On the hunt for good raffle prizes? This is a comprehensive guide that will take out all the hard work so you can focus on raising more money for your cause! I’ll take you through everything you need to know. It includes a list of nearly 100 raffle prize ideas and a list of companies willing to donate raffle prizes to your fundraising efforts (updated for 2024). Wondering how to get companies to donate raffle prizes? You’ll find a template donation letter below and top tips as well!
So whether you are organising a charity fundraising event, trying to increase funds for your school or looking to put on a raffle at a sporting event, like a golf tournament, you will find this guide helpful. I run through everything step-by-step so you know exactly what you need to do.
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Before diving in, you might want to check out my other relevant fundraising blogs:
- 8 easy fundraising ideas
- Top tips for organising a fundraising event
- How to get people to sponsor you
- How to do a press release
7 tips: How to ask for raffle prize donations
I first started going on adventures in 2016 (you can see what adventures I’ve done on my adventures page). From the beginning, I decided I wanted to use my adventure challenges as a way to fundraise for charity. I’ve always been passionate about charity work and raising money for a good cause…..this was a great way to combine 2 of my passions.
I tried fundraising in lots of different ways, including organising fundraising events and asking people to sponsor me. Organising an event takes a lot of time and energy. And my network of friends and family were getting fed up of my social media posts asking them to sponsor me. Looking for a new way to fundraise, I switched organising raffles instead and found they were hugely succesfull!!!
You can get big and local businesses to donate prizes and then use these as an incentive to ask people to give you money. Because there’s something in it for them (they might win something) it means you are much more likely to get strangers donating so you can stretch beyond your network.
I’m known amongst friends as a pro in getting free things. It’s something I developed when I worked in the charity sector and had to source thousands of items donated for large-scale events. When I transferred those skills to looking for raffle prizes, I found that I had a bit of a knack for it! Now, I’m going to share everything I know with you.
Wondering how to find companies happy to donate raffle prizes? Let’s start with my top tips….
#1 Have a clear goal or focus
Write down how many prizes you are aiming for and if you are looking for anything in particular. I usually aim to try to get a couple of big prizes for raffles and then a handful of smaller prizes from local businesses to mix things up. The big prizes are your main draw, but having lots of options increases someone’s chances of winning, which is an attractive incentive.
Start a spreadsheet early on. Put your goal at the top and then use the rest of the space to keep track of companies you are planning to contact and if you received any responses.
#2 Create a Raffle prize template letter (or use mine)
When approaching companies willing to donate good raffle prizes, it’s good to bear in mind that they may get a lot of requests (especially if you are trying for a popular raffle prize like a food gift basket or wine). So you’ve got to stand out from all the other requests they are getting. They are more likely to support you if they like you and your cause.
Make the letter as personal as you can. If you have a story or connection to the charity then tell it. I try to keep my letter short as people are too busy to read huge amounts of text.
Also, make it clear in your subject line why you are approaching them but in an interesting way. Here’s how I might structure a letter:
Subject: Can you help build a classroom?
Dear {first name is you have it}
On {date} I am organising {put the details of the event you are putting together}. I’m doing this to raise money for {charity}.
I chose this charity because {insert your connection or motive for fundraising….remember to keep it personal and pull on the heartstrings if you can}
{Charity name} works to support {animals/children/environment}. Each year, they {put examples of what they achieve or specifics in terms of reach}. I’m hoping to raise {target amount}, which will pay for {what is your money going towards},
I’m writing to ask if {company name} might be willing to donate a prize that we can raffle/auction at the event? We think this would be a great prize because {find a reason that it would be a great fit, such as it is a local supplier and most people attending the event are from the area}. Your generous donation will be supporting a good cause and you will be thanked on the night {and in any other way that might be of relevance – in a program, on the event website}.
Please find attached a letter of support from {charity name}.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Bex
{include phone number}
#3 Get a letter of support from the charity
Contact your chosen charity and ask them to send you something on letterhead that says they support what you are doing. It is good practice to include this as a PDF in any email you send out (make sure it includes the charity number).
It looks professional and will reassure any doubts they may have about you being genuine.
#4 Direct your request at a specific person
When approaching a company for a raffle prize, it is generally best to direct your message to a specific person. Ideally, this would be the owner of the company. If it’s a really huge company, then the head of PR and media might be a better bet. Sometimes it is easy to see who this is as their name and contact information is clearly displayed on the contact us page. If the details are there, then include them on your spreadsheet so you can send a personalised message.
