50/50 Raffle: The Ultimate Guide for Fundraisers (2024)

Nonprofits are always looking for ways to raise money and reach a new audience. A 50/50 raffle is a sure way to do both with limited funds.

All you need is raffle tickets and a group of volunteers, and you're sure to get people excited regardless of their background with your nonprofit.

In this article, we'll delve deep into 50/50 raffles, how you can plan one, and how it can benefit your organization.  

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What is a 50/50 raffle? 

A 50/50 raffle is a simple fundraising tool to add to any event. All you need is an enthusiastic crowd, a group of volunteers, and raffle tickets. 50/50 raffle ticket prices can range from $1 to $20 to encourage attendees to purchase more than one.

Unlike a traditional raffle, the prize is half of the money raised, so everyone should be interested in purchasing a ticket. The more tickets you sell, the higher the pot!  

Volunteers walk around your event and sell 50/50 raffle tickets while other activities are taking place. At the end of the event, you can pull the ticket winner and announce the winner to the crowd. Generally, only attendees who are still there can collect their winnings.  

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Benefits of 50/50 raffles 

50/50 raffles are an easy way to fundraise. The cash prize and low raffle ticket prices are encouraging enough to sell many tickets. 50/50 raffles are simple and well-known to most fundraising audiences, so you shouldn't have to explain it in too much detail before selling tickets. The one rule attendees must know is that they must be there for the raffle drawing, or they can't win.

What this means is a 50/50 raffle will encourage people to stay for your entire event. You can sell 50/50 raffle tickets throughout your event and interest attendees to donate or spend money in other ways too. 

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How to price 50/50 raffle tickets 

The goal of a 50/50 raffle is to sell as many tickets as possible. Some of this will depend on the number of volunteers you have or your audience's preferences. But the primary way to encourage more participation is to increase the amount you can win.  

To find the best 50/50 raffle ticket price, you must analyze your audience and the cost of other fundraising activities. How high of a pot you'll need depends on your event attendees.

If you're hosting a kids' event, you can sell tickets for $1 to $5 and the winner will probably be thrilled if they can win $50. If you want to add a 50/50 raffle to your annual fundraising gala, a $10 or $20 ticket price will help increase the pot and have a better chance of exciting your audience. 

When deciding whether a 50/50 raffle is worth it at all, you can multiply your ticket price by the number of tickets you think you can sell and divide that number in half. 

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How to sell 50/50 online raffle tickets 

Traditionally, nonprofits collected cash in exchange for raffle tickets. Today, fewer people have cash on hand. Zeffy makes it easier to sell 50/50 raffle tickets before and during your event with customized and automatically generated raffle tickets. 

Zeffy accepts all credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and checks. You can sell raffle tickets online and scan them at the door with a QR code or sell them in person with our Tap to Pay solution using your iPhone.  

Increase raffle ticket sales at your event by offering ticket bundles or discount codes. Use your raffle tickets to promote your organization's branding by adding a logo, colors, and a custom banner to all raffle forms and receipts.  

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How to host a 50/50 raffle 

Before you do anything else, make sure you're aware of your local and state government's rules and regulations for raffle ticket sales. Be sure to file any documentation and receive the necessary licenses before you promote or sell raffle tickets. 

Once you've verified that your raffle complies with local regulations, you can sell tickets online and at the event. Be sure to ask supporters to buy a raffle ticket when they purchase tickets, sign in, and throughout the event. Don't be overbearing but make it clear and simple to buy a ticket whenever they want.  

You'll also want to make regular announcements to remind people to purchase tickets, the amount the winner will collect at that point, and remind them they must be present to collect their winnings. You should also add signs around the facility to let people know the time of the drawing. 

If you're holding a virtual or hybrid event, ensure online attendees know when the drawing is and find a way to ensure they're staying online throughout the whole event to participate. One way to do this is to add a streaming service for the event. 

When it's time for the drawing, make sure you have your attendees' full attention. You can include the drawing with other auctions and donation appeals or hold it separately at the end. It's crucial to be transparent about how the winner is chosen. You may want to avoid selling raffle tickets to staff and volunteers to avoid any thoughts of unfairness. You can also use online services like RandomPicker to help you draw your winners.  

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7 Ideas and Tips to raise more money with a 50/50 raffle 

50/50 raffles can help you raise more money at your in-person, hybrid, or virtual event. In addition to the ways we've already discussed, nonprofits can use the following ways to increase ticket sales or collect more funds. 

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1. Offer discounts

One way to encourage people to buy more raffle tickets is to offer a discount when they purchase more than one. Or, if they purchase through a specific channel (i.e. they purchase raffle tickets online), offer promo codes. One ticket is $20, but attendees can buy three for $50.   

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2. Use a multi winner model

A 50/50 raffle means the nonprofit gets half of the winnings and the winner gets the other half, but that doesn't mean you have to limit the number of winners. If your event is large enough, and you expect to collect a significant amount from ticket sales, you can award more than one winner with a prize

Say you collect $5,000. Your organization will collect $2,500 and you can either divide the rest of the pot into $500 amounts for 5 winners or award them with decreasing amounts of $1,000 (grand prize winner), two at $500, and four at $250. With a better chance of winning any amount, supporters may be more interested in buying one or more raffle tickets.  

