Raffles are an effective, fun way to raise funds for your organization. They also have a wide appeal and are extremely customizable in terms of prizes! Whether you're running a raffle with a single grand prize or doing multiple prize drawings, you can create tickets for purchase directly on your Givebutter Event campaign.
Each state has unique laws regarding the online sale of raffle tickets. Please check with your state's office of charitable gaming before selling raffle tickets on Givebutter. It is not possible for us to limit purchases to people in specific states.
Create raffle tickets ➕
Raffle tickets are created like all other tickets on an Event campaign. Please see our guide for creating a new ticket type and fill out the following information:
Ticket name – ie. "Raffle Ticket"
Description – additional information to be displayed under the ticket name and price, which can include images, or a per-ticket custom field.
Adding images of each prize can motivate your donors to purchase more tickets, increasing their chances of winning!
Price – price of each ticket
Total quantity - number of raffle tickets available, or tick the Unlimited checkbox
Click Save when you're done, and raffle tickets will be added to your campaign!
Managing multiple prizes 🎁
There are three ways you can set up your Event to support multiple raffle prizes, depending on how you would like to configure the campaign and track raffle entries.
Ticket custom fields
If you have multiple prizes, and raffle tickets are all the same price, you can sell generic raffle tickets and collect prize information at checkout as a ticket custom field. We recommend this method because donors can select different raffle prizes per ticket, and the selection data is included in a Tickets export.
How do I set up ticket custom fields?
How do I set up ticket custom fields?
Create your per-ticket custom field. We'd recommend making this a dropdown (single-select) field to avoid input errors and making it a required field for this ticket type so donors cannot skip the selection.
What do ticket custom fields look like in the campaign checkout?
What do ticket custom fields look like in the campaign checkout?
Donors can easily select multiple prize options if they are purchasing multiple raffle tickets.
Where do I find reporting data for ticket custom fields?
Where do I find reporting data for ticket custom fields?
You can view responses on the Tickets page – click on an individual ticket, and the response will be listed in the sidebar, under Custom fields. Each ticket purchased will have a separate line item entry. You can edit these responses here if necessary.
To export this data to CSV/spreadsheet format, you can initiate a Tickets export. Ticket custom fields will be in a separate column titled with the Custom field label you set up in your campaign manager. Each ticket will be a separate line item, with a separate ticket number.
Campaign custom fields
If you have multiple prizes, and raffle tickets are all the same price, you can sell generic raffle tickets and collect prize information at checkout as a campaign custom field. Campaign custom fields will add another step/page to your checkout flow.
How do I set up campaign custom fields?
How do I set up campaign custom fields?
Create your tickets, then create your campaign custom field. We'd recommend making this a radio option to avoid input errors.
What do campaign custom fields look like in the campaign checkout?
What do campaign custom fields look like in the campaign checkout?
Donors can only select one prize option per purchase – all tickets purchased will go towards this prize option.
An Additional information step/page is added to your checkout flow with this method. If you want to keep your checkout as simple as possible, use ticket custom fields instead.
Where do I find reporting data for campaign custom fields?
Where do I find reporting data for campaign custom fields?
You can view responses on the Tickets page – click on a ticket, and the response will be listed in the sidebar, under Custom fields. You can edit these responses here if necessary.
To export this data to CSV/spreadsheet format, you can initiate a Transactions export, not a Tickets export. Campaign custom fields will be in a separate column titled with the Title you set up in your campaign manager. The purchase will be a single line item, with a single prize option selected. Ticket numbers are not listed.
Separate ticket types
You can also create separate raffle ticket types for each prize, setting unique prices per ticket and adding images of each prize. If you create separate raffle tickets for each prize, the donor's prize choice will be designated on the Tickets page, and in the export file when you go to pick a winner.
How do I set up separate ticket types?
How do I set up separate ticket types?
Instead of creating a single raffle ticket option as in the first two options, you'll create multiple separate tickets to use as your raffle tickets. This works best if you are only using this campaign to sell raffle tickets, rather than raffle and entry tickets.
What do separate ticket types look like in the campaign checkout?
What do separate ticket types look like in the campaign checkout?
On the tickets page of the checkout process, each raffle prize will be listed separately. Donors can select multiple quantities of each option. You can also add photos and descriptions to each ticket option.
Where do I find reporting data for separate ticket types?
Where do I find reporting data for separate ticket types?
You'll see raffle ticket types as listed in your Tickets page, along with their ticket numbers. Sequential ticket numbers are distributed per campaign, not per ticket type.