If not though, don’t waste loads of time searching this out. In most cases, the message will be forwarded to the right person.
#5 Start contacting companies for raffle prizes
Use my ‘raffle prize ideas’ section at the bottom of this guide to create a list of potential companies willing the donate raffle prizes. The bigger the list, and the most amount of time you spend on this, the easier it will be when it comes to sending out your ask.
Make this list fully BEFORE sending out emails otherwise you will lose track of what you’ve already searched.
Obviously, the more emails you send, the more success you are likely to have.
Although letters are great, I usually just stick to sending an email as it’s faster, cheaper and I can have a wider reach. From my personal expereicne, I’ve had a good response from companies happy to donate raffle prizes off the back of an email…..I think letters can be too time consuming for people to replt to.
The only exception would be if I print a letter which I plan to hand-deliver to a manager in a supermarket or to shops if I am out in my local town for the day…..in some places, this is the only way to reach the manager (especially with branches of chains who usually have an individual say on charity allocation budgets – think big supermarkets or beauty shops).
#6 Follow up a week later (*IMPORTANT*)
This step is SO SO SO important. I can’t emphasise enough that you must follow up on your initial email. I’ve had more success from follow-up emails than I have with first emails!!!!
A week after I sent my first email, I send a follow-up if I haven’t heard back. This is where it’s important to keep your spreadsheet organised so you can keep track of rejections and emails so you don’t get confused.
It’s harder to ignore the second email as it feels like someone is sitting waiting for your response. Keep your follow-up short, friendly and to the point. Forward your original email and simply put something along the lines of….’I’m just following up on my previous email as I hadn’t heard back and wanted to check it had been received ok’
#7 Aim for variety
A variety of prizes will make your raffle interesting and attractive. If you’ve got a mix of prizes, it means you will have something for everyone!
How many raffle prizes should you have? There’s no right answer to this but the bigger your crowd, the more raffle prizes you’ll want to aim for. Generally I aim for about 10 prizes.
I try to get one or 2 big prizes for your raffle as the main draw…..this can often be key to a successful raffle prize (think a TV or overnight stay in a hotel for a weekend getaway). Then get some interesting mid-range items from products, vouchers and gift cards (haricuts, hampers or day out vouchers). Then some smaller giveaways to bulk up the table (beauty products, toys or chocolates).
If there’s a lot of chances to win then people will work out their odds are better and may be more willing to give more versus a raffle with just a few prizes in. If you end up with way too many prizes, try splitting them into 2 raffles at separate events to spread out your takings.
BONUS TIP: You’ve got to get over your fear of asking!
I bet you’re feeling nervous about asking for prizes? Or at the very least a bit awkward?
There is no space for nerves or worries when it comes for asking for prizes as you need to use all your time and energy going at this guns blazing. Think about it – the more effective and confident you are at asking, the better your success rate.
A book that really changed my way of thinking when it came to fundraising is The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. It taught me to approach people and companies effectively and how to get over my nerves by asking.
I’d really suggest getting your hands on a copy to make you a better fundraiser.
And check out my video for more tips on fundraising and an explanation of the process and what worked for me:
THANK SUCCESSES
If someone emails to say they are happy to donate a prize, don’t forget to get back to them straight away. Say a huge thank you and ask if they can send the prize out immediately. It’s good to get it early on in case someone changes jobs! If it is for a service, you could offer to put together a PDF or envelope with the details for the winner if they don’t have a voucher or gift card available.
Once the raffle is finished, always follow up with companies willing to donate raffle prizes with a final thank you saying how much you raised. You never know when you might need to ask them for a raffle prize again! You could even take this a step further and create a postcard made from a photo taken on the night. A small touch like this can really show your gratitude and will mean that local business or company is more likely to help with fundraising events in future.
Who should I contact for raffle prizes?
Hopefully, by now you are feeling organised and confident about approaching companies. Now it’s time to start working out who to actually contact. I usually prioritise …
- Personal contacts and connections
- Small local businesses and companies
- then large companies
And will try to get a mix of…..
- Physical products
- Gift cards and vouchers
- Services (haircuts, cleaning services, etc)
- Celebrity items
Putting together hampers or cheap raffle prizes yourself: It’s also possible to group small to create hampers or even buy cheap items yourself to do this if you are happy to invest yourself. This could be a movie night hamper (cinema tickets, bag of popcorn and snacks) or a DIY spa night (with face masks, nail polish and bath bomb).
