4 Types of Raffles

Raffles are an excellent way to raise more money for a cause or an organization. The audience or participants have something to get excited about, and they have the chance to win a prize. This thought process alone is enough motivation and incentive for people to join in on the raffle fun. But that's only one of the many reasons raffles are so popular and successful.

Hosting a raffle is simple and does not require the host to spend tons of money or utilize many supplies. In fact, raffles can even be hosted via the internet. Even the in-person and traditional raffles usually only require tickets or stubs for entry. If using the Internet to host your raffle be sure to check local and state laws regarding raffles as each jurisdiction may have different requirements, and in some states, you may not be allowed to do it at all.

The raffle prize can also cost little to nothing depending on the level of sponsorships you have. Those who want to have low costs can have a raffle sponsor donate the prize. For instance, this prize can be as small as a gift card to a coffee shop to as large as a vacation. Some raffles even have many tiers, with multiple winners and numerous prizes.

There are multiple raffle types. Not sure what these types are or how they operate? Let us fill you in on what you need to know.

#1 Golden Ticket Raffle

The golden ticket raffle is a popular one. What sets this raffle apart is the opportunity for winners to pick the prize, generally any item in the “Live” auction is available, which makes this raffle very popular. The winner can have a prize of their choice from all items in the auction, up to the value of tickets that are sold.

By not limiting the prize a winner can select (up to the value of tickets sold) more people will want to get involved in order to win their selected favorite item. By not pre-selecting the prize and instead allowing the winner to select from an assortment of prizes, nearly every guest is a potential ticket purchaser.

The use of higher end consignment items is a great way to draw participants in the Golden Ticket Raffle. These serve as “Raffle magnets” as they are often items not generally available as direct contributions. In addition to making the Raffle popular, the risk of losing a great item out of the Live auction is minimized because often an additional duplicate item can replace one taken as a raffle prize.

#2 Star Raffle

For some added oomph, we recommend using the star raffle. This is a great way to boost silent auction revenue by motivating bidders to jump their bids to higher steps faster. For instance, let's say you have 14 steps in the silent auction per item. The opening bid of the item is $30 with the Guaranteed Purchase price at $150. The star raffle would put a "star" or other marking at a specific step.

In this example, the "star" would be at the $70 or $80 bid step. A bidder who bids on the item for the amount of the "star" would automatically be entered in the raffle. When we take a look at the revenue, the opening bid was at 30%, but with the jump, the bidders bid at 70-80%. This jump increases the yield on that item, raising more money.

In this scenario, the raffle would conclude at the end of the evening. That way, you can have every auction item utilize the star raffle and jumping technique. This star raffle process is automated using a mobile bidding system, like Text2Bid, but can also be handled manually with paper bid sheets.

#3 Bucket Raffle

The bucket raffle differentiates itself by the use of a bucket, hat, box, decorated coffee can etc. into which participants deposit a raffle ticket. Typically, a buyer would buy multiple tickets and then place one or more of these tickets into the “bucket” that represents a specific prize. It is encouraged that participants place multiple tickets in the bucket for their most wished items. Essentially, the participant is selecting their prize in advance by virtue of placing one or many tickets in the bucket.

Tickets are drawn one at a time from each of the buckets. Since tickets in the bucket only come from guests that want to win that specific item there is no issue of a winner receiving an item they do not want or can’t use. As a bonus, if you are using a mobile bidding system this entire process of selling the tickets and selecting which virtual bucket it is placed in is automated. Even the selection of the winning ticket from each bucket is automated. Again, remember to be sure raffles sold in this manner are legal in your state.

#4 Registration Raffle

Virtual events changed the game this past year. This foreign territory might have proved an obstacle for many organizations. But, with registration raffles, the shift to virtual doesn't need to be difficult.

A key principle of every auction is increasing the number of bidders in attendance, which increases the bid activity. With more activity, there is greater yield. In the case of a registration raffle, you boost activity and attendance by providing an incentive for registration.

You can do this by saying that anyone who registers by a specific date will get entered into the raffle. To provide further incentives and make the raffle easier, you can make the incentive applicable for only mobile registration.

With mobile registration, you can periodically text your participants to generate excitement. You can also use the mobile information gained to update participants about future events. This will in turn boost participation in future events and can help you build up a reliable network of raffle and auction participants.

Furthermore, if you are using a mobile bidding system for your virtual raffle, selecting the winner is easy. The system will automatically do a “Random Draw” and select someone for you to announce.

Closing Thoughts

With any of the above raffles, you can have a successful event and raise money for your organization. With each raffle type, you can personalize your items and embellish the event with sponsors, making for an entertaining event for your guests. You might even find that you want to try out more than one of the raffle types. Please remember that rules regarding raffles vary from state to state. When using the raffles as part of your fundraising, please be sure to check your local laws for compliance.

To learn more about raffles, mobile bidding systems, or to get a consultation about your upcoming event, click here to get in touch with our team.