Charity Raffles: What You Need to Know

Learn everything you need to know to run a Raffle on RallyUp.

Raffles are a popular and exciting way to raise funds. This article will guide you through some tips and tricks to ensure your Raffle is as successful as possible. The links below will take you to other Knowledge Base articles with more detailed instructions.

Legal Requirements

Raffles are considered gambling in the US, so their use is heavily restricted. Before you start planning your Raffle, confirm whether you're legally allowed to run one:

Important Information to Know about Raffles before Creating Your Experience

RallyUp does allow individuals or businesses to run a Raffle to raise funds on behalf of a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. You'll need to go through a unique setup process to ensure your Raffle complies with local laws and regulations:

How to Run a Charity Raffle or Sweepstakes If You Are an Individual

Pricing

Pricing options can be found in the following article:

Understand: The RallyUp Experience Pricing Options

Raffle Types

There are several types of Raffles you can run on RallyUp: 

  • 50/50 Raffle (also known as a split-the-pot or jackpot Raffle): Donors can enter for a chance to win part of the funds raised 

How-to: Run a 50/50 Raffle 

  • Prize Raffle: Donors can enter for a chance to win traditional prizes like vacation packages, goodie baskets, etc.

How-to: Allow Donors to Purchase Raffle Entries for Any Prize Available

How-to: Allow Donors to Purchase Raffle Entries for Specific Prizes

  • Coming soon! Basket Raffle (also known as a tricky tray Raffle): Donors can purchase entries, choose the prizes they're interested in, then submit as many entries as they like into the drawing for each prize.

How-to: Run a Basket Raffle (coming soon!)

Sample Raffle

Take a glimpse at a sample Raffle to see if this activity is right for you.

Offline Entries

In addition to selling Raffle entries online, RallyUp allows you to sell entries offline and then manually add the entry purchases to your online records:

How-to: Add Raffle or Sweepstakes Tickets You’ve Sold Offline

Entry Pricing

The way you set up your entry levels can encourage more people to participate and donate at higher levels so you raise the most money possible:

Insights: Use Entry Levels to Increase Donations
How-to: Create Raffle and Sweepstakes Entry Levels

Drawing Winners

RallyUp offers multiple options for automatic or manual drawing, so you can select the option that works best for your situation: 

Understand: Drawing Raffle and Sweepstakes Winners

Raffle vs. Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes are a good alternative to Raffles since they function similarly, but Sweepstakes are required to offer a free method of entry, so they're not considered gambling:

Raffles and Sweepstakes: What’s the Difference?

Notify Winners

Similarly to drawing winners, you can have RallyUp email the winners automatically, or you can notify them manually:

Will RallyUp Notify the Winner(s)?
Does RallyUp Notify the People Who Don’t Win?

Promote Your Experience

Spreading the word about your raffle to as many people as possible is the best way to ensure its success. You can share the link to your fundraiser on social media or send an email to your donors, family, and friends to get the word out:

How to Find and Share Your Experience Link

Our free Text-to-Give tool allows donors to text a keyword to 33100 and immediately receive an Experience link so they can participate and donate from their mobile device:

How-to: Promote Your Experience with Text-to-Give

RallyUp's Sharing Rewards program gives donors bonus entries in exchange for promoting your Experience on their social media, so your Raffle reaches a much wider audience:

How-to: Promote Your Raffle or Sweepstakes with Sharing Rewards

If you're planning to host a live event and draw winners in person, consider turning it into a hybrid event by livestreaming the drawing. You can even enable Gated Livestreaming and require donors to purchase tickets to view the livestream:

Insights: Turn Your Fundraiser into a Live Virtual Event

Track Donor Data and Get Insights

Integrate your RallyUp account with Google Analytics or Meta Pixel to track donor behavior on your Experience Pages. Use these insights to pinpoint successful fundraising methods, create targeted ads, and more:

What Is a Meta Pixel?

What Is Google Analytics?

Get Started

Click here to create a free account and start building your fundraiser. Test out your Experience before going live by selecting the ‘Preview’ button at the top of any page in Experience setup:

How-to: Preview Your Experiences in Draft Mode

Contact Us

Have questions? We’re here to help! Our team is available via chat on our website during normal business hours. Just hit the purple message button on the bottom right of your screen. You can also search our Knowledge Base for answers.

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