You can often find wicker baskets going cheap in second-hand shops or car boots, which are great for displaying your prizes and making them look nicer. An alternative option to a wicker basket, and much cheaper, are these fruit baskets.
Using your contacts
The best place to start is with personal connections as the success rate with people you have a connection with is going to be considerably higher. If your brother works in a bookstore, for example, it wouldn’t take much for him to ask the manager if they could donate a couple of books.
Start collecting a list of:
- all the companies you have worked for or with previously
- close friends and relatives and who they work for
I’d suggest putting something on your social media saying you are doing a raffle fundraiser and are looking for companies willing to donate. Someone might come forward with a suggestion or contact that you didn’t know about.
Top tip: small companies are key to getting raffle prizes
Generally, the smaller the company the more likely they are to donate to a fundraiser. So, an individual running a massage business is more likely to support you than a large spa chain. It’s also really good to try to find new companies that are yet to establish a supporting charity.
If they are local – even better!
To find the company I use Google (Google Maps can be great for showing you companies nearby) then just find the ‘contact us’ section on their website for an email address.
Raffle prize ideas 2024: products
These are some of the best raffle prizes you can get – having a physical ‘thing’ that winners can take away is appealing and will make your raffle table look attractive. Try looking for companies or individuals in your local area that sell the following….
Creative and general items:
- Artwork – try reaching out to local artists and art shops
- Ceramics & pottery
- Photography Prints – local photographers often sell prints
- Wood carving – furniture
- Jewellery
- Card designer – you’ll often find these sorts of people listed as stall holders at local fairs
- Clothes designer
- Watchmaker
*Etsy or Not On The High Street is a great place to look for craft inspiration. It will give you lots of new ideas by randomly searching and seeing what you find!
General items:
- Pet products
- Books – contact publishers or authors directly. These can make great prizes if you bundle several together (don’t forget to ask authors to sign the book to make it more special)
- Food bits
- Beauty products
- Bags
- Shoes and clothes
- Toys
- Electronics
- Board games
Subscriptions: There’s been a huge increase in subscription boxes, magazines and subscription services (such as viewing platforms). These make great prizes!
To find inspiration for specific brands to contact, go into the following shops and write down the brand names you see on the shelf. You can then contact all those companies directly.
Supermarket – luxury condiments, pasta and sauces, biscuits and crackers, cereals
Outdoor store – hats, clothing ranges, accessories
Department store – bags, shoes, jewellery, perfumes, watches
Electronics store – headphones, toasters, mixers, speakers, TVs, straighteners, cameras
Top tip: Think outside the box
The more unusual the company you are asking for prizes from, the more likely it will be a success.
The most popular raffle prize ideas – like chocolate, gift basket hampers and wine shops are bombarded with daily requests for donations. But how often do you think the local tattoo artist gets a similar email? Or a psychic or a dog trainer?
Even better…..can you convince a company to offer a money can’t buy experience?! This really is gold dust. Here are a few suggestions:
- A local baker to teach someone how to make beautiful cupcakes from scratch
- A visit to the changing room before a match
- A fashion designer to be a personal shopper for the morning
- Hour mentoring from a well-known local author or entrepreneur
Raffle prize ideas: vouchers, tickets, and experiences
Use Google to see what attractions are in your local area. Here are some ideas of the sort of vouchers and gift cards you could add to your raffle:
- Takeaway shops
- Local restaurants and pubs (voucher for a meal or drinks)
- Spots clubs – Football, rugby, hockey (tickets to go see matches or to vouchers to join training sessions…maybe they could throw in a club t-shirt so you have a physical product on the night)
- Boat tours
- Go-karting
- Taxi vouchers or limousine hire
- Workshops – cocktail, pole dancing, chocolate making, creating a perfume, jewellery making.
- Flights – hot air balloon, helicopter, glider, small aircraft
- Indoor Skydiving
- Team building days
- Magazine subscription
- Adventurous experiences – rock climbing, ice climbing, white water rafting, kayaking, SUPing
- ‘in the post’ Box Subscriptions – beers, beauty, baby, gin, vegetables, cheese
- Theatre – Amateur, opera, ballet
- Concerts – Jazz club, classical,
- Cinema
- Zoo or farm
- Theme park
- Flower making
- Hot air balloon ride
- Glider, paragliding, small aircraft flight lessons or experiences
- Zip lines
- Escape rooms
- Personal shopping experience
- Wine tasting
- Tours of local attractions or museums
- Garden attractions
- Cooking classes
- Teeth Whitening
Raffle prizes donated by celebrities
Celebrities are great for raffle prizes as they often have agents with a pile of signed goods ready to ship out. Again local is best – so anyone that grew up in the area who has now grown a name for themselves. They don’t just need to be huge celebrities – authors, TV presenters, and sports stars are a good place to start. Use Google to help you find these people.
