Trying to raise funds can require a large initial investment to create an engaging event or provide a prize that donors will get excited about. A 50/50 raffle is an easy way for a nonprofit organization and other charitable organizations or groups to reach their fundraising goal quickly and with less investment of their own funds.
In this article, we’ll go over all the details so you can plan, implement and advertise a successful 50/50 raffle in no time!
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Throwing a 50/50 Raffle
What Is It?
A 50/50 raffle is a type of fundraiser and a game of chance. Donors purchase tickets at a set price and all the donated money goes into the donation fund. When the raffle is over, the organization hosting the raffle event will pull one ticket number and announce the winning number. The donor who purchased the winning ticket receives half the total donated funds. The other half of the raffle proceeds remain with the nonprofit for use towards their charitable purposes.
Benefits of Hosting a 50/50 Raffle
There are many reasons why hosting a 50/50 raffle is an easy and inexpensive way to raise funds for your cause.
You don’t need to buy a traditional raffle prize, run a live auction, or find a silent auction prize to be donated. Donors will be enticed to participate for the chance to win 50% of the donations, which do not come from the non-profit operating budget.
There is also no need for lengthy event plans and expensive equipment rentals for this type of fundraiser and it doesn’t require a large team of volunteers. If you’re in need of more engaged parent volunteers, try hosting this VIP Tea event!
It has the potential to bring in a lot of money if you open it up to community participation, which isn’t an option for smaller fundraisers like penny wars.
Lastly, you can incorporate a 50/50 raffle into other fundraising events you’re hosting. It can be a fun add-on and an extra way to bring in donations during a gala, Chinese auction, festival, food truck fundraiser, or other non-profit function.
Who Should Host a 50/50 Raffle?
Non-profit organizations, sports teams, schools, fire departments, and anyone else looking to fundraise can host a 50/50 raffle. Large or small organizations use 50/50 raffles to raise money. You can see these kinds of raffles at large-scale sporting events, elementary schools and everything in between.
How to Raise Money With a 50/50 Raffle
Setting 50/50 Raffle Ticket Prices
Setting your raffle ticket price is going to be the first step you take towards raising money with a 50/50 raffle. Think about your audience and how much they may be willing to spend on an individual ticket. Typically, raffle tickets are anywhere from $1 each to $10 each. Keep in mind that the higher the cost of your raffle ticket, you may discourage people who don’t have a lot of disposable income from donating and participating.
It is also common to get a better deal on raffle tickets the more you purchase. For example, you could offer:
- 1 ticket for $1
- 5 tickets for $4
- 15 tickets for $10
You want to make sure that the highest number of tickets is the best deal to encourage participants to buy more tickets and in turn, donate more money.
Distributing and Organizing Raffle Tickets
Distributing your raffle tickets is a key component to the success of your draw. If you are giving out physical raffle tickets instead of selling them digitally online, make sure the volunteers or your fundraising staff understand the importance of logging each donor’s name and ticket numbers during their raffle sales.
You will also need to take down the contact information and/or email address of each donor so you’re able to get in touch with them if they are the holder of the winning ticket.
You can have a central location for donors to buy tickets, like at a kiosk or ticket booth. Or you can send tickets out into your community with your volunteers. How you distribute your raffle tickets may depend on how much time there is between money collection and announcing the winner.
For instance, if you’re hosting a 50/50 raffle at a gala and will announce by the end of your event who the winner is, having a kiosk or ticket booth is a great place to keep things well organized in one spot. If, however, your raffle is being hosted over the course of a week you may need multiple volunteers to work together selling tickets.
Selecting Raffle Ticket Prize Winner
Ensure that the selection of your raffle ticket prize winner is random. It’s a good idea to have a large enough container to thoroughly mix all your paper tickets in before selecting one lucky winner. If your selection is taking place separately it can be a nice idea to livestream the drawing on social media.
If your winner selection is taking place at a gala or event, try waiting until near the end of the event to give donors the maximum amount of time to participate.
