Good Raffle Prizes: Top Ideas, Sourcing Tips, and Strategies for Successful Fundraisers

Quick Answer

Good raffle prizes excite participants and boost ticket sales by 20–50% in fundraisers, featuring crowd-pleasers like gift cards, electronics, and experiential getaways tailored to your audience for maximum engagement in your events.

Key Takeaways

• Select good raffle prizes that align with your audience's interests, such as local experiences or tech gadgets, to increase participation and donations by up to 40%.
• Secure donations from local businesses via personalized letters to minimize costs while gaining promotional exposure for sponsors.
• Incorporate a mix of low, mid, and high-value prizes in themed baskets to create urgency and variety, driving higher average ticket purchases.
• Leverage 2025 trends like eco-friendly and virtual prizes to appeal to modern donors, enhancing inclusivity and social media shareability.
• Track success with metrics like ticket sales per prize tier and post-event feedback to optimize future raffles for greater fundraising impact.

Most fundraisers don’t struggle because people don’t care or they’re cheap, they struggle because there’s no real pull for them to get involved. That’s where raffle prizes come in and why they matter far more than many organizers realize.

Good raffle prizes aren’t about being flashy or expensive. They’re about appeal, relevance and perceived value working together to create one awesome experience for your attendees. Appeal simply means someone instantly wants the prize without even thinking. Relevance means it fits the life of the person you’re asking to support you, think a golf outing for a sophisticated raffle, or a new video game console for a family event. That leaves us with perceived value, this is the quiet multiplier and simply means the feeling that the prize is worth far more than the cost of a ticket. When those three align, ticket sales stop feeling like an ask and start feeling like a fair trade with some excitement thrown in for good measure.

This is why a $75 local restaurant gift card can outsell a $300 gadget, and why a family experience often beats a shelf-ready prize basket. People don’t buy tickets just to support a cause, they buy when the prize makes sense for them.

And here’s something else you need to think about, the raffle landscape has also changed with the availability of many organizations running hybrid raffles like the ones we provide here on Paybee. Hybrid auctions can combine your in-person events with online ticket sales to reach supporters who can’t show up but still want to participate. Plus this gives any chairty instant global access to raise funds, as long as you follow the laws regarding raffles.

At the same time, there’s been a clear move toward local experiences and sustainably sourced prizes. Think things that support small businesses, reduce waste and feel more personal than mass-produced items people can find in their local Dollar Store. These trends aren’t just ethical, they actually work because they create stronger connection with your supporters and those connections turn into better participation.

What Makes a ‘Good’ Raffle Prize?

Sure, if you can secure great raffle prizes that are one of a kind or bring in the crowds all on their own, great. But let’s be realistic, most smaller charities can’t always secure big ticket items or a signed Les Paul played by Jimmy Page to attract attendees. But it’s also easy to assume that bigger price tags lead to better results. In practice, that’s rarely true. In fact, the raffle prizes that sell the most tickets tend to share a few simple traits, and none of them require being flashy or expensive.

At their best, good raffle prizes create an immediate reaction in someone, one that get the person who sees the prize to think, “I’d actually love that.” Not someday. Not in theory. Right now.

Here’s what high performing raffle prizes consistently have in common.

First, they’re desirable. This may seem pretty obvious, but a lot of people don’t really question how desirable their prizes are, instead they focus on what can be sourced cheaply or for free. Wrong approach! Your prize shouldn’t require a lengthy explanation or your supporter's imagination, if people have to talk themselves into wanting it you’ve already lost their contribution.

Second, they’re relevant to your audience. This means knowing who you true supporters are. Don’t try to auction off a $50k item when most of your supporters are working class, you’ll most like loose a ton of money. Parents, students, retirees, and young professionals all value different things. When a prize fits naturally into someone’s daily life, buying a ticket feels easy.

Third, good raffle prizes are easy to understand at a glance. “Dinner for two at a local restaurant” beats a vague bundle of items no matter how pretty their representation. And especially online, people scroll fast, so if the prize isn’t instantly clear, they’re simply going to move on to the next one.

Finally, strong prizes feel worth more than the ticket price. This is all about perceived value and it’s an extremely powerful motivator. When someone sees a gift that has a strong perceived value, a $5 or $10 ticket feels like a smart risk and not just a donation disguised as a gamble. Plus the chances are good they’ll buy more tickets without overthinking it.