Celebrities usually have a PR manager whose details will be on the contact page on their website. You might also have success looking for local PR companies or agents rather than for individual celebrities, as some agents might represent multiple people.
If they don’t have an obvious product to donate, maybe you could ask if they would be willing to give an hour call to share their expertise…..a local well-known entrepreneur for example.
Top tip: Think services, not just products
When people think of raffle prizes they usually think of physical items. From my experience though services are usually much easier to get. So things like massages, cleaning services, coaching sessions, etc. This is where you are most likely to get your big prizes for raffles.
Raffle prize ideas: services
Try looking for companies in your local area that offer the following services….
- Hairdressers or Barbers
- Beauty treatments – hair wax, manicure or pedicure, massages (reiki, head massage, holistic, sports masseuse)
- Tattoo (yep…I once had a tattoo artist give away 5 free tattoos!! As far as cool raffle prizes go it doesn’t get much better. Everyone at the event was talking about this one!)
- Massage
- Spa days
- Children’s entertainer
- Personal training
- Gym membership
- Ice skating lessons
- Swimming lessons – adult or children
- Language lessons – private or in a language school
- Motorbike lessons
- Car lessons
- Coaching – life, speaker, business
- Palm reading
- Psychic reading
- Photography – portraits, children, animals
- Dog training lessons
- Pet grooming
- Pet sitting or walking
Top tip: Target the manufacturers rather than suppliers
Generally, it’s better to approach the manufacturers who are producing a product rather than a company that supplies different products. For example, a specific shoe brand (such as Merrell or Crocs) is often more likely to donate a product over a shoe shop as they produce such large quantities of products.
A great way to find these is to go into a shop and write down the specific brands you see on the shelf. It’s like shopping for great raffle prizes!
Raffle prize ideas: large companies
Although you will likely have better luck with smaller companies, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying the big companies too. Here are some companies I’ve had luck with (note that I’m based in the UK, however if you are from the USA or elsewhere, you can try similar companies where you’re based):
- Dominos – dropped a letter into my local branch
- Build-a-Bear – https://www.buildabear.com/donation-request.html
- The Real Greek – http://www.therealgreek.com/
- London Eye – charity@londoneye.com
- WHSmith – dropped a letter into my local branch
- Wagamama’s – http://www.wagamama.com/contact-us
- Animal – shop@animal.co.uk
- Eurostar – charity@eurostar.com
- Next – Charities_department@next.co.uk
- Tesco – dropped a letter into my local branch
- Vue cinema – dropped a letter into my local branch
- Wilkinson – dropped a letter into my local branch
- Brittany Ferries – send a letter to Customer Services, Brittany Ferries, Millbay, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3EW
- Disney – send a letter to Corporate Community Affairs, The Walt Disney Company Ltd., Attn: Donation Requests, 3 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9PE
- IKEA – send a letter to IKEA Ltd, Customer Relations, Kingston Park, Peterborough, PE2 9ET
- London Aquarium – send a letter to SEA LIFE London Aquarium, Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road
- Thorpe Park – send a letter to Fundraising requests, Thorpe Park, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PN London SE1 7PB
- YoSushi – enquiries@yosushi.com
- JellyBelly’s – helpdesk@jellybelly-uk.com
A few extra resources and tips:
1 …..If you are doing an online raffle or sharing your fundraising journey on social media, check out my Ultimate social media guide and how I grew to 20,000 followers in the space of a year.
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2…..When presenting your raffle prizes, think about how to make them look intising. You want your punters to feel like they have a good chance of winning so pik the right size table that makes it look full of donated prizes. Use a table cloth and other decorations to make it look nice.
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3…..As well as reading The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, which I mentioned earlier in this guide, I’d also suggest checking out Fundraising Ideas by Molly Robbinson. There are also some really good tips in A guide to Fun Ways to Fundraise for your community, church or charity.
