Great Raffle Prize Ideas That Sell Tickets

2/23/2024

A raffle is the way to go if you want to reach your fundraising goal. Of course, it’s easier to sell raffle tickets online or in person when you have good raffle prizes. 

Therein lies the hitch in your giddy-up

Unless you have a sponsor willing to donate a trip to Bali or a new car, sourcing great prizes can be daunting. So what to do?

1. Save time and set your charity fundraiser up for success with these tips on asking local businesses to donate prizes. 
2. Download our free-to-use example prize request letter to help you draft your ask.

Then, dive into our prize ideas:

• Services
• Experiences 
• Gift Cards and gift certificates
• One-of-a-kind items
• Big ticket items
• Gift basket prize ideas

Popular raffle prize ideas 

Services

How great would it be to have someone clean your house or install flooring? Home services are something many people would love the chance to outsource, which makes them a great raffle prize. You can even get creative with how these chores are accomplished. If you’re hosting a fundraising raffle for a school, the prize could be a coach or teacher coming to mow the lawn!

Experiences

The most popular raffle prizes are not always big ticket things. More often, they’re things people would love to do but have yet to have the chance. Things like skydiving, ballroom dancing, scuba diving, or a behind-the-scenes aquarium tour are experiences many would be happy to bid for!

Other great prize ideas that sell raffle tickets include:

• A makeover.
• Skating with the local roller derby team.
• Learning to paint from a local artist and drumming lessons.
• Even a brewery or horse farm tour.

The bonus of an experience prize is that those who supply these gifts are likely only sometimes asked to donate. That may mean an easier ‘yes’ to your request!

Gift cards and gift certificates

Gift cards may seem a little pedestrian, but they are excellent raffle items. What student wouldn’t love getting a gift card loaded with several pizza dinners? And who doesn’t want an excuse to go out to dinner? 

When you approach local restaurants, keep in mind that, yes, you’re asking for a donation. But that donation helps their business, too. The lucky winner could be someone who’s never been to the restaurant before, making them a potential new customer. Plus, donating a prize is a way to get good press and name recognition, which could translate into more people coming in the door. 

If the gift cards or gift cards or gift certificates aren’t enough, add them to a gift basket. Take our pizza gift card idea—you could easily build that into a college student gift basket that includes movie tickets, snacks, laundry cards, a snuggly hoodie, and more. Another would be to use the pizza card in a new-parent basket filled with babysitting vouchers, a treatment at a local spa, and maybe even a weekend getaway.

One-of-a-kind items

Signed sports memorabilia, artwork, and antiques generate buzz and ticket sales. 

Historical or antique items: Visit local antique shops, estate sales, and swap meets for real treasure! Sometimes, shop owners are willing to donate or offer items at a reduced price for a good cause. You might also find hidden treasures in your own attic or those of your friends and family.

Celebrity connections: If you or someone in your network is connected to a celebrity, reach out to them! You could ask if they’d be open to donating an autographed item, a lunch date or a short video message. 

Custom experiences: Raffle off a private dinner with a local chef, a day with a craftsman, or a personal tour of a local attraction. The key here is to make the experience extra exclusive. 

Local business partnerships: Partner with local businesses to create exclusive packages or products. For example, a local brewery could produce a limited-run beer, or a boutique could offer a one-time fashion piece.

Big-ticket items

Procuring big-ticket items can be a raffle ticket sales game-changer. These prizes, such as luxury vacations, high-end electronics, or even vehicles, generate a buzz and significantly boost ticket sales. You’ll need to leverage connections and partnerships to secure these prizes. Utilize your organization’s social networks, board members, and community contacts to identify potential donors. Also, consider collaborating with larger organizations, as they might be more willing to donate high-value items for exposure and corporate social responsibility benefits. 

Themed gift baskets

This prize is an old fundraising event standby because they’re effective raffle ticket sellers! They’re also fun to put together and handy. For instance, if you’ve got a scattering of donated items that need a little filling out to become thrilling prizes.

Raffle basket ideas

A WFH (work from home) basket: This could include blue-light glasses, a glamour light you can clip onto your laptop for Zoom meetings, restaurant delivery cards, and an ergonomic seat cushion. 

Summer grilling basket: It could come packed with cooking tools, specialty sauces, a cookbook, craft beer, and twinkle lights to add some outdoor ambiance!

Sports fan basket: Gather merchandise from a popular local sports team, such as jerseys, hats, and signed memorabilia. Tickets to a game or a behind-the-scenes stadium tour would be icing on the cake! 

Local adventure basket: You could include gift certificates for local experiences like hot air balloon rides, ghost tours, horseback or carriage rides, docent-guided museum tours, or cooking classes. It’s also a terrific opportunity to promote local businesses, which may make asking for donated experiences easier.

Pet lovers basket: This one is always a big hit! Fill it with treats, toys, a gift card to the groomers or a trainer, and maybe a pet camera or a gift certificate for pet-sitting services. 

Artisanal craft basket: Support local makers and create a terrific prize by building a basket that focuses on handmade items from local artisans. This could include pottery, hand-woven textiles, artisanal soaps, and unique jewelry.

Happy raffle prize hunting! For more raffle tips, check out our free raffle eBook—it’s your guide to a successful online or IRL fundraiser.

A raffle wouldn’t be complete without tickets. Whether you plan to sell them online or in person, having the right tickets can make a big difference. You can customize any of our raffle ticket templates to perfectly match your fundraiser’s theme in minutes. Our goal is to ensure that your raffle is not only successful but also stress-free. With next-day printing and shipping, as well as a satisfaction guarantee, your event planning just got a whole lot easier.