This is also why relevance beats price almost every time. A $50 gift card to a well-loved local restaurant often sells more tickets than a $300 generic item sitting in a box. Why? Because the dinner is personal. It creates anticipation. People can picture themselves sitting there with a loved one and having a great experience.

Emotional pull matters as does the usefulness of the item. If someone has a desire for the product, like a gift card to a local yoga class, or it can be evaluated as a cheap way to fill a need, something like a new laptop for a $10 ticket, people will most definitely take a chance, and many will end up buying multiple tickets.

So focus on what people genuinely want or need rather than what looks impressive on paper. You want your raffles to be no brainers, not a bunch of questions and confusion.

Best Good Raffle Prize Ideas (By Category)

Obviously some raffle prizes will work better than others, some look impressive but barely move tickets, while others quietly get tons of tickets laid before them. But there is one thing in common that all solid raffle prizes have, people can immediately imagine using them. Below are the prize categories that consistently perform well across schools, nonprofits, churches, and community fundraisers along with why they work.

Gift Cards (Always Top Performers)

Gift cards remain one of the most reliable raffle prizes for a reason, they’re flexible, familiar, and universally useful. Plus everyone already knows what the prize is, whatever they want at the store the card is for!

Some of the best performing cards include restaurant gift cards, gas cards, grocery stores and popular online retailers like Amazon or your local equivalents. These prizes appeal to a wide range of ages and lifestyles, making them super effective for school fundraisers, community events and even mixed audience raffles.

And a $50 gift card feels more valuable to your attendees than many physical items at the same price point because the winner gets to choose exactly how and when to use it. For you the organizer gift cards are also easy to source and simple to promote, making them a low risk, high return option.

Experience Based Raffle Prizes

Experiences are really growing in popularity and are one of the most sought out options due to their ability to create anticipation, memories, and emotional pull. Instead of “winning a thing,” people are winning a moment they can look forward to either alone or with their friends and family.

Popular experience prizes include dining experiences, cooking or art classes, guided tours, local attractions, spa days, and event tickets. The key is matching the experience to your audience, get this right and you will raise money fast! Just think family friendly options for schools and community fundraisers, while adult focused experiences tend to perform better at galas, workplace raffles or evening events.

Experience are also great for organizers since they can feel expensive and desirable, but actually don’t cost all that much or are completely free, especially when donated by local businesses. They also photograph and describe well, which makes them easier to promote on social media and fundraising pages to get more people in the door.

Fundraiser Prize Baskets That Actually Work

Prize baskets with catchy names can be extremely effective, or completely ignored depending on how you put them together. The best baskets are themed, cohesive and easy to understand at a glance and not just stuffed with stuff.

Strong themes include date night, family night, wellness and self care, movie night, or local favorites featuring nearby businesses. The goal is to bundle items that naturally go together so the total prize feels thoughtful and complete and offers a specific experience for the winner.

Higher perceived value also comes from how the basket is put together, not just its price. A basket with five coordinated items often feels more valuable than one with ten random ones. Just be careful not to niche down too much.

Big-Ticket “Dream” Prizes

Big ticket items like travel packages, high end electronics or season passes can be a great way to raise some serious funds, but only if you have a large enough audience to make it worth while. So if you’re a small organization or just starting out, we recommend you pass on the bigger stuff until you have enough attendees to make your prize profitable.

But even big ticket prizes still need to be something your own people actually want. If you end up with something unrealistic, overly complicated or disconnected from your audience, the item will probably take away from your event rather than supporting it. A weekend getaway may drive excitement, while a complicated travel voucher with restrictions can create hesitation.

If you include a high-value prize, structure your ticket pricing accordingly. Bundle entries, offer early-bird discounts, or allow ticket upgrades so participants feel justified spending more for a bigger potential win.

Digital and Hybrid-Friendly Prizes

Digital prizes have become increasingly popular, especially for online and hybrid raffles. They’re easy to deliver, don’t rely on the winners location and they can have a wide appeal across your supporters.

Streaming subscriptions, online courses, app memberships and digital wellness programs all consistently sell well and are perfect when going the hybrid approach. They also do well when you’re using virtual ticket sales, email promotion, and social sharing to promote and run your event.

Digital prizes also reduce logistic headaches since there’s nothing physical to deal with. There’s no shipping, no pickup coordination and no physical inventory to manage leaving you and your staff free to work on your cause. For organizers running modern or remote fundraisers, this category offers simplicity without sacrificing appeal.

