Need raffle ideas!

[pugz]

I am in charge of our preschool fundraiser this year and need an idea for our raffle. We usually have 5 items:
$100 tuition credit
Magnatile set
American Girl doll
Big Lego set

Value of each is roughly $100. We had a balance bike last year but it was not popular. Any ideas for a popular item?

[mrsGreeko]

Can you do a $100 gift card to like amazon or target? Especially before the holidays I feel like people would go for that.

[lilac05]

Do you know how the teachers feel about offering their time? The two biggest ticket items at DS1’s preschool fundraiser were a bedtime story with the teacher (she came to the child’s house to read a book) and making a gingerbread house with another teacher.

Instead of 1 item, you could do a theme thing like movie night or game night.

[CloudBee]

One of the hot sellers at our gala last year was a "tech basket" with a few Echo Dots, Kindle, Ring, Bose headphones, and a Roku. That theme really got people excited.

If you have a $100 limit, what about a Roku, Echo Dot, and other small "hot" tech item?

3 of our Echo Dots were donated by a mom that received them as freebies at a conference. I donated the Bose headphones who were new / unopened and received as a gift. We've sourced a LOT of big ticket items by asking the school community if they had unopened items to donate.

[pugz]

those are all good ideas! I should have mentioned we also have a huge silent auction going on at the same time. So people are bidding on lots of items plus gift cards, memberships, etc. Not everyone participates in the silent auction though, but I think most people participate in the raffle. But I was thinking maybe we could take some of those donations and put them into some kind of themed basket for the raffle, if we thought it would raise more money that way than doing them individually.

[CloudBee]

pugz, This year the principal is actually going to send home flyers (and I'm going to hang signs at the main entrance) asking "if you receive a gift or conference freebie along these lines... email CloudBee if you wish to donate". We have a lot of instances throughout the year where we give out gift baskets, have raffles and auctions. So many people sit on the most random stuff.

One year in preschool a mom had a brand new, unopened sandbox to donate.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Is there anyone able/willing to donate a pair of tickets to a local sporting event if they are season ticket holders?

Or what about movie theater passes or bowling passes?  Something the kids would enjoy doing...

[gastro]

We get lots of donations from local businesses for our school raffles.

Local spa for a massage or mani/pedi
Local restaurants for a GC
Local hotel for a stay cation
Local dance center for classes

[dcn]

Booze? I feel like people are always happy to buy alcohol.

[mrsGreeko]

Can they mark the best parking space with a reserved sign and raffle off exclusive access to that parking space?

They do a live auction at our school for 3 reserved spaces and people really bring it with the money for a guaranteed parking spot. Our school is ridiculous, but they spots bring in thousands of dollars each. The live auction is in conjunction with a raffle for an iPad and a huge silent auction.

[hermione]

My preschool raffled off a reserved parking space right up front. no one else was allowed to park there for the year. They made a ton of money. but parking was insane there.

I see mrsGreeko has already suggested this, lol.

[redpenmama]

Front row tickets to a big event (graduation, play, etc.)

[redheadk]

We have parking and front row seating for student programs in our silent auction and I feel like that brings in more money.

For raffle items, we try to focus on things that the kids find really exciting. One of the biggest hits is a jar full of crumbled dollar bills. It's mostly $1s. The kids go crazy trying to win it in the raffle. There's probably around $100 in it.

[pugz]

Oct 14, 2019 13:42:06 GMT -5 dcn said:

Booze? I feel like people are always happy to buy alcohol.

I wiiiiish! We can't do alcohol since it's technically a religious preschool, although it is a liberal Methodist church, haha. 

[mbcdefg]

Sports tickets
Handbag
Google Chromecast stock/Amazon Firestick
Kindle
Local team-themed basket
Lottery tickets
Flat screen TV if you can find one for your budget/get it donated

[dcn]

Oct 14, 2019 15:00:22 GMT -5 pugz said:

Oct 14, 2019 13:42:06 GMT -5 dcn said:

Booze? I feel like people are always happy to buy alcohol.

I wiiiiish! We can't do alcohol since it's technically a religious preschool, although it is a liberal Methodist church, haha. 

Ahh, I see that’s a bummer haha. There are some good ideas here, I hope you find something!

[pugz]

I think I am going to try to put together a weekend trip package for a nearby touristy location. Getting the lodging is the hardest part. We got attraction tickets last year but no lodging.

The best staycation place (Great Wolf Lodge) doesn’t do donations unfortunately.

[ellipses84]

If they are non-profit, they may be able to get a Disney ticket donation.

www.thewaltdisneycompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GLOBAL-CHARITABLE-GIVING-GUIDELINES.pdf