To export this data to CSV/spreadsheet format, you can initiate a Tickets export. Raffle ticket types will be in a separate column titled Ticket type. Each ticket in the purchase will be a separate line item, with a separate ticket number.
Export raffle ticket sales 📁
Before you export your tickets from your Tickets page, we recommend creating a filter for the specific campaign you wish to draw winners for. (If you do not use a campaign filter for the export, you will receive an export of tickets sold across all of your campaigns.)
When your Tickets page is displaying tickets from the correct campaign, you can export your Tickets page using our guide. For the quick version, you can just click Export button in the upper right corner of the page, then Export!
You will be emailed a spreadsheet (CSV) file containing the details of the tickets sold for this campaign shortly.
If you are using the campaign custom field option, you will need to export your Transactions rather than your Tickets page.
Picking a winner 🏆
Every ticket purchased on a Givebutter campaign is assigned a unique four-digit ticket number beginning with "A" (ie. A0001, A0002). You'll see a list of these numbers in your export file, as well as on your Tickets page. If a supporter purchases five raffle tickets, they will be assigned five different ticket numbers.
To pick a winner for your raffle, we recommend using a random number generator (RNG). Simply enter the first and last qualifying ticket numbers and click Generate – a random ticket number will be chosen.
Notes on raffle winners 📝
If your campaign has multiple ticket types, ie. Raffle Ticket and General Admission, ticket numbers will be assigned (in order) across all ticket types on a campaign. This means a randomly generated ticket number may not belong to a raffle ticket. You can click Generate again to create another random number.
Example: The Annual Butter Raffle has sold 86 tickets (A0001 - A0086), comprising General Admission and Raffle Ticket sales. This means that not all of the ticket numbers belong to raffle tickets.
To choose a winner, we enter 1 as the first ticket and 86 as the last ticket. The RNG generates 47, however ticket A0047 is a General Admission ticket. After clicking to generate a new number, we get 68. A0068 is a raffle ticket, so they are the winner!
Likewise, if you have multiple prizes to award, you can click Generate to create new random ticket numbers within the range you've set.
You can also choose a winner by name if you like! You can search online for a random name drawing tool and use the list of names in your ticket export to create a pool of names to draw from.
50/50 raffles ⚖️
A 50/50 raffle is a type of lottery where half of the total money raised from ticket sales is awarded to the winning ticket holder, while the other half typically goes to the nonprofit organization. This type of raffle is popular because it offers a straightforward and potentially lucrative opportunity for participants while also supporting a good cause.
Tickets are sold at a fixed price
The total amount of money collected from ticket sales is the prize pool
A random drawing determines the winning ticket
The winner receives half of the total prize pool
To conduct a 50/50 raffle using Givebutter, you'd sell raffle tickets like normal, but the payout amount will not be available immediately for payout to the winning ticketholder. To account for the processing time for the prize pool:
Plan ahead and have cash on hand to pay out 50% to the winning ticketholder, then withdraw the full amount available in Givebutter after the pending period clears.
Arrange to pay 50% to the winning ticketholder after the pending period clears and you're able to withdraw the full amount to your connected bank account. All funds go to your organization's account, and you pay the winner their 50% via check.
Raffle FAQ 🤔
Donors can only buy up to ten raffle tickets at a time. Can we change that?
Yes! Ten is the default, but we can increase it. Please contact our team, and we can edit the maximum number of raffle tickets a donor can purchase at one time.
What kinds of items/prizes are we allowed to raffle on Givebutter?
There are some limitations on what you can use as raffle prizes on Givebutter. You cannot auction or raffle off firearms (or any type of ammunition) – your campaign will be immediately unpublished from the platform. Please review our content guidelines for more information.
I want to show off the prizes! How can I add images to my raffle tickets?
Check out our dedicated guide on how to add pictures to raffle tickets!
Can I schedule start or end dates for ticket sales?
No, this isn't currently possible. If you would like ticket sales to start or end at a particular time, you will need to change the status manually (active vs. inactive) Please add a vote to our feature request for this option!
An item has been donated for our raffle. Where can I put the sponsor's name?
We would recommend including the sponsor's name in the raffle item prize description field.
Can I stop selling raffle tickets but keep accepting donations?
Yes! Under the Event tab and the Ticket menu, click the three dots [...] next to your ticket, then click Edit. Change the status of the Available for purchase toggle. Remember to save!