Good Raffle Prizes by Fundraiser Type

A “good” raffle prize isn’t universal. What performs incredibly well for one fundraiser can fall flat for another. The most successful raffles choose prizes that match their audience, the setting, and the reason people are showing up in the first place as best as they can. Below is a breakdown of prize types that we have found to consistently work best by fundraiser category and why.

School Fundraisers

School fundraisers are driven almost entirely by parents and families, not by kids themselves. The prizes that sell the most tickets for school fundraisers are the ones parents see as useful, fun or can in some way benefit their household.

Family experiences do always do really well. Think movie nights, local attractions or family friendly restaurants. Practical gift cards for things like groceries, gas, or general retailers usually far outperform more expensive novelty items because parents know they’ll actually use them. Kid focused prizes can still work, but they perform best when paired with something the whole family values, rather than standing alone.

What parents actually buy tickets for is relief, enjoyment, or shared time, not more clutter! Prizes that feel helpful or meaningful to family life consistently generate stronger sales.

Charity & Nonprofit Fundraisers

For charities and nonprofits, the prize itself is only part of what’s going on. You need to remember that your supporters are often motivated by your mission first and the raffle should feel aligned with that purpose rather than distracting from it.

This means you should stay as mission aligned as possible. Think a wellness nonprofit offering spa or self care experiences, or an environmental group offering locally sourced sustainable products. When your prizes also reflect the values of your organization, your donors feel good about participating.

Ethical considerations are also growing in importance to supporters, so avoid prizes that could feel excessive, wasteful or contradictory to your cause. Transparency around sourcing, donations and prize value also helps with donor confidence and keeps them coming back to future events.

Sports Teams & Clubs

Sports teams and club fundraisers rely a lot on local connections and community pride. Prizes tied to the team, the season or local sponsors tend to perform better than other types of prizes.

Local sponsorships such as restaurants, gyms, or service businesses always do well and are often easier to secure as they create win-win situations for both your organization and the donor. Branded experiences like VIP game seating, team merchandise bundles, or “practice with the team” opportunities do really well as they feel exclusive and personal.

Community & Church Fundraisers

Community and church fundraisers bring together a wide range of ages, backgrounds and preferences all at the same event which can make them a little trickier to decide on what prizes to include. The safest and most successful approach is inclusive prize selection that appeals broadly without excluding anyone.

All ages prizes like shared experiences, general use gift cards and local business donations usually work well in these settings. The goal is to choose rewards that feel welcoming and appropriate regardless of personal beliefs, income levels or lifestyle.

How to Source Good Raffle Prizes Without Blowing Your Budget

One of the best ways to start contacting local businesses. These entrepreneurs often understand the importance of supporting charities in order to create a positive public image as well as advertising specifically to the people that are most likely to use their services.

Think about the yoga lesson example I used above. If I owned a yoga studio and you came to me asking for a donation, but you were also savvy enough to tell me about how you planned on giving me a public shout out on all your social media accounts as well as a mention on your flyers and advertising, I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. Advertising is often expensive for small businesses, so gifting something to a charity is a great way to get ‘cheap’ advertising along with some good will credit.

Donated vs. Purchased Prizes

Donated prizes always offer the best return on investment since their really isn’t a financial one. Every donated item is pure upside with no upfront cost, higher margins, and often stronger community goodwill.

That said, there are situations where purchasing a prize does make sense. If your raffle needs a specific anchor prize to drive ticket sales, buying one high impact item can be worth it. Bulk purchases can also work well for smaller or secondary prizes when donations result in too many similar items or when donated options don’t align with your audience.

It’s also important to watch for donation overload. Too many similar prizes like five nearly identical gift cards or baskets can dilute excitement rather than increase it. In those cases, selectively purchasing or upgrading a prize can help balance variety and perceived value and make your night more inclusive.

Sponsorship-Backed Prizes

Sponsorship backed prizes are one of the smartest ways to increase value without increasing cost. Instead of a one-off donation, a sponsor supports a prize in exchange for more prominent visibility.

This can include co-branding on raffle signage, mentions in email campaigns, logo placement on tickets or social media shout-outs tied directly to the prize. For the sponsor, it feels more intentional and measurable than a simple donation. For the fundraiser, it elevates the prize and often allows for better promotion.

Well-structured sponsorship prizes feel bigger and more exciting, even when the underlying cost hasn’t changed. They turn a simple item into a featured attraction and strengthen long-term relationships with businesses that may support future fundraisers as well.

