How to run a raffle

A raffle needs four things: prizes people want, numbered tickets with matching stubs, a way to sell them, and a draw everyone can see is fair. Here is a practical order of work for a school, club, team or charity raffle.

Check your local rules. Raffle and lottery rules differ by country, state and city. Some places require a permit, limit who may run a raffle (often to registered charities or nonprofits), cap ticket prices or prize values, or ban certain kinds of draws. Check with your local authority before you sell tickets. This page is general information, not legal advice.

1. Plan the raffle

• Purpose and target: decide what the money is for and roughly how much you want to raise.
• Prizes: one headline prize sells tickets; several smaller prizes keep people happy. Ask local businesses and members to donate.
• Date, time and place of the draw: fix them early; they go on every ticket.
• Who is in charge of money: name one treasurer and one person who keeps the stubs.

2. Price the tickets

Most small raffles charge between $1 and $10 per ticket. Work out the cost of any prizes you had to buy and aim to cover it after selling about half your tickets. Bundles (“$2 each or 3 for $5”) raise the average sale. Print the price on the ticket so sellers do not have to remember it.

3. Print numbered tickets with stubs

• Use the raffle ticket maker: type the event once, pick a start number and a count, and every ticket and stub get the same number.
• Give each seller a separate number range (1–50, 51–100…) or a prefix (A-, B-), and write down who has which range.
• Print at 100% on plain paper or card stock and cut along the guides.

4. Sell the tickets

• Have the buyer fill in the stub before you tear it off. Name and phone are the minimum.
• Keep sold stubs in one sealed box or envelope, and money in another.
• At the end of each selling session, count unsold tickets and check that money matches the number of stubs.

5. Keep the stubs safe

The stubs are the raffle. Store them in one container that is only opened for the draw. Fold every stub the same way so none can be picked out by feel.

6. Draw fairly

1. Draw in public, at the time printed on the ticket.
2. Mix the stubs well; a closed box or a bag you can shake works better than an open bowl.
3. Ask someone not involved in selling, ideally a guest, to draw without looking.
4. Read the number out loud twice, and check the stub before handing over a prize.
5. Draw the smaller prizes first and the main prize last.

7. Announce the winners

Announce each number on the spot and post the full list of winning numbers afterwards, on a noticeboard, in a newsletter or on your group’s page. Call winners who were not there using the stub details, and keep the winning stubs until every prize has been collected.