Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, says an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence, of this virtue. A man may bestow great sums on the poor and indigent without being charitable, and may be charitable when he is not able to bestow any thing. Charity is therefore a habit of good-will, or benevolence in the soul, which disposes us to the love, assistance, and relief of mankind, especially of those who stand in need of it. The poor man who has this excellent frame of mind, is no less entitled to the reward of this virtue than the man who founds a college. For my own part, I am charitable to an extravagance this way. I never saw an indigent person in my life, without reaching out to him some of this imaginary relief. I cannot but sympathise with every one I meet that is in affliction; and if my abilities were equal to my wishes, there should be neither pain nor poverty in the world.

–Joseph Addison

A home raffle is the “top dog” of raffle prizes, with some properties being raffled off that are worth over $1 million. This also be one of the most difficult raffles to pull off successfully. You’ll find out how you can go about getting a house to raffle off. (There are several different ways to do this!) Can your group score a big win with a house raffle? Start finding out by answering these questions.

1. Do you have a successful fundraising team in place? By “successful”, I mean a team with a proven record of excellent communication, organization, execution, and a history of profitability? Don’t even think about holding a house raffle if your team struggles putting on something as simple as a car wash. House raffles are the “big leagues” of non-profit fundraisers. Is your group really ready for “prime time”?
2. Are you operating too far out of your organization’s comfort zone? What I mean is if you are a small organization, working on your first nationally-based fundraiser, are you trying to raffle off a million dollar home or a $150,000 home? Bite off only that which you can realistically chew.
3. Does your team think beyond your own local market? If you are going to conduct a house raffle, you will HAVE to sell tickets all over the United States and possibly even the world. If this thought is scary to you and your team members, you should stay away from this large-scope fundraising method.
4. Does your team manage it’s online affairs well? Every email, every Tweet, every posting on Facebook needs to be responded to quickly and professionally. Your website needs to be current and error free. When anyone, from any place in the world, wants to find out about you, they should have no trouble doing so. Your online “welcome mat” needs to be out!
5. Does your board of directors have both an attorney and an accountant with non-profit experience who are willing to donate their services for free? If not, do you have access to these kinds of professionals who will help you pro bono? And, be prepared, there will be many hours of research and document creation involved in setting your house raffle up.
6. If this is your first house raffle, do you think your organization is willing to hire a professional fundraiser to help navigate this potentially bumpy path? Trying to do this on your own, especially the first time, is a recipe for disaster.
7. Do you have a board member or an executive director who is willing to put in hours of up-front time studying how successful house raffles are run? This will include interviewing several other organizations either in person or over the phone. Remember board members usually have other commitments that take them away and your executive director can’t devote all of his or her time to the raffle, so excellent time management skills will be required during the planning process.
8. Does your marketing team have the creativity to launch a global campaign to sell tickets? Some house raffles set a goal of selling upwards of 20,000 tickets at over $100 each. This astronomical goal will require an extraordinary sales effort. IS your team really capable of this gargantuan task?
9. Are you prepared with an informative, attractive, and accessible website that has all the pertinent information potential buyers will need and want before buying your tickets either in person or online? If you sell tickets online, do you have a properly secure website set up for making encrypted financial transactions?
10. Are you planning this raffle at the right time of year for your organization? The majority of your attention during the raffle period will be focused on the raffle itself. Don’t schedule the drawing and the months leading up to it during your busiest operational season.

A 50/50 raffle is a pretty straightforward type of raffle. You sell tickets at a predetermined amount, usually something low like $1 or $5 each. The person whose ticket is drawn recives half of the total amount of the “pot” and the other half goes to the “house” or benefiting organization.

The prize is the half of the amount collected from ticket sales. Typically participants have to be present at the time of the drawing to win. If nobody claims the prize when the number is drawn, simply draw another number until somebody wins.

The trouble with 50/50 raffles is that since the prize is cash, they are more likely to be restricted by state or local laws. Furthermore, when they are allowed they are often the exclusive domain of nonprofit organizations (like other raffles).

In the article below you’ll read about what is probably a very common occurrence. That is, a social group (bowing league) holds spontaneous and unlicensed 50/50 raffles to defray their group’s expenses. However, this social group does not qualify under state law as a group that is allowed to legally hold raffles.

A number of Central Jersey bowling alleys are among those facing $3,000 fines in connection with illegal 50-50 raffles, according to state officials.