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4…..Don’t forget to get raffle ticket rolls in plenty of time. I buy mine off Amazon – I tend to get this 4 colour pack as I think having different colours makes it more interesting/tense when you call out the numbers.
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5…..When selling raffle tickets at your event, make sure you leave plenty of time (and have a spare pair of hands) for breaking down each ticket and folding them. This takes a surprising amount of time!
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6…..If you’ve thought of any other ideas for raffle prizes that I haven’t covered, please do share them in the comments box below to help others who are using this as a resource.
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7….I’d also love to hear about your event and if this resource helped. It makes me feel really good that I might be helping others do a good thing! It took me a (really!) long time to put this epic resource together so if you if you would like to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee!
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Give me a follow me on Facebook and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter to keep up with my latest adventures and fundraising efforts. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel.
I give all my advice out for free on my website (this fundraising guide took a loooong time for me to put together!), so if you want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee!
Thank you for reading! I’d LOVE to hear how your efforts are going in getting companies to donate to your fundraiser – leave me a comment below. And if you discover any new ideas or generous companies, it’d be great if you share it in the comments for other readers.
Good luck!
Hi.
I have received donations from Thompson and Morgan they sent me a selection of seeds. Dyson sent me a fan/heater worth nearly £300! Which is absolutely amazing. I have also received tickets to local attractions as well I have only just started out for my fundraiser for young epilepsy but doing well and I have only sent out emails so far. Amazing how generous people are 🙂 thanks for this it has been really helpful
That’s so great to hear Emma…thanks for sharing! I’ve also found people to be very generous.
I’m glad this has been of help. And good luck with the fundraising! 🙂
Thank you and good luck to your future fundraisers ☺
Thanks Emma…you too! 🙂
Hello Emma, Could I ask you what email address did you use to get in touch with Dyson pls?
Thank you
Silviax
What email address did you use for dyson? Any help would be great
Use their general contact details and ask to be put in touch with their marketing department 🙂
Hi, who did you contact for Dyson can I ask please
I see they now have an online application for requests: https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk/contact-us/request-a-donation.html
Just note that Dyson Foundation has many exclusions – no animal welfare charities or sports clubs for example.
Thanks for the advice Shirley 🙂
What great ideas! Cheers!
Thanks for reading!
I’m looking for raffle prizes for my charity which helps the blind and partially sighted. Wilkinson are very good; just fill in the form on the Wilkinson 0r Wilkos Community matters page. Try for a voucher or product. And local shops are great, so far I have a donation form my local stationers/ gift shop and a manicure voucher from a beauty salon. 8 more to go so heading to Sainsburys next.
Hi there i run a under 8 football team and we are holding a race night and looking for raffle prize donations if you could help in anyway could you let me know. Thank ypu
Good luck Ryan! All the help I have to give is in the advice I’ve put in these blogs. I hope they help 🙂
I’m looking to hold a charity event. Your comments have all been so helpful!! Do you have to provide a charity event number or certificate to show who your raising money for? X
I try to include a letter from the charity in support of the fundraiser.
Really pleased to hear it’s been helpful!
hi just found your site been trying to do fundraising for my local ice hockey team for last 12months some great links and ideas on here thank you
Thanks Andrew – pleased it helps. Good luck with your fundraising!
Hi all, this is so helpful! Thanks. I’m fundraising for Samaritans, any ideas on what companies I could reach out too other than the above?
Good luck with your fundraising Rosie!
Hello I just want to ask more about if some one want to start up a raffle draw event in our local area..what advice you can render ?
I don’t have much more advice than what I offer above in the blog I’m afraid! Good luck with the raffle though 🙂
I’ve had terrible luck with my raffle, all the big companies above have declined. Normally because they have their own charities that they donate to. I’ve sent emails and letters… but I will keep trying
I always target the smaller local companies first as I have more luck over the big places. Keep persevering! And think if you have any contacts or friends of friends who could help….that always has the best success rate 🙂
Hi. I’m swimming the English Channel next year for Aspire and have found smaller local companies much more accommodating and generous- a couple of local gastropubs are donating 3 course meals, a local sports masseuse has offered a couple of sessions, a sports magazine has offered a years subscription.
It’s the first time I’ve approached companies and found making your email personable about your cause and efforts you’re making with training etc helps, if you’re a regular customer/visitor/have had recommendations from friends also really works (identify why you’ve approached them in particular) what other prizes you may have sourced and admitting you’re aiming high in what your asking but open to suggestions has really worked. I’ve asked for specific prizes, e.g. a 3 course meal, rather than just “are you able to donate a prize” has worked. I’ve done a little negotiating with companies where they’ve perhaps offered something of a lesser value but still willing to support me.