Strategies That Turn Good Prizes Into Ticket Sales Boosters

There are a few key concepts that can turn a $1000 night into a $3000 that just make sense and are actually simple to use. Things like matching your prizes to your audience, deciding on a solid number of prizes, pricing your tickets correctly and creating awesome descriptions for each prize all equate to powerful revenue boosters. So use as many of our ideas below as possible, the more you focus on what’s below, the more your events will bring in.

Matching Prizes to Your Audience

This is one of the simplest boosters that honestly most people never even think about. Most will be focused on getting whatever they can and hope that it’s enough. This is bad planning. The very first thing you should be doing is profiling your audience. Get out your list of names and see what you know about everyone. What kind of philanthropy have the committed to before, how much can they afford, what hobbies do they enjoy and what is their profession are all key information that can really help you dial in what sorts of prizes you should be looking to secure. Just think, ‘would John Smith actually want or need this?’ If the answer is no, why bother?

How Many Prizes Should You Offer?

The next thing you need to consider is how many prizes you want to offer and what your revenue goals are for the night. If you want to raise $10k, then you’ll also need prizes that can generate that amount. Now whether it is a ton of prizes or a fewer number but higher number is up to your supporters. If you have a base of high paying professionals, then fewer but higher value prizes would be better since they’ll also be able to afford a higher ticket price. And, you’re again giving them what they want. But if your base is mostly blue collar working families, you should be adjusting your prizes and ticket costs to match their ability to buy tickets, which also means you would need a greater prize pool to bring in the same 10k. Of course you can do a hybrid approach and mix a few higher cost prizes in the mix to keep it interesting, just don’t go overboard and look at your numbers to see what adds up.

Pricing Raffle Tickets for Maximum Revenue

Pricing your tickets correctly is super important. Too high and no one is going to buy, or at least multiple sale swill be out of the question. A solid rule of thumb here is to price your tickets at 5% of the perceived value of your item. So a $100 item’s tickets would be $5. This allows for people to feel they’re getting a great deal if they win, and also allows them to buy two or three tickets if they really want the item while feeling it’s a smart strategy.

You can also sell bundles to increase sales. If you’re selling single tickets for $5, try bundling five tickets for $20. This can often motivate people that would normally buy two or three tickets to buy more. And in the end it doesn’t really cost you anything.

And the last way you can increase ticket sales easily is by offering early bird discounts and late specials. For example, you can sell your $5 tickets at $4 on a single day before the event, or even every day leading up to it. This is a great way to gauge the receptiveness of your event before it even happens, and get a few dollars no matter how the night goes. And in the opposite direction, you can offer a fast ‘five minute’ special maybe fifteen minutes before the final drawings. This works great when you have multiple lower priced items and can get that last boost of cash in the door. So you can do something like, ‘for five minutes every ticket is $3!’ You’ll be surprised how many people will jump at the opportunity as the excitement builds to the last minutes.

How to Describe Prizes So People Buy Tickets

Descriptions are extremely important no matter what you’re selling or where. Just think about having two similar products open in your browser for Amazon or some online store. They’re very similar in price and even both got the photos right, so how do you choose? You look at the description. The one that makes you feel either you’re going to love the product and how great it feels to have it, or how well it will fill your need while also being dependable and irreplaceable, that’s the description that will get you to buy. And it the same here!

You ideally want short, clear and emotionally charged descriptions that say a story in as few words as possible. Think, ‘A romantic dinner for two at The Smith Winery complete with wine pairings and you own private chef for the evening.’ Now that would grab my attention and I’d be throwing some tickets into the bowl for sure. Why? Because I can picture myself and the person I love most having a special experience that we can share and enjoy. Plus it’s a unique experience which makes it even more desirable.

And don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be unique to make it sound awesome. Think a simple gift basket with all the school supplies a child could want for the school year. This isn’t a ‘fun’ experience, but it is a real need one. So describe that. ‘A basket filled with everything your student could need for a whole year, no shopping, no waiting in lines, it’s all here now!’ Again, if I were a mom with a school aged child, I’d be throwing I a few tickets just to win the convenience of not needing to do a thing and a major shopping experience is over in one moment. That’s filling a need!

So what details can you use to increase trust and excitement? Think the emotional connection to either having a great experience, or filling a necessary need. So things like how something is unique, personal, healthy, or how it’s convenient, a bargain or even reusable. These things connect with people more than the actual item. Always ask why someone would actually want the item, then go from there.

