How to run an online raffle

People buy a number for the cause more than for the prize. Say in one line what the money is for: the senior trip, a neighbor's surgery, new uniforms for the team, the school library. The more specific, the better: "Raising money for the under-13 team's jerseys" sells more than "Charity raffle".

The same goes for prizes. One big prize and two or three small ones beat ten prizes nobody cares about. Prizes donated by local businesses lower your costs and spread the word: mention them on the page.

• Take a photo of each prize: raffles with photos sell more numbers.
• Say exactly what each one includes (for example, "dinner for two, drinks not included") to avoid arguments.
• Put them in order: the 1st prize is the first one drawn.

Work backwards: how much you need to raise, plus the cost of any prizes that weren't donated. That tells you the mix of quantity and price. Here are a few:

You don't need to sell every number for the raffle to work, but be realistic: 100 or 200 numbers sell among family, friends and acquaintances; for 500 or 1,000 you'll need sellers. A round price ($5, $10) is easier to pay than one with cents.

How you draw is what builds the most trust, so decide it before you sell the first number and write it down. There are two ways:

• Live. You run it yourself, in person or on an Instagram live, with a drum or slips of paper. Announce the day, the time and where it will be streamed.
• Online. A system draws at random. To be credible it has to be verifiable: RafflePage publishes the seed of the draw, so anyone can redo it and get the same result.

Also write down what happens if an unsold number comes up (draw again or take the next one) and how long the winner has to claim the prize. That's your raffle's official rules.

Raffles used to be a ticket book and a spreadsheet. Today it's best to have a page of your own that shows everything: the cause, the prizes with photos, the date, how the draw works and which numbers are still available. It's what you share, and it answers questions for you.

With RafflePage you build it in minutes: choose the numbers and the price, add the prizes, pick one of five designs (Party, Elegant, Natural, School or Sports), upload your photos and preview it exactly as people will see it before you publish. The official rules are written from what you entered.

Building it is free; publishing costs a small one-time percentage of what you raise.

A raffle sells in its first few days or it doesn't sell. Share the link the day you publish it, everywhere at once:

• WhatsApp groups for family, school, the club or work, with one line about the cause.
• An Instagram story with the raffle image and the link.
• A poster with a QR code at the corner shop, the bakery or the club entrance.
• Printed ticket books for people who prefer paper.

If the raffle is big, add sellers: each one with their own link, so requests go to them and you can see how much each one sold without asking.

The most common mistake is selling the same number twice. You avoid it with a single list, updated as soon as each number sells.

With RafflePage people pick available numbers on the page and send you the request on WhatsApp with one tap; you get paid however you agree (bank transfer, cash or your usual payment app) and mark it as sold from your dashboard. On the page that number stops being available right away, so nobody picks one that's already taken.

Keep track of who paid and who still owes: on draw day you'll want that clear.

Hold the draw on the day and at the time you announced, the way you said. Then post the result where you sold: anyone who bought should be able to see which number won each prize.

With RafflePage the winners stay on the raffle page, with a record of the draw. Only the first name and last initial of each winner are published: no phone numbers or buyer details.