I’ve also just emailed the Dyson Foundation having just read this blog so fingers crossed!
Go for it. What’s the worst that can happen? They can only say no!
Wow! What a challenge Joanna….good luck!!
Thank you for sharing your experience and your words of encouragement. It’s a great tip to be precise as I guess this eliminates any worry from the company that you are expecting something over the top.
Hi so sorry only just seen this hope it’s not too late I just searched online for prize donation requests and went through pages that came up. You need to contact the Dyson foundation.
Some of the bigger companies that donated to my event last year were as I said before Dyson bia the James dyson foundation who donated a fan/heater, brittany ferries who donated a £100 voucher, brother who donated a sewing machine, still who donated a strimmer, buy a gift who donated a bungee jump experience, man United donated a signed photo, paultons park donated a family ticket. Then there were more local businesses who donated some lovely prizes I had a donation of 3 lovely hand carved items old thorns donated an afternoon tea for two. Some vouchers for days out and services and family and friends donated some lovely smaller prizes I raised over £600 on my tombola and I have decided to do another one this year as I enjoyed it so much my friend and I are looking g to raise money for great ormand street. Hope all your fundraisers go well x
That’s great to know – thanks Emma. And well done on raising so much!
How did you contact ‘Brother’ please? A sewing machine sounds like an awesome prize…
Via the contact page on their website 🙂
Thank you
Sorry to say that I haven’t done as well with my raffle prizes this year. I applied to 23 companies (carefully researched) and only received two responses. A £30 voucher from Wilkinsons and a meal voucher from Fullers pubs. But I think what makes me feel sad is that companies don’t even reply. I know they get lots of requests but its still very disheartening especially when its large supermarkets; I contacted M & S, Lidl, Tesco, Sainsburys; also Debenhams. No reply from a large local hotel either which was surprising as I will be at a charity awards ceremony there soon. All requests were sent with a letter of authority. Do others think that generally most places are reluctant to give these days? Is the economy or donation/giving fatigue!?
I’ve always found that most companies just ignore my emails and letters. I try not think about it – I guess one viewpoint is it’s not even necessarily the company that is ignoring you but the person who gets it in their inbox. Although either way it’s never very nice to be ignored!
I agree that it’s definitely getting harder. I’ve changed the way I look for raffle prizes now and instead look for the niche companies or new ones who are early from launching as they won’t be fatigued from all the requests and this seems to have a better success rate.
Don’t let it get you down….you’re doing an amazing thing helping others!
I’m currently fundraising for angelman uk after my daughter was diagnosed with angelman syndrome.
We’ve been quite lucky with prizes, next, Baylis & Harding, roddas Cornish cream, paradise wildlife park we’re really friendly and easy to get through to. My friend works for Asda so their charity champion made us a chocolate hamper. My local brewery donated 3x 4 packs of their beers, a local photographer who we’ve used before donated a photoshoot aswell.
Amazing! It sounds like you’re doing a really good job….good luck!!
Hi. I hadn’t considered writing or emailing for donations, I was just going to call in person to local businesses. Is this a bad idea?
That’s not a bad idea at all! I’d give it a try and see what response you get – they may ask for a follow-up email anyway so it might be better doing it the other way round….sending an email and then following up with a call. Just find the technique that most works for you though!
Hi,
I wondered how much in advance do you need to write out before your event? We have a charity fundraiser planned for the end of March. Is that too late so start to organise a raffle and use your tips above?
Thanks!
Beth
If you are quick and work fast this won’t be too late Beth. Just send out lots of enquiries as soon as you can. I find that the companies who say yes tend to come back straight away or at least within a couple of days.
Ok, great thanks for such a quick reply. I wasn’t sure whether to bother but will crack on with sending emails out 🙂
Hi Emma I am raising money for cystic fibrosis trust as my nephew was diagnosed at 13 days old we are holding a charity quiz night raffle and auction and looking for prizes for raffle and bigger prizes to auction. To raise more money did you just e mail these people and companies like the parks and days out etc ??
Many thanks
Ben
Sorry to hear about your nephew Ben! Yes – send out dozens and dozens of emails! Make sure you include your story as it’s such an amazing reason to fundraise, and also maybe a photo to make it more personal!
