A special dinner is held where people purchase a $100 ticket for a reverse raffle where the last person standing wins $10,000!

Hosting the Dinner

This can be a great night of excitement and entertainment! Host a special dinner event where the ticket price is a moderate amount, around $25 to $40 per plate. You don’t want it too high so that you eliminate the chance of people buying their $100 ticket for the $10,000! You’ll need at least 100 people to buy a ticket so you can cover the cost of the grand prize amount. Remind people that they can join together to purchase a ticket, gathering 5 friends together at $20 each, and they agree to split the winnings.

Your dinner should be held at a nice location, such as a hotel ballroom or a conference center. The cost of the dinner plate should cover the food and the room, along with any decorations needed. Be sure to ask your location manager and the caterer if they will give your group a discounted price for an off night, such as a Thursday or Wednesday evening.

Reverse Raffle- How it works

A reverse raffle is an event where all the raffle tickets are placed in a large bin. The MC for the evening will start to pick the tickets one by one, which disqualifies them from the grand prize. The goal is to be the last ticket selected! Along the way, an occasional prize can be given to random tickets pre-selected. If your group is able to secure some other door prize items as donations, they can be awarded to various ticket holders based on when they were picked. If your group has been around for 37 years, then the 37th ticket picked can win a donated gift basket. If you average 80 spays a month, then the 80th ticket could win a prize. The last 10 ticket holders standing can be brought to the stage to increase the excitement. You may give them the opportunity to take the $10,000 as a group and split it up between the 10 of them, or continue to the last one standing. Many times, the winners will give a portion of the money back to the group as a donation in thanks for a great evening.

At some events, the group allows one or two people to buy back in to the Top 10 for a fee of $500, since the odds are now much better. Decide in advance what special rules you will use, and have them printed out and on display at the ticket table to alleviate any confusion.

Adjust the Raffle to Suit Your Needs

If you don’t feel your area can afford 100 people paying $100 for a raffle ticket, then you can adjust the amounts so that 100 people pay $50 per ticket for a grand prize of $5,000. Or, take it down so that 100 people pay $25 for a $2,500 prize. The important part is to be able to sell the necessary amount of tickets. You may also want to put a disclaimer on the ticket stating that if all tickets are not sold, then the winner will take the entire pot of money for the tickets that were sold, which could still be close to the actual amount.

Piggyback Fundraising Ideas

• Add on an auction of donated items that will end AFTER the Pot of Gold winner has been drawn. That way, everyone has a chance to spend a little more (including the winner!) on the auction items and still take something home that night.
• Increase the amount of drinks at the cash bar by $.50 to cover the cost of the bartender.
• Invite a caricature artist to draw portraits of the guests for the evening for donations to the group.
• Host a G*Litter Box where prizes are encased in toilet paper rolls in a large box of packing peanuts. Charge $5 to $10 per scoop, depending on the prizes donated.