Common Raffle Prize Mistakes to Avoid

This is a natural succession from the above section, just are there are things to include to make your raffle better, there are definitely things to avoid as well. One of the first things to avoid is prizes that no one even understands. For example, say you have a pet rescue and your supporters are all people from your small town. The chances of people bidding on some rare NFTs or a pass for a new virtual golf tournament isn’t exactly going to go over all that well. Most people wouldn’t even know these things existed let alone why they’d want them.

Another common problem people run into is simply too many low value items. Their raffle tables start looking more like a rummage sale than a fun event. Plus it can be much harder to reach your goals if everything available forces you to only sell $1 tickets. You need something to wow people, get them excited and in the door. Then there should be some mid level items to increase sales as well as your other items. You can also think about grouping your items together to make the perceived value higher, or even create baskets that do the same.

Here’s something that is overlooked by newer charity owners but must be planned ahead of time. You need to think about the logistics of moving all this stuff, and what happens with what’s unclaimed or left over. Will you need storage for your items? How will they arrive on the table and how will they be laid out? What if you have unclaimed items, where will they go and what happens to them? Many of your prizes will be pysical goods, meaning they will also need to be physically moved by someone, somewhere at some point. You need to plan ahead to know exactly each step.

And if you’re holding a virtual raffle, things can get a lot more complicated fast. Will items be shipped, how do you collect addresses, whose in charge of packing and storing until it’s shipped and what happens if it gets lost in transit? Again, all things that must be worked out before you ever sell a single ticket!

And one last piece of advice, never assume “expensive” equals “desirable” because it definitely doesn’t. A $10,000 antique Tiffany lamp may do well at a high class gala event, but at your dog kennel event, it’s most likely going to flop. Again, this comes down to knowing your audience and what they value, not your tastes or desires. You are going for numbers, not self interest here. And even though you might be a nonprofit, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be using business sense here.

Quick Checklist: Choosing Good Raffle Prizes That Work

Before locking in your raffle prizes, take a moment to run them through this quick filter. If a prize checks all four boxes below, it’s far more likely to drive ticket sales and avoid headaches later.

Audience Match
The prize should make sense for the people you’re asking to buy tickets. A great prize for parents may flop with college students, and vice versa. Always picture your actual audience, not an ideal one, and choose rewards they can realistically use and enjoy.

Clear Value
People should immediately understand what the prize is and why it’s worth winning. If it takes a long explanation, interest drops fast. Simple, familiar prizes with obvious benefits tend to outperform complicated or overly niche items.

Easy Fulfillment
A good prize should be easy to redeem, deliver, or use. Complicated rules, tight expiration dates, or logistical hurdles can create frustration for both winners and organizers. The smoother the experience, the better the overall impression of your fundraiser.

Strong Promotion Potential
The best raffle prizes are easy to promote visually and verbally. If you can quickly describe it in a sentence or showcase it in a photo or social post, it’s much easier to build excitement and encourage sharing.

When in doubt, choose prizes that feel useful, exciting, and simple. Those are the ones that quietly do the most work for your fundraiser.

Wrapping Up

At the end of the day, good raffle prizes aren’t about luck or guesswork or whatever happens to be donated, they’re about intention. When your prizes match your audience, feel genuinely valuable and are easy to understand and promote, ticket sales stop being a struggle and start feeling almost automatic.

You don’t need rare collectibles, massive budgets or celebrity connections to run a successful raffle. You need prizes people can picture themselves using, experiences they’re excited about, and a setup that respects both your supporters’ time and your own logistics. Focus on relevance over flash, clarity over complexity, and connection over cost.

Do that consistently, and your raffles won’t just raise more money, they’ll become something people actually look forward to supporting.

Frequently Asked Questions About Good Raffle Prizes

1. What are the best raffle prizes overall?
Gift cards, local experiences, themed baskets, and practical items consistently perform the best because they’re flexible, easy to understand, and relevant to most audiences.

2. How many raffle prizes should I offer?
There’s no universal number, but most fundraisers perform best with a mix of a few high-interest prizes and several mid-range options. Too many prizes can dilute excitement, while too few can limit participation.

3. Are expensive prizes always better for raising money?
No. Relevance and perceived value matter far more than price. A well-loved $50 local experience often outsells a $300 generic item.

4. Should raffle prizes be donated or purchased?
Donated prizes usually offer the best ROI, but purchasing one or two strategic anchor prizes can make sense if it helps drive ticket sales or balance your prize mix.

5. What raffle prizes work best for online or hybrid raffles?
Digital prizes, gift cards, subscriptions, and experiences work especially well because they’re easy to deliver and don’t depend on location.

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