Posting the 50/50 Raffle Results
If your 50/50 raffle is part of a larger event, consider announcing it on your speaker system after the draw. Also, If your draw is happening after an event has concluded make sure the participants understand when the drawing date is, that the winner will be contacted and paid within 30 days of the event.
If your school, non-profit, or organization has a website, newsletter, email list, or other forms of communication, consider posting the raffle results in those spots to congratulate the winner and let all the participants know that a winner has been chosen.
Hosting a 50/50 Raffle Online
Raffle ticket sales can be handled in person or by using an online platform with no physical ticket stubs.
Reasons to Host Your Raffle Online
There are so many great reasons to host your raffle online:
- The ability to charge more
- Fewer volunteer raffle ticket sellers needed
- Benefits of built-in organization and online management
- Independent sales of raffle tickets to personal fundraising pages
- Great option for school fundraising
My Experience with Selling Raffle Tickets Online
You may also need to sell tickets online due to local fundraising laws. The Department of Revenue in my state, Louisiana, recently made a new rule requiring each raffle ticket seller to formally register with the state. As you can imagine, this made it difficult for individual parents to get on board with selling raffle tickets.
Because of this new rule, our school decided to only sell tickets online and in-person at the school office. That way, only staff members would have to register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue. Always check your state and local regulations before selling raffle tickets!
It’s easier to charge more for 50/50 raffle tickets online because your donors don’t need to carry cash in order to participate. There are a few virtual 50/50 management options we’ll mention in the next section that use secure debit and credit card online payments for ticket purchases. You could also potentially charge more for the sale of raffle tickets because your donors could be coming from anywhere in the world, from anyone who is interested in your cause.
It’s also much easier to keep digital ticket sales organized and retain donor information with online sales than with paper or physical tickets. Plus, at the end of your virtual 50/50 raffle, you may have a long email list to use to help you with marketing future fundraising efforts.
Virtual raffle organizations can also randomly select the winning ticket number for you. Then, they can notify the winner and other participants of the completion of the raffle.
Some virtual raffle organizations give you the option of creating personal fundraising pages for your volunteers. This means that people in your community feel like they are donating to an individual as well as their specific cause, which can be a big draw. You can also use these personal fundraising pages to help determine who is raising the most amount of money and add to the friendly competition of fundraising. If you choose to reward the volunteer who brings in the most donations with a prize, personal fundraising pages make it easy to keep track of.
Virtual 50/50 Raffle Organizations
Some virtual 50/50 raffle organizations make it easier for you to put your raffle online. You can use companies like CauseVox Ticketing or RaffleUp; they’re two popular organizations to get started with looking into.
CauseVox even has mobile device-optimized purchasing and is compatible with Google Pay and Apple Pay. These types of organizations also allow you to notify all participants after the winner is selected to let them know the final results.
Marketing a 50/50 Raffle Event
Create a 50/50 Raffle Flyer
Make a flyer for your 50/50 raffle so you can help spread the news about your fundraising efforts. Your flyer should include information about:
- What your cause is/where donations are going
- How much tickets cost
- Where to buy tickets
- When the raffle closes
- When the winner will be announced
- Where to find more information (your website, contact person, etc.)
Use this free, editable 50/50 raffle flyer template to get the word out about your event. The invitation template is 100% customizable with a free Canva account.
Post a 50/50 Raffle Sign
Post a sign about your 50/50 raffle where it will get the most traffic. You can use the flyer template and post it:
- near school pick up/drop off areas
- around bus zones
- on the message board at local coffee shops, businesses, or churches
- outside of your non-profit facility
Market Virtually
Virtual marketing is a massive opportunity for raffles! Whether it takes place in person or virtually, marketing your raffle online is an inexpensive way to get the word out.
Consider marketing virtually in the following digital locations:
- Your Website
- Social Media
- Email Marketing
- Paid Advertising Spots
The best part of virtual 50/50 raffle ads is that they can lead directly to the site where donors can purchase tickets.
