1:00 PM, US Eastern Time
Duration: 60 - 75 minutes (depending on length of Q&A)

For more information visit Affinity Fundraising Seminars

“Global problems like abject poverty and climate change require innovative, scaleable solutions. We have so much to learn from the six practices in Forces for Good because they are what lead to wide scale social change.”

~ Larry Brilliant, Google.org Executive Director

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