Incorporating a Raffle With an Already Existing Fundraising Program
IÑ• уþur nþn-Ñ€rþfÑ–t þrgðnÑ–zðtіþn, ÑÂhurÑÂh þr Ñ•ÑÂhþþl Ñ–n nõõd þf rðіѕіng fundÑ• fþr a worthy Ñ€rþjõÑÂt? Rðfflõ ticket sales are õffõÑÂtÑ–võ (and Ñ•Ñ–mÑ€lõ) fundraisers!
“ImрðÑÂt a LÑ–fõ†ÑÂþllõgõ Ñ•ÑÂhþlðrÑ•hÑ–Ñ€ essayist Nate Hensal dþõѕ a Ñ•Ñ€lõndÑ–d jþb Ñ–n outlining thõ many bõnõfÑ–tÑ• and a formula for hþldÑ–ng a successful rðfflõ fundrðіѕõr.
Nate is an Aeronautical Studies major at Kent State University. Good luck with your studies Nate!
“Impact a Life†Scholarship contributor: Nate Hensal
Yþu ÑÂðn hõlÑ€ Nate Hensal’s pursuit þf a scholarship award bу ÑÂlÑ–ÑÂkÑ–ng the “sharing Ñ–Ñ• ÑÂðrÑ–ng†buttþnÑ• bõlþw.
From age seven until the day I turned eighteen I was an official member of the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America, is one of the largest non-profit organizations that is active in the United States today. While in the Boy Scouts I participated in a countless number of activities and events that were both memorable and most of all enjoyable. In between
these fun and memorable events were the morally and civically enriching volunteer opportunities within my community and surrounding communities. Then, within the time between these volunteer opportunities and incredible experiences, laid the weekly and monthly meetings that planned the fun experiences as well as the philanthropist events.
A popular topic that was discussed within these meetings were times said events would take place, the setting where the event would unfold, but most importantly we talked about the financial plan to pay for these enjoyable but often expensive occasions. With the financial aspect of planning came brainstorming topics that would include possible solutions to raise money to fund the events. The most popular fundraising opportunities we participated included popcorn sales, candy bar sales, and a pancake breakfast. Each fundraiser had a different amount of money that went directly to our troop and some were much more popular than others.
The highest grossing fundraiser we did was the popcorn sale every year, however, a majority of the money earned from the sale of the snacks went directly to the Boy Scouts of America organization. Therefore the fundraiser that benefited our troop the most directly was the pancake breakfast, where the money spent to buy the supplies needed to put on the event itself was from our troop and all money received went directly to our troop.
Although our pancake breakfast is an exceptionally successful operation in itself, I believe that an implementation of a raffle fundraiser would benefit not only our troop, but every troop within the Boy Scouts of America. The raffle fundraiser could see the direct funding and revenue to the troop since everything is being paid for by the troop itself.
This implementation of a raffle-style fundraiser could be infused with the already existing fundraising programs that our troop has established. The best way to sell the tickets would be to include a mention of a small donation to the troop and in turn the donor would receive a ticket to be entered into a drawing to be held at a later date. Include a summary of what the individual would receive if chosen and also offer to sell more tickets, if desired, to the individual for a predetermined price. The price for the ticket should be low in comparison to the grand prize that is being offered to the participants and in turn the donor would be more inclined to buy a ticket. This is the best way to maximize the amount of tickets sold because the majority of people buying a pancake breakfast ticket are already inclined to giving money to the troop or organization.
Prizes that should be offered include tickets to next year’s pancake breakfast, membership fee waivers for the Boy Scouts, cash, or gift cards. By offering admittance into next year’s breakfast it encourages the donor to come back next year and with having already won the raffle once, they would be even more willing to buy an abundance of tickets during next year’s
event. The membership fee waiver would encourage growth of participation within the community with the Boy Scouts. An important aspect of Boy Scouts is the expansion of the organization in order to get a large amount of young males to participate in community service, active wildlife conservation, and to promote social development.
In addition to selling these tickets at the breakfast, it would also be encouraged for the scout to go out on his own, perhaps door to door, and sell the raffle tickets to members of the
community. The scout would be required to bring the money back to the troop along with contact information and number on the raffle tickets sold to the troop leader that was organizing the
event. To motivate the scout to sell more tickets you would offer them incentives such as gift cards, vouchers to pay for other scouting expenses, or even a portion of the earnings in cash that will be awarded to the scout that sells the most tickets.
While the raffle appeals to the winner of the drawing, it is also a great way to raise even more funds for the troop to help pay to expand their organization while directly benefitting the troop and its scouts.