Provide a Continuous Update on Money Raised
As part of your marketing for a 50/50 raffle, you should consider providing updates on the amount of money raised. As more donations come in and the prize fund goes up, more donors will be interested in participating.
You can try a ‘thermometer’ style poster for an in-person event. Color in different levels as the prize fund goes up. For a virtual event, you can state the prize fund amount ‘as of’ the time you’re updating your website. If you’re using a virtual raffle company, your prize pot will often update automatically. But, you’ll still want to spread the word as your fund grows.
50/50 Raffle Legalities
Like with any raffle, a 50/50 raffle is legally classified as a form of gambling and there are certain IRS considerations to take into account. Look for the most up to date information on the IRS website; we do not provide legal advice. It is best to speak with a tax professional to fully understand the tax implications of hosting raffles if you’re unfamiliar with them. Also, be sure check your local laws and any regulations regarding hosting a raffle fundraiser.
In general, a non-profit organization will receive the total prize fund and then before distributing the prize-winners’ money they will hold back 25% of the winnings and submit them to the IRS with forms W-2G, 1096, and/or 945. If the winnings are less than $600, no reporting is required.
Alternative 50/50 Raffle Rules
Not every 50/50 raffle has the exact same rules. It’s important to state publicly how your raffle will work before donors purchase tickets so they understand what they might win.
For standard 50/50 raffles, participants purchase tickets and all the money donated goes into one central pot. At the end of the raffle, the money is split 50/50 between the non-profit and the winning donor. Here are some alternative options.
Multiple Winners
A 50/50 raffle might have multiple winners. The final prize fund is split differently so that half the prize fund goes to the non-profit organization and the other half is distributed to more than one winner.
Here’s how it could look:
- Total prize fund of $10,000
- Non-profit receives $5,000
- 1st prize receives $3,000
- 2nd prize receives $1,500
- 3rd prize receives $500
Decide on the percentage of the prize fund that each winner will receive, as well as the number of winners before you start collecting funds.
Set Prize Amounts
Some 50/50 raffles have set prize amounts and state up front exactly how much each winner will receive. The danger in this is if the non-profit doesn’t raise enough money, the prize funds are coming out of their pocket and it’s not a successful fundraiser.
The benefit of this method is that anything raised over a certain amount isn’t shared with the donors. If a lot of money is raised, more of it ends up in the hands of the non-profit.
More Fundraising Ideas to Consider:
- Run a hilarious and high-earning Flamingo Fundraiser this year!
- Host a Pledge Drive for FREE using 99Pledges
- Try a delicious Spaghetti Dinner Fundraising Event
- Make a SPLASH with a Car Wash Fundraiser
- Try a Read-A-Thon Fundraiser
- For another great school event, consider running a Career Day for students
FAQs
Why Are 50/50 Raffles Such a Great Fundraiser?
50/50 raffles are such great fundraisers because they are low maintenance and high profit. With a very small budget for some advertising and a handful of volunteers, a 50/50 raffle has the potential to bring in hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
How Should You Distribute Prizes to Winners?
You can distribute prize money to winners in a few different ways. If you’ve set up an online 50/50 raffle, there is generally a ‘payout’ option with the virtual organization. For a physical or in-person 50/50 event, it’s best to finalize and count all of your funds and put them in the bank before writing a cheque to the winner. This will provide you with a proper paper trail instead of handing your winner cash.
What Type of Events Are 50/50 Raffles Good For?
50/50 raffles are a great way to enhance many types of events. You can host a 50/50 raffle at your school sporting event and allow donors to buy tickets during intermission. You could also add a 50/50 raffle to any festival, gala, party or auction.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is hosting a 50/50 fundraiser is a great way to raise money for almost any cause. It’s inexpensive, effective and won’t cause volunteer burnout. With all the details we’ve gone over here, you’ll be well on your way to hosting a successful raffle and meeting your fundraising goals!