It’s official: our nation loves lottery.
According to the latest Mintel report, consumer spending on lotteries reached a record-breaking £4 billion in 2019/20, and it even looks as if lotteries are set to pass through the pandemic relatively unscathed, thanks to the rise of digital play and online lotteries. In fact, lottery sales are estimated to reach a whopping £9.4 billion by 2024!
Why lottery?
So, what’s the appeal? Well, for consumers, donating through a charity lottery is a pretty low monthly expense, and it’s easy to do too.
The appeal of a cash prize always helps, with 36% of people playing with the hopes of winning big, and there’s also the feel-good factor of donating money to charity, with 15% of players citing that wanting to support a good cause was their reason for taking part.
From your perspective as a charity, a weekly lottery means that you’ll enjoy a stable monthly commitment, plus, there’s plenty of potential for donor acquisition by using lottery as an entry point. So really, it’s no wonder that so many charities decide that lottery is right for their charity!
If you’re considering setting up a charity lottery as part of your fundraising strategy, read on to discover five ways an expert provider such as Woods Valldata can help…
5 fantastic ways an expert provider can help you set up your charity lottery
1. They can save you time
Sure, as a charity, it’s possible to set up and manage your own lottery, but it’s no secret that setting up a lottery is time consuming. There’s compliance, draw admin, and marketing to think about, and you’ll also need to deal with response handling and reporting data too.
With so much to do, it’s no wonder that so many charities choose to enlist the support of a charity lottery providers. An expert provider will work as an extension of your team. They’ve got the know-how, technology, and industry expertise to set your lottery up in no time so you can get to market quicker.
Basically, they’ll take care of all the details, so you can free up your time to focus on building your relationships with your charity supporters!
2. They can save you money
Bear with us here. Of course, on the surface, outsourcing your charity lottery might sound more expensive than keeping things in-house - but the reality is that outsourcing your lottery to an expert provider can actually save you money in the long term (yes, really!).
For starters, you’ll benefit from access to the latest technology, which means you can process responses and fulfilment faster. Less hassle means less resource needed - which can significantly save costs.
Additionally, because the relationships you build with your provider will quickly become a partnership, you’ll work together to achieve your fundraising objectives fast. What’s more, your setup fees will be minimal - at Woods Valldata, for example, our lottery initiatives are very competitive with a low initial fee.
3. They can ensure you’re confident on compliance
Keeping compliant is an ongoing pressure for charities. Not only is it a compulsory regulation, but if you want to maintain a positive supporter experience and gain trust in your charity, you need to ensure you remain compliant.
Luckily, working with an external provider can take the weight of compliance off your shoulders. An expert provider should have up-to-date compliance understanding of the Gambling Commission’s legislation, as well as the necessary data protection requirements needed to handle payment data.
At Woods Valldata, for example, we have our very own in-house head of compliance. What’s more, we are also compliant in several key areas, such as:
- PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider (the highest level of PCI DSS compliance)
- Gambling Commission ELM and RTS Compliance
- UK GDPR
- Corporate and social responsibility compliance measures
- Information Security Management Systems (ISO/IEC 27001:2013)
- Business Continuity Management (ISO 22301:2012)
- Quality Management systems (ISO 9001:2015)
- Environmental Management systems (ISO 14001:2015)
- Bacs Approved Bureau
4. They can help you engage with your supporters
Engaging with your supporters is essential if you are going to provide an excellent lottery experience. Plus, if you're using lottery as an entry point for donor acquisition, you need to ensure optimum engagement. After all, if your supporters are going to be in it for the long haul, they need to feel valued and appreciated!
At Woods Valldata, we offer services such as response handling, direct debit management, and fulfilment, so you can engage with your supporters at no expense of your time of resources.
With services such as personalised thank yous, supporter journey planning, and a supporter services team to speak to your lottery players and solve enquiries fast, we can help to create an entirely seamless experience. As such, you can process applications to play quickly and ensure that your supporters feel cared for.
5. They’ll have different products to suit your needs
In life - and in lottery! - one size never fits all. If you’re a small charity, your lottery needs aren’t going to be the same as huge national charities, and neither is your budget. The great news is, when you work with an expert lottery provider, they will have different products depending on what your charity needs.
At Woods Valldata, we have three levels of lottery available to choose from: Affinity, Aspire, and Advantage. That’s three different ways of running a lottery with all of the support and experience you need.
From off-the-shelf and ready-to-go packages to fully bespoke lotteries, each of our three approaches have been carefully created to perfectly match the diverse scale, needs, and ambitions of charities today - so, you can rest assured that whatever your needs, we’ll have the right product for your lottery.
Ready to get the (lottery) ball rolling?
We know that setting up a lottery for your charity can feel daunting. With so much to think about, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed. However, at Woods Valldata, our team of experts can help you every step of the way.
From migration or set-up to taking on the administration and operational elements, let us take care of your lottery so you can focus on what’s important: your supporters.
Want to find out more? Then let’s get started! Contact our team today to find out more about how we can help.
Alternatively, why not join us for one of our ‘Introduction to Weekly Lottery for Charities’ webinars? Especially created for charities thinking about setting up a lottery, our webinars are the perfect way to find out more about how the process works.
Sign up to the next webinar here