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3. Ask volunteers to sell raffle tickets before the event  

Your volunteers are a vital part of your 50/50 raffle since they're responsible for selling tickets throughout your event. But what if you asked them to sell raffle tickets before the event too? With a little extra work, your volunteers can double the amount of raffle ticket sales and offer the chance to win to their friends and family. 

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4. Encourage peer-to-peer raffle ticket sales

Volunteers aren't the only ones who can sell raffle tickets. Peer-to-peer fundraising has become popular across generational and economic groups. Online platforms, like Zeffy, make it easy to collect funds and sell raffle tickets. 

You can create a peer-to-peer raffle campaign add it to your website and share it on social media or with emails to your current donor base. You can also reach out to donors and volunteers with a solid online following to promote your organization's raffle.  

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5. Offer rewards to those who sell raffle tickets 

If you choose to sell tickets with a peer-to-peer campaign, be sure to offer rewards for those who sell the most. You can give everyone with their own campaign page a free raffle ticket, and either reward more based on how much you sell or collect and give another prize. Be sure to promote these prizes when contacting people about starting their own peer-to-peer campaign page. 

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6. Sell space on your raffle tickets to sponsors 

There are ways to raise event funds other than selling more raffle tickets. When planning your event or raffle fundraiser, form an event committee to contact and find event sponsors. Create different sponsorship levels with marketing perks to entice companies to join your event.  

Zeffy offers space for sponsor logos on your raffle tickets. You can add this to one of your other sponsorship levels or offer it by itself. Since event attendees will see the company logo every time they look at their ticket, don't underestimate the marketing you're offering and charge too little for this sponsorship opportunity. 

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7. Promote raffle tickets in your newsletter 

If your nonprofit has a monthly or quarterly newsletter, don't forget to offer the chance to buy 50/50 raffle tickets by directing them to your online event page. Supporters who receive your newsletter are long-term supporters with more of an interest in your organization and its mission. When selling raffle tickets, be sure to share how the funds collected will be used with a beneficiary story that brings the program to life. 

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8. Use ads to reach a larger audience 

Who doesn't want to win cash, right? A 50/50 raffle offers people the chance to take home half of the amount raised. With a prize like that, you shouldn't limit your marketing to people who already know you. If you expect to raise a significant amount, it may be worth purchasing a few ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. 

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Legal considerations for 50/50 raffles 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sees raffles as a form of lottery. As such, nonprofits must report the raffle to the IRS if the raffle prize amount exceeds $600 or 300 times the amount of the ticket price. If the prize equals more than $5,000, the organization must withhold 25% of the winnings and report it on Form W-2G.  

Raffle ticket purchases are not tax-deductible for donors because the prize is worth more than the amount of the ticket. Nonprofits must make this clear to their supporters before purchase to avoid any confusion. 

Many states and counties have their own rules and regulations regarding raffle ticket sales. If your state doesn't require a license to hold a raffle, you may still need one to hold a raffle in your county. Be sure to contact your state and local governmental offices to find this information. 

Check out our article on how to create a sucessful raffle with our guide on Nonprofit raffle rules and regulations.

Online raffles may be outlawed in your state for fear that you'll sell to those outside your state.    

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Other alternatives to 50/50 raffles 

Are you looking for an alternative to your regular 50/50 raffle? Other raffle types may fit your nonprofit better.  

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60/40 Raffle 

If you're looking to raise more money for your organization, you can change the split from 50/50 to 60/40. If your event is primarily for strong supporters of your nonprofit, this change may be easily accepted. Another way to explain the difference would be with detailed explanations of the type of program or project you're funding.  

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Raffle Prizes 

Do you have an event sponsor, company, or donor that's willing to give something to your organization? Depending on the quality of the prize, you may be able to raise more with this type of raffle. For instance, do you know anyone with a guest home or airline tickets? An exciting vacation will entice supporters to pay $100 or more for a single raffle ticket. Get inspired by these raffle prize ideas here

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Reverse Raffle 

Reverse Raffles can be a fun way to raise even more funds for your nonprofit. Reverse raffles are like 50/50 raffles, but instead of the first number being the winner, the number that isn't called wins a Reverse Raffle.  

This type of event is exciting because of its difference. You can even change it up at the end to allow the last two to four ticket holders the choice to keep calling numbers until one remains or to split the pot between them. 

Reverse raffle tickets can be exciting events in themselves, and organizations can sell tickets for up to $100 to make the pot even larger. 

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Ready to host your 50/50 raffle? 

Now that you know how to run and promote a 50/50 raffle at your next fundraising event, you're ready to host your own! Remember to check with your state and local government to ensure you're following all requirements. You must also understand your event attendee's interests and ability to pay before determining your raffle ticket price. Check out our article on how to run a raffle online for more tips to help you before you begin.

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