Making Your Fundraiser Easy
Fundraising is a difficult venture. Just ask any kid that’s been part of a youth organization, be it a sports team or a church group. There’s the natural apprehension about the idea, after all, most kids aren’t exactly comfortable taking the traditional fundraising route, knocking on door after door peddling items in a catalogue to strangers. It’s hard work, generally for little reward. The thought arises: there has to be a better idea! And in fact there is, in the form of raffle fundraising.
For the organization supporting the raffle, there are a myriad of ways to enhance the sales of tickets. Initially, it would be wise to keep the price of tickets on the lower side relative to the city. This would bolster confidence among the sellers and entice buyers. Another option would be to host a car wash, where the cost of a ticket would include a specific number of raffle tickets (say one or two per car). This is a fantastic option to kill two birds with one stone, the first being that the labor would be free (and thus cost-effective) because the volunteers would wash the cars, and second because the car wash would provide extra money for the fundraiser, on top of the raffle ticket. Additionally, allowing the raffle tickets to be sold in bulk, and for a discount, would certainly benefit all involved. As the number of tickets purchased increased, the price decreased. For example, one ticket sells for twenty dollars, while three sells for fifty. Moreover, once the tickets have been sold, the selection of the raffle tickets should be fun! Invite every person who bought a ticket to a selection party, which could be something small with finger food and a DJ, or something larger like a themed event. This would be sure to excite the general public about the raffle.
The last method to increase ticket sales is to offer phenomenal prizes. We’re only human after all, and humans respond best to incentives. It would be highly important to focus the prizes on the demographic at hand. After all, it makes little sense to offer a deep-sea fishing cruise to people in Nebraska. But assuming the demographic has been established, some prizes sure to incentivize people include some sort of adventurous outing. Sky diving perhaps, or tickets to a theme park if one is close by. For adults, a romantic date night with a paid babysitter. The goal would be to offer several different prizes, that way the fundraiser isn’t alienating potential supporters.
And finally, it’s important to remember those selling the tickets, for the ultimate success or failure of the raffle rests firmly on their shoulders. An end of the raffle party should be held to thank the volunteers for all their hard work, and at that party, top sellers should be recognized and presented with a prize of some sort. If most of the sellers are young, a thought would be to offer them a gift card or some piece of up and coming technology. If the sellers are adults then some special event they can do together would be appropriate. But the crux of the appreciation should be in the form of a shared experience for everybody, this way if another raffle or other type of fundraiser is needed in the future, you’ll have a ready and willing crew of volunteers.