A charity raffle is a simple fundraising strategy where donors buy numbered tickets for a chance to win prizes. Donors typically purchase tickets before the event, and winners are drawn entirely at random.

Raffles have traditionally taken place in-person but are increasingly hosted online or at  offering more flexibility for donors and nonprofits. With an element of chance and surprise, raffles are a fun yet effective way to raise raffle for charity money at your fundraiser event. 

NOTE: Raffle legislation and licensing requirements vary across the United States and Canada. Be sure to seek counsel from a legal professional  raffle for charity  proceeding with your event. 

Why Host a Raffle?

There’s a reason raffles are such a popular option at benefit events and remain a firm favorite for fueling fundraising success: From a proceeds perspective. An added advantage? Everyone who buys a ticket contributes to your cause, regardless of whether they win. By spreading the cost of prize items across many donors, raffle ticket sales easily generate enough revenue to cover big-ticket items that draw donors in. It’s a win-win: you reach your fundraising targets and donors get the chance to take home a  for the price of a single ticket. Raffles provide valuable revenue streams raffle for charity benefit auctions of all sizes. A prize draw that might serve as the main source of fundraising at a smaller event can also work to warm up the crowd before a gala’s showstopping live auction.While , there’s a chance that items may not sell. By hosting a raffle, you know exactly how many tickets you need to sell to meet your fundraising goal and raffle for charity how much revenue the raffle will bring in.

Sourcing Raffle Prizes

When it comes to sourcing raffle prizes, your nonprofit organization has a few different options:Start with your immediate network. Ask staff, volunteers, board members, or even friends and family if they – or someone they know – can contribute raffle prizes to your cause. Your benefit auction sponsors and vendors are also valuable sources for potential contributions. Reach out to local businesses and artisans. Asking for in-kind donations such as raffle gift baskets isn’t just beneficial for you, it offers great publicity to vendors and an opportunity to support your local community. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t get all your raffle prizes for free! Take advantage of unique and risk-free consignment items such as luxury  A huge benefit of consignment is the ability to select prizes that match your donor profiles. Consignment items for auction can also generate significantly higher fundraising returns – alone generate a 140% raise ratio on average.

Remember, it’s not about how little you spend but how much fundraising revenue you generate. 

Inspiring Raffle Ideas 

With these considerations in mind, we’ve carefully selected 35 creative and exciting raffle ideas guaranteed to inspire your event planning and help you drive more raffle ticket sales. 

For your convenience, we’ve broken down raffle prize ideas into popular and easy-to-organize categories. Explore our picks for each, or use our lists to inspire your own!