Raffles Truly Benefit Everyone
Why Ñ–Ñ• the rðfflõ a simple, õffõÑÂtÑ–võ, and рþtõntіðllу Ñ€rþfÑ–tðblõ wðу tþ rðіѕõ fundÑ• for уþur gþþd ÑÂðuѕõ?
“ImрðÑÂt a LÑ–fõ†scholarship ÑÂþntrÑ–butþr Te’Auna Sanders-Criner relates from personal experience õxðÑÂtlу whу уþur organization Ñ•hþuld ÑÂþnÑ•Ñ–dõr ѕõllÑ–ng rðfflõ tÑ–ÑÂkõtÑ• as a рðrt þf your nõxt fundrðіѕõr.
Te’Auna is enrolled at the University of Maryland. Great jþb Te’Auna, ðnd best þf luÑÂk wÑ–th уþur Ñ•tudіõѕ!
“Impact a Life†Scholarship contributor: Te’Auna Sanders-Criner
Yþu ÑÂðn hõlÑ€ T. Sanders-Criner’s pursuit þf a scholarship award bу ÑÂlÑ–ÑÂkÑ–ng the “sharing Ñ–Ñ• ÑÂðrÑ–ng†buttþnÑ• bõlþw.
I started my first semester in college recently and instantly noticed the amount of raffle ticket fundraisers that different student organizations on campus used to make money. The first one I attended was held by our student government association(SGA). For two dollars we were granted entry to an entertaining space with a performance and given a raffle ticket for three prizes; a UMBC (my school) gear basket, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and 20 free pizzas from a pizzeria down the road. Our 500-capacity Sports Zone was packed with excited students and faculty that were enjoying the fun. 500 people times 2 dollars, SGA must have made about 1,000 dollars that night alone! Often, we don’t think about the way that small donations of money can add up.
The results of the raffle night were all-over positive. SGA, even minus the prices of the prizes if they weren’t donated, made at least 300 dollars that night. 3 lucky winners made it out of that event with great gifts, and the rest of participants were benefited by their own donations, especially the students. And everyone had great entertainment!
SGA wanted to do more trips to political hubs like our state capital, Annapolis, and to our nation’s capital, Washington, DC, but with limited funds, they were going to need to hold their own fundraiser to earn money to do these trips. With their success, many students were able to were able to go one the trips either for a drastically discounted price or completely for free. A small 2-dollar donation created a more politically-savvy student body.
This experience shocked me! I was shown how raffles truly benefit everyone participating, and how low-risk they are. Even if one is not lucky enough to win the prize, the 2-dollar donation still goes to a good cause, and the spenders have not lost too much money. I am planning to apply for a leadership role at my school, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, most likely in Residential Life or the Diversity Center. These are two relatively low funded programs at school and the raffles I have attended have given me an idea to do one myself. Even in the event that I do not obtain a leadership role, I plan to be an active member and still suggest the raffles to the individuals in charge.
Not only do I want to bring a higher quantity of raffles to school, but I want to 1: emphasize the ways that that kind of fundraising can bring money to our school and 2: make raffles more attractive with innovative ideas, themes, and other ways. I plan to do these actions through short bulleted, informative posters (students love short, concise sentences) and by taking polls to understand what variety of items students and faculty would be willing to pitch a few dollars for. Raffles excite me (not in an excessive way), because the responsibility of building a program gets spread evenly rather than depending on lump sums. I guess that you can say raffles are simple machines, fundraiser style.