Raffles are a popular fundraising tool for nonprofit organizations because they can be fun and effective at raising money. Whether your organization hosts a livestream event or an in-person gala, raffling off prizes can keep the audience engaged and make the event more exciting for everyone involved.

Begin by determining your monetary goal for the raffle and setting your ticket price accordingly. This will help you calculate how many tickets your nonprofit needs to sell and ensure that all of the ticket revenue goes directly toward your cause. Then, assemble a team of people to sell tickets at your event. The more volunteers you have to sell tickets, the more money you will raise. In addition to your organization’s staff and board members, consider asking volunteers and supporters from outside of your group who are passionate about the cause to participate.

Purchase a roll of raffle tickets from your local party supply store or dollar store. Be sure to choose the kind that has two sections that can be torn and each section contains a unique serial number. Having these tickets on hand makes it easy for your ticket sellers to identify each individual’s ticket and keep track of the total amount of money that each person has donated.

Find exciting and desirable prizes for your raffle that will entice people to buy tickets. Reach out to local businesses and organizations for prize donations or use your own donor list to secure items that you know will be in demand. A vacation package is a popular choice for raffle prizes, but you can also get creative with other fun options. For example, an organization called Camp Fire Green Country has a unique raffle where donors can win a four-night Cancun vacation by purchasing a $100 raffle ticket.

Promote your raffle by displaying a ticket sales thermometer in a prominent location and updating it regularly. You can also reach out to local media for help promoting the event, and use your social media channels and email campaigns to spread the word about the fundraiser.

Then, set up your ticket selling stations and display attractive signage to draw the attention of the crowd. At each station, have a locking cash box for holding money, a visible receptacle like a fishbowl or a large glass jar to hold the ticket stubs and pens for people to write their names on the back. For in-person events, you may want to invest in a raffle drum to properly mix and distribute the ticket stubs.

Once your tickets are sold, host a live drawing at the time that you advertise. If the drawing takes place during a livestream event, you can even announce the winner throughout the program to keep viewers engaged.

After announcing the winner, be sure to thank them for their support and encourage them to continue to donate to your nonprofit. Then, export all of the donation information from your ticket sellers into a spreadsheet (it’s easy to do through CauseVox!) and choose the next winner for your next raffle by using a random number generator.