From raffles to lotteries, don’t miss this comprehensive guide to prize-led fundraising for charities, including the benefits of prize-led fundraising and how to find the right fundraising strategy for you.
Prize-led fundraising is an important income stream for many UK charities. According to a recent study by fundraising consultants Woods Valldata, 75% of charity fundraisers from a survey of 140 had a prize-led programme for their charity.
So, what is prize-led fundraising, and why might it work for your charity?
Whether you're a seasoned fundraiser or new in your fundraising career, this blog aims to provide a comprehensive overview of prize-led fundraising in the UK including its significance, types, and current trends.
A definition of prize-led fundraising
Prize-led fundraising is, at its core, any fundraising activity that offers participants the chance to win something while supporting a charitable cause.
Unlike cause-led giving where donations are given generally with nothing in return, prize-led adds an element of excitement by offering the chance to win a big prize. It's a win-win for both supporters and causes.
Fundraising services specialists Woods Valldata define it as “offering individuals the opportunity to support a given charity or not-for-profit and have the chance to win something of value in return.”
Raffle and weekly lottery are the most common form of prize-led fundraising, although free-prize draws, scratch cards, and tombolas are also widely used.
Types of prize-led fundraising
Prize-led fundraising encompasses various activities, from local events like tombolas to scratch cards and free prize draws. However, the two most common forms driving the most annual income for charities are raffles and lotteries.
These methods have become the cornerstone of prize-led fundraising within the realm of individual giving for charities in the UK.
Where prize-led fundraising fits in the fundraising mix
Although not a linear model, the giving pyramid gives us a good basis to show where prize-led fits into the main fundraising mix.
Although both prize-led in their motivations, raffle and lottery are as different as one-off giving appeals and committed giving programmes with similar approaches and challenges for the fundraiser.
Raffle
You'll see from the pyramid that raffles sit at the base of the pyramid alongside cash appeals. To this end, a raffle programme will traditionally require a fairly large base of supporters to your charity to get going.
Predominately a direct-mail-based product, you'll be looking to mail to a warm audience of mail-responsive supporters (around 30,000 or more if you can), plus any digitally responsive via email and to promote to a cold audience through cold direct mail lists and digital media.
A raffle is a one-off giving product in so much as the player enters a single raffle and has the opportunity to win from that raffle - normally quite a large guaranteed prize.
A charity might run one charity raffle a year, although we recommend two or more to optimise the programme — raffle players can be very loyal and want to play multiple times a year.
Weekly Lottery
Weekly lottery sits above one-off gifts and multiple gifts in the pyramid alongside regular giving products.
Weekly lottery works best as a direct debit based giving product where the player gives multiples of £1 per chance per week to enter a weekly draw.
They therefore have many more chances to win over a year than a raffle, although the prizes could be harder to win (such as with an insured prize to match 5 or 6 numbers) or lower in value.
The benefits of prize-led fundraising
Having looked at the basics of what prize-led fundraising is, now is the ideal time to consider why you should consider including prize-led into your individual giving fundraising programme. Here's four of the top reasons why:
1. Diversify your supporter base
Prize-led attracts a different demographic of supporter to complement your cause-led audience. With a slightly different motivation set, they might be more prize-motivated or prize-motivated with a leaning towards your cause.
Either way, you'll strengthen your base and increase opportunities to grow relationships with this new set of supporters.
2. Increasing charity fundraising income
Prize-led offers you can additional way to generate income for your charity. With little to no cannibalisation to existing programmes when a raffle or a weekly lottery is launched, prize-led fundraising offers existing supporters additional and different ways to support your charity alongside their existing contributions.
3. An engaging and exciting fundraising stream
Everyone loves the chance to win a prize! And that's exactly what makes prize-led such a compelling and exciting fundraising stream for charities of all sizes.
It also allows your organisation to go out with a different message, raffles and lotteries are all about hope and joy, enabling you to highlight the positive side of your charity's mission and attract new supporters who might never have engaged through traditional giving.
4. Lower barrier to entry
By lowering the barrier to entry, we mean that the cost of playing is low. At just £1, a ticket or chance, prize-led can be a much easier sell than traditional committed gifts or one-off giving. This is