Hi this article was very helpful thank you. I am just starting to reach out for donations from companies. can any of you help on how to get a charity number as most request forms require one?
Glad it helps Kayleigh! The charity should have the number on their website – usually at the bottom of the page. Or try googling ‘CHARITY NAME charity number’. Failing that then just drop them an email to ask.
Thank you will do 🙂
Hi I’m organising online fundraiser for my little girl.who has sever complex needs she needs equipments and wet room
I’m struggling for prizes
I’d be most greatful for emails on ppl I could ask
Keep sending those emails out and pull on personal contacts! 🙂
Thank you very much for presenting this data aboutraffle prize ideas, it’s known how to get approved but what are the next steps after getting the approval… Wonderful information, thanks a lot for sharing kind of content with us… great post!
Thank you!
This site and you are absolutely fabulous! I wish you lived in the US. I would hire you straight away!
Aaaah that’s such a lovely message. Thank you so much!!
Hey there Bex! Just wanted to offer a word of thanks for all the tips you’ve provided above. You were not joking about getting results from follow-up emails – we’ve nearly doubled our donation offers after reaching out a second time! We are ecstatic and can’t wait to see where our raffle goes. Thanks again!
Amazing! That’s so great to hear. Chasing emails always makes such a big difference!
Huge well done and good luck!
Hi…thanks for all of the info and tips you’ve supplied Bex, really useful. The template email is great too but I’m wondering how you suggest approaching a follow up email? I don’t want to sound too pushy. Thanks
Glad it’s helpful! I keep the follow up email really short and always forward from the email I sent so the reader can see this. I’d say something along the lines of ‘I’m just following up on my previous email (below) to check that it was received ok. Looking forward to hopefully hearing from you soon and please do let me know if you have any questions regarding the event.’
What a wonderful resource! I’m just about to start trying to gather prizes for a charity event I’m running in a couple of months. Thank you so much for the huge amount of time you’ve obviously put in to this.
Slightly different question- with those coloured raffle tickets you linked to, do you sell them in strips or individually? And do you get everyone to write their details on the back in case they miss the actual draw, or is it just a case of you leave, you lose?! I’m just trying to work out the logistics…
Thanks for the kind words Sama and you’re very welcome! I’m really happy to hear you’ve found the post helpful.
I usually do something like £2 a ticket or £5 a stip, £12 for 3 strips to encourage people to spend a bit more! To keep it simple I do the draw live and if they aren’t there then they miss out and I call another name. It wastes a lot of time tracking down winners and getting the prizes to them so make your job easy! If they leave early they can always give their tickets to someone they trust to collect a prize on their behalf.
Good luck! 🙂
This has helped so much! Next has agreed to donate! Alot of local businesses also.
I also emailed bondara it’s an adult site as we are an over 18 venue but they sent us an amazing selection of goodies to use for our upcoming event. We have restaurant vouchers and allsorts all the best of luck to you all xx
This has made my day Kerry. Thanks for letting me know – I’m so pleased the blog helped. And good luck with your fundraising! It sounds like you are doing a great job xx
Thanks Bex, really useful, watched the YouTube video too. I sent a request off to NEXT and I was surprised to get a box stuffed full of candles and fragrance coffrets x
That’s brilliant Gina! Happy it was successful and my blog and video helped 🙂
After the event I’m thinking of also sending a quick Email out to the companies that didn’t donate with photos/amount raised, just to show them it was all genuine. Might make them think of donating something the following year.
Hi bex we have limited resource within our charity to devote to fundraising activities how much time do you think approx it takes to set-up, organise and run? We will be contacting organisations etc promoting on our social media channels and plan to hold a pub quiz to announce the winners
I usually dedicate 2 full days to sending out as many emails as I can to companies asking them to donate. This is usually enough time to get a bulk of prizes for a draw. I’ve never found the organising of events particularly time consuming – but I’m also an avid organiser so not sure if I’m much help there!
Thank you Bex we’re getting there! Any tips for the subject line when sending a raffle request this way?
If you don’t have a direct email I usually put ‘FAO the CEO/Manager/Marketing Manager’ or just simply ‘request for support’
Your blog is a testament to the power of resilience and the strength of the human spirit.
Very interesting and helpful advice. Thanks. I’m a complete novice and volunteer for a very small heritage railway and we are desperate for funds so I’m planning a charity auction alongside a dance with Buffet maybe in the autumn. Is it too early to be asking for prizes?