Based on the popularity of my posts over the years on ideas for raffle baskets, it’s clear that a raffle seems to be one of the number one ways to raise money for a worthy cause.Today’s post focuses on some unique baskets that have the potential to generate a lot of ticket sales:
This is a basket for a man’s man. Single Malt Irish whiskey, accompanied by some gourmet cheese, aged dry salami, smokehouse almonds, crackers, and other savory snacks.
Pick a favorite local team and stuff as many logo items as you can into a basket; hats, shoes, t-shirts, jewelry, keychains, party supplies, flip-flops, you name it. The fanatic fans at your event will fight over this one!
It’s a Mexican fiesta basket, and includes a cast iron tortilla grill pan, corn tortillas, tomatoes for making your favorite salsa (be sure to include a recipe or a cookbook), Mexican seasonings and marinades, and a bottle of tequila complete with shot glasses! Adapt this idea to any style of cuisine – Asian, Italian, etc.
Pirate’s Booty! Find a small wooden box that looks like a treasure chest and hide some cold hard cash inside. Cover it up with foil-wrapped chocolate coins, costume jewelry, and fake money, then watch the ticket sales soar!
When coming up with ideas for raffle baskets, it’s important to have enough variety to appeal to every demographic in your crowd. Be sure that no one will be able to resist opening their wallet and buying some tickets for that must-have item. Spend some time thinking about your audience; make sure you have something for the men, women, parents, baby boomers, professionals, hobbyists, children, and millennials in the crowd.
Tips for actually organizing a basket raffle event can be found here.
Hi! Wondering if u can help?
I’m the Event chair for a Night At The Races fundraiser for my kids school in April.
Attendees: 185-200
We have numerous raffle baskets. 2 yrs ago, we only raised $3k.
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Last year, I worked hard and secured 8/9 high value baskets valued $150-$400.
We made those tix $5 ea. Then, Baskets $150 and less. Tix were 3/5 I believe. I had 18/19 baskets total.
Basically, those who won a basket for $5 were getting away with a steal.! But we made $8k last year.
My goal this year is $10,000.
I wanted to 3 Tier them this year according to value and wonder what raffle ticket prices to make them. I don’t want to make people angry, BUT they should realize the value of the Baskets *(which are ALL neatly written out clearly in front of each one!)
My idea:
Derby Baskets $100 and Less *(3/$5?)
High Roller Baskets $100-$200 *($10-15each)
Triple Crown $200-$400 *($20each)
Ticket to get in has only been $20 but we also provide a catered dinner and beer/soda too included in that price.
Is that too low for admission WITH a provided dinner?
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Sounds like you have found a winning formula with this event, congratulations! Here are a couple of ideas that might get you over that $10,000.00 goal:
First, your admission price sounds a bit low; is it really covering all of your overhead expenses? Your raffle sales should be pure profit, so make sure your admission prices are adequate. Everyone knows this is a fundraiser, so they shouldn’t be upset with a $5 or $10 increase in the admission price – it’s all for a good cause. Are any of your dinner/drink expenses donated? Could you get a beverage distributor or caterer or local restaurant to donate some/all of the supplies so the profit margin on admission tickets can grow?
Second, regarding your Triple Crown baskets; great idea to add another tier, but have you thought about auctioning those baskets off with a live auction? I have seen this tactic be hugely profitable – if you can get a lively auctioneer who can get some bidding wars started, those baskets have the potential to go for WAY over their actual value! It also can add some excitement to the event. Do the drawings for the other baskets after the live auction so you get people to hang around and participate.
Third, the prices for tickets for the other tiers – make it easy for them to pull out those $20 dollar bills and hand them over – make the Derby Baskets 5 for $5 or 25 for $20, and High Roller Baskets $10 each or 5 for $20.
Finally, since you have a captive audience, consider adding a split-the-pot drawing – just get tickets that are a different color so there’s no confusion, along with a different team to sell the tickets. I’ve had ticket sellers wear different color t-shirts or large badges indicating what they’re selling.
Hope you find some of these suggestions helpful – good luck!
Thanks for your reply.
This is the 11th annual NATR. I came on board 4 years ago. I know they attempted to do a live/silent auction before but it didn’t work out well. Now, I know those old baskets may not have been anywhere near the high value I’m working to get.
This is a very blue collar crowd. It’s parents of our students, family members/neighbors/grandmas. 🙂 They don’t come with check books in hand like for our schools’ high end fundraising Gala in Oct. Also that event’s $ goes to the schools operating costs, they easily raise $85-100K.
I’ve asked my partner, whose family started this NATR on their own 11 years ago, what exactly our operating costs were last year. That being said, I changed caterers this year. With a previous tix price of $20, including buffet dinner, it was $11.95 pp last year and $13.95 pp 2 years ago.
I had a huge problem knowing that not even 50% of our admin tix were going back to the school. So i found a new caterer that is $9.95 pp.
We have a beer dist that will match what we buy, but only the same brands as well. Typically we spend $170 on beer and get same amount donated.
Our liquor license is only $35 or so.
We have a church rental fee,security deposit is refunded. We pay a fee to the race guy…totally worth every penny!
I am diligently working on donation requests now. My home will soon turn into”cellophane central!”
I am thinking about sending out (along with our Invites/Registration) a form that will list some of our Raffle Basket names and the Tiers they will belong to, along with their prices. Perhaps also a line re: items included.
This way, people will KNOW ahead of time what to expect and bring $ accordingly to what they’d like to bid on.
I’m just afraid that we till make some people angry who have ALWAYS PAID $20 and expect certain raffle prices.
Last year, a HR basket was a lovely 24 bottle wine rack, completely filled with nice wines, it was won for $5 to a really lucky person.
If we advertise the Tiers, it appeals to ALL attendees and they can prepare.
Any other wisdom you have?
If we keep the Tripe Crown as Raffle baskets, how then would YOU price the tickets?
I’d charge no less than $20 apiece for tickets for the Triple Crown baskets, perhaps discount them if people buy more than one (6 for $100?)
Sounds to me like you’ve covered as many bases as you can as far as keeping costs down and squeezing every ounce of profit you can from the event. My only other suggestion would be to do everything you can to get more people there!
Hopefully you have the capacity to accommodate more people. If so, create a Facebook Event and invite everyone you know, and have everyone on your committee do the same. Pictures sell; post pictures of baskets as you get them in, and make sure everyone ‘shares’ the pics on FB and Instagram along with info on how to get tickets. Get in every local newsletter and church bulletin. Create half-page flyers and put them in hair salons, doctor and dentist offices, anywhere there’s a waiting room. See if the local grocery store will put flyers in their grocery bags for a day. Try to get a spot on a local radio station or local television morning news show. What about local businesses, will some of them sell tickets for you? Plant real-estate-style signs in your yards and in prominent places around town. Just keep brainstorming about ways to increase your audience.
I would love to share pictures and stories about your event – let me know if you’re interested in sharing it on this blog! Linda J.
thanks for your advice! I’ll let you know how the planning goes!