In the 50-50 drawings, after the winner was paid, either the bowling alley or the bowling league — depending on who sponsored the drawing — received the other 50 percent of the total funds, Lamm said.

Under state law, veterans organizations, religious congregations, charities, civic and service clubs, educational and fraternal organizations, senior citizens associations and clubs, and volunteer fire companies and rescue squads may hold raffles, officials said.

Thomas Martino, who has owned Majestic Lanes for the past 19 years but has been involved in bowling for 37 years, said 50-50s have always been a way of life at bowling lanes. He said raffles are not run by bowling centers, but rather the leagues that use the facilities. He said the money is used for banquet fees, sunshine funds or holiday or birthday parties. “It’s part of the social experience,” he said.

Nadine Sokalski, general manager at Stelton Lanes in Piscataway, said the 50-50 raffles were conducted by bowling leagues that rent lanes at the bowling alley. In the meantime, all 50-50s have been halted, Sokalski said. But she said some long-term solution is needed.

Source: mycentraljersey.com

As this example illustrates, for those found breaking gambling laws, enforcement is swift and publicly embarrassing, and the penalties can be grim.

50/50 raffles can be a fun and easy raffle to raise money. Just be sure to check with authorities first.

Here is an idea… what if everyone who buys a raffle ticket wins something? Sound impossible? No, it can actually be pretty easy!

In addition to your grand prize, which only goes to ONE winner you have prizes to give everyone right when they buy the ticket. Ask a local business to provide coupons that you could give away. Make sure they can provide as many coupons as tickets you plan to sell.

Here’s an example…a coupon for $1 off at the local ice cream shop.The shop gives you the coupons for free and they get more business to their shop! The trick is that the coupons need to be a real value and to be something unique that people can’t get in a local paper.

Here are some other ideas for other businesses:

• Free appetizer at a local restaurant when customer buys an entree
• Buy one get one free coupon at the miniature golf
• Free “upsize” a combo meal
• Free soda when they buy a pizza buffet

The options are endless!

It’s a win-win-win. You sell more raffle tickets, your customers get valuable freebies or discounts and the businesses get more customers!

The first step in planning a raffle is to find out if you are even legally able to have one.

Check with the state laws in the state in where you live. Most states have information about this online. You can view a list of laws by US state here.

Before you proceed further with considering planning a raffle, you can get a quick start by answering these two questions:

1. Will your raffle be run by and benefit a registered charitable organization?
2. Have you checked with the state and local laws?

If you can you answer yes to these two questions then a raffle may be a possibility for your organization.

Raffle Secrets has an entire chapter on raffle legalities that goes beyond these two basics. It includes a checklist to use when contacting the state attorney general, how to write the raffle guidelines, and ideas for getting help with planning your raffle. So, for both legal and practical reasons, contacting legal authorities in your area about charitable gambling laws is the first step for planning your raffle.

Understanding the legal landscape is so important that we made the second chapter of the book all about raffle legalities. In “Step One” of Raffle Secrets we cover:

• The basics about raffles, gambling and legal issues
• Consulting with your state Attorney General
• The importance of checking with local authorities
• How to get legal assistance
• How to write the raffle terms and conditions
• If you need to Apply/Register for a Gaming License
• The dangers of unlicensed 50-50 Raffles
• Political fundraising gone wrong
• Understanding non-governmental policies

Find out more about Raffle Secrets and how it can help you successfully raise funds for your charity.

A house, especially a “dream house” is one of the greatest raffle prizes! For the organization running the raffle, it is one of the most complicated raffles to run. It takes having a year or more to plan, businesses who will pay for many of the costs and people who are willing to be super ticket sellers.

For the raffle winner, it’s one of the best prizes. Some house raffles even offer cash prize instead. Either way, it’s a great prize.

At Community Action Marin the excitement is building as they are on their fifth annual Marin County Dream House Raffle. Would you believe that this year they offer a $2 million, 3,600-square-foot house for a prize! Or the winner could take $1.5 million in cash. Nice!

This year the website offers many pictures and a video of the dream house. It’s a grand prize that anyone would really love to win. Though you have to be committed enough to pay the $150 per ticket. Either you really want that house, or you believe in the cause that Community Action supports.

Cars are some of the best prizes for raffles. There are several car raffle that I’ve come across in the news lately. They can give you some ideas about planning your own car raffle.

Rotary car raffle:

A Mercedes Benz could be yours for $100 if you win the 10th annual car raffle sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lakeway/Lake Travis. Tickets are being sold online at the Rotary’s website and via Rotary Club members through Nov. 11.

On Nov. 11 a drawing party will be held at the Lakeway Resort and Spa, 101 Lakeway Blvd. at 7 p.m. Music, a silent auction, appetizers and a cash bar takes place from 7–8:30 p.m., with the drawing for runner-ups and overall winner from 8:30–9:30 p.m.

Purchase of a $100 raffle ticket includes more than $100 in coupons from local restaurants and businesses.

Proceeds go toward scholarships for Lake Travis High School students, ShelterBox and other local and International charitable projects.

A car for a Shriners raffle was stolen — and returned!

Members of the Mount Mitchell Shrine Club have been making their rounds across the county recently, selling tickets for a 1965 Rambler American. All the proceeds from the tickets will benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.

But the Shriners’ good deed almost came to an abrupt end last week. Sometime between 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26 and 4 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, suspects broke into a storage building on Quality Way and stole the $6,500 Rambler, along with a 1961 green Schwinn boy’s motor bike, valued at $2,000.

McDowell County sheriff’s deputies spotted the car in a ditch on Old Greenlee Road around 4 a.m. Saturday, before the break-in was even known.

A homeless shelter will benefit from this car raffle. A local auto dealer even donated the car, so all of the proceeds to to the shelter.

Baumann Auto Group has donated a vehicle for this charity raffle and is offering the winner a choice of three new 2011 vehicles: a Chevrolet Cruze, Chrysler 200 or a Hyundai Elantra.

Tickets cost $5 each, and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Liberty Center. All tickets must be purchased by Sept. 8. An initial drawing is scheduled for Sept. 17 to choose 50 finalists. The final drawing will be at Baumann-Norwalk Hyundai in Norwalk on Sept. 24. Tickets are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Liberty Center office, 1421 E. State St. For information, call 419-332-8777.

Here’s another car raffle in the news. This one went terrible wrong. The raffle didn’t sell enough tickets and is refusing the award the prize. The organizer has been arrested Class A misdemeanor charge of gambling promotion.

A Mission couple had bought tickets for a raffle and found out they won.

The family says the raffle was supposed to go towards scholarships for high school students. The woman who organized the raffle says it lost money, which is why the family still hasn’t received their prize.

The drawing was held on May 28. Pedro and Fela Marin say they won a 2011 Dodge Caliber.

“‘You win the car.’ Wow, OK, so we go over there and talk to Isabel. She says, ‘Congratulations, but the car is not there,’” says Pedro Marin.

The fact is the raffle didn’t raise the money it took to purchase the car.

Isabela Flores is the person who organized the raffle. She says people she thought would help ended up ruining the event.

“A lot of people tried to help us to sell tickets. They never came back with the tickets. They never came back with the money. It was something that went bad. I’ve been responsible since day one,” she says.

The Marins received a signed affidavit from Flores saying she would get the car within 60 days. When that didn’t happen they filed a police report. Flores was arrested on a Class A misdemeanor charge of gambling promotion. She is free on a PR bond and still needs to go to court.

This is a word of warning for anyone getting into raffle planning. These kind of legal problems are the reason we made the first chapter of Raffle Secrets all about staying within the law.

The Health and Wealth Raffle is one of the most popular in Arizona and is well known around the country. They use some great sales strategies, some of which are described in Raffle Secrets, such as the Early Bird Drawing.

Today they gave an amazing Early Bird prize:

A 91-year-old Phoenix man has 32,000 reasons to be happy today. Chester Dorr was the big “early bird” winner in this fall’s Saint Joseph’s Health and Wealth Raffle. He won a brand-new Mercedes, plus $12,000 in cash.

Can you imagine? A car plus cash — and that’s just the early bird drawing! Actually Mr. Dorr decided to take the all cash option for $32,000. What a nice check that must have been!

The Health and Wealth Raffle benefits St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute.

In addition to the prize awarded to Mr. Dorr, another lucky winner recieved an 8-day Cruise for 2 plus $6,000 as an Early Bird prize.

The Grand Prize is $1 Million in CASH. The last day to buy a ticket is this Thursday, September 22nd at Midnight.

Yesterday I posted about the Health and Wealth Raffle from Arizona. Thursday is the last day to buy tickets for this raffle.

St. Joseph’s has made several videos to promote their raffle. All of them are available to view on their YouTube channel. What a great way to build excitement — and bring in more ticket sales!