In this guide to getting good raffle prizes, I will firstly cover my top tips for convincing companies to donate, including a template donation letter. At the bottom of the guide, you will then find a comprehensive list of companies willing to donate and my best raffle prize ideas – updated for 2020.
Before diving in, you’ll want to check out my other relevant fundraising blogs:
- 8 easy fundraising ideas to smash your charity target
- Top tips for organsing a fundraising event
- How to get people to sponsor you
- How to do a press release
How to ask for raffle prize donations
I started going on adventures in 2016 (check out what adventures I’ve done on this page). As I’ve always been passionate about charity work, it seemed to make sense to use my adventures as a platform for fundraising. Since then I’ve raised thousands of pounds for charity through my adventures and now I want to help you!
One of the suggestions on my list of 8 charity fundraising ideas was to put on a raffle….it really is one of the easiest ways to get people to part with their cash.
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!
Wondering how to find companies willing to donate raffle prizes? Let’s start with my top tips….
#1 Have a 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 pig prizes for raffles and then a handful of smaller prizes to mix things up. The big prizes are your main draw but having lots of options increases someone’s chances of winning which is also attractive.
#2 Raffle prize template letter
When approaching companies willing to donate good raffle prizes, you need to bear in mind that they may get a lot of requests. 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 it 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}
{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 great 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. 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 suggestions 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 searched for and what you haven’t
Obviously, the more emails you send, the more successes 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. I’ve had a good enough response from email alone previously.
The only exception would be if I print a letter which I would then hand-deliver to a manager in a supermarket or to shops if I am out in 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).
#6 Follow up a week later
This step is so so important. I’ve had more successes from follow up emails then I have with first emails!!!!
A week after I send 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 sat waiting for your response 
#7 Aim for variety
I think it’s interesting and attractive to have a variety of prizes. That way there will be something for everyone! Try to get one or 2 big prizes for your raffle as the main draw. Get some interesting mid-range ones from products to vouchers. Then some smaller giveaways to bulk up the table.
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.
BONUS TIP: GET. OVER. IT!!
I bet you’re feeling nervous about asking for prizes?
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 of 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:
#7 THANK SUCCESSES
If someone emails to say they are happy to donate a prize get back to them straight away. Say a huge thank you and ask if they can send the prize out straight away. 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 to give already.
Once the raffle is finished always follow up 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!
Who should I contact for raffle prizes?
Now you know the process of getting raffle prizes, it’s time to start working out who to contact.
Ready? Let’s go….
Use your contacts to get raffle prizes
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:
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- all the companies you have worked for or with previously
- close friends and relatives and who they work for
Top tip: small companies & raffle prizes
Generally the smaller the company the easier it is to get a donation. 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 established 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 2020: 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:
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- Dominos – dropped a letter into my local branch
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- Build-a-Bear – https://www.buildabear.com/donation-request.html
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- The Real Greek – http://www.therealgreek.com/
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- London Eye – charity@londoneye.com
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- WHSmith – dropped a letter into my local branch
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- Wagamama’s – http://www.wagamama.com/contact-us
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- Animal – shop@animal.co.uk
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- Eurostar – charity@eurostar.com
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- Tesco – dropped a letter into my local branch
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- Vue cinema – dropped a letter into my local branch
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- Wilkinson – dropped a letter into my local branch
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- Dorothy Perkins – send a letter to Arcadia Group Ltd, Colegrave House, 70 Berners Street, London, W1T 3NL
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- Brittany Ferries – send a letter to Customer Services, Brittany Ferries, Millbay, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 3EW
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- Disney – send a letter to Corporate Community Affairs, The Walt Disney Company Ltd., Attn: Donation Requests, 3 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9PE
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- IKEA – send a letter to IKEA Ltd, Customer Relations, Kingston Park, Peterborough, PE2 9ET
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- London Aquarium – send a letter to SEA LIFE London Aquarium, Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road
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- Thorpe Park – send a letter to Fundraising requests, Thorpe Park, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PN London SE1 7PB
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- YoSushi – enquiries@yosushi.com
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- JellyBelly’s – helpdesk@jellybelly-uk.com
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- TGI Friday’s – https://www.tgifridays.co.uk/contact/
Raffle prize ideas 2020: 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 in your local area that sell the following….
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- Artwork
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- Ceramics & pottery
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- Photography Prints
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- Pet products
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- Wood carving – furniture
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- Jewellery maker
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- Card designer
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- Clothes designer
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- Watchmaker
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- Cakemaker
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- Distillery, vineyard or brewery
*Etsy is a great place to look for craft inspiration
*To find inspiration for specific brands to contact, go into the following shops and write down the brand names you see on the shelf.
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, TV’s, 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 prizes – like chocolate and wine shops are bombarded with daily requests for donations. But how often do you think the local tattoo artist gets a similar email?
Raffle prize ideas 2020: vouchers, tickets, and experiences
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- Takeaway shops
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- Restaurants and pubs
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- Spots clubs – Football, rugby, hockey
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- Boat tours
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- Spa days
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- Go-karting
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- Workshops – cocktail, pole dancing, chocolate making, create a perfume, jewelry making
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- Flights – hot air balloon, helicopter, glider, small aircraft
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- Indoor Skydiving
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- Magazine subscription
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- Adventurous experiences – rock climbing, ice climbing, white water rafting, kayaking, SUPing
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- ‘in the post’ Box Subscriptions – beers, beauty, baby, gin, vegetables
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- Theatre – Amateur, opera, ballet
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- Concert’s – Jazz club, classical,
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- Cinema
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- Zoo or farm
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- Theme park
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- Flower making
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- Paintball or laser shooting
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.
Top tip: Think services rather than products
When people think 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….
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- Hairdressers or Barbers
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- Beauty treatments – hair wax, manicure or pedicure, massages (reiki, head massage, holistic, sports masseuse)
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- 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!)
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- Massage
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- Personal training
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- Gym membership
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- Ice skating lessons
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- Swimming lessons – adult or children
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- Language lessons – private or in at a language school
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- Motorbike lessons
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- Car lessons
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- Coaching – life, speaker, business
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- Palm reading
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- Psychic reading
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- Photography – portraits, children, animals
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- Dog training lessons
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- Pet grooming
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- Sports lessons – football, netball, tennis, rock climbing, kayaking, SUPing, squash, basketball
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- Music lessons
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- Car washing
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- Flower arrangements
Top tip: Producers rather than suppliers
Generally, it’s better to approach the producer of a product rather than a company who supplies different products. For example, a specific shoe brand is more likely to donate a product over a shoe shop.
A great way to find these is to go into a shop and write down the specific brands that you see on the shelf.
Thoughts on diaper raffle prizes
A diaper raffle is where everyone brings a diaper (nappy) to put into the raffle. Usually used at baby event.
Obviously this won’t be suitable for a lot of events but you could use the same concept by having a theme. Or by asking everyone to contribute to the raffle, therefore saving you the time having to find prizes.
A good example would be if you were hosting a film night and wanted to do a raffle. You could ask each of your volunteers to contribute their favourite film on DVD to add to the raffle. The winner of the raffle will then get to take them all home.
If your fundraiser has a theme, it’s great to make your raffle in keeping and to target companies. Businesses, like a hot sauce company for example, may be more willing to donate if it’s a Mexican themed night as from a branding and exposure point of view it makes more sense.
Extra resources and tips for raffle prizes
Hopefully, this list has given you some helpful ideas for how to get free prizes for your raffle draw.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Good luck with your prize hunting!
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And please do share successes or new ideas with others in the comments box below.
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
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!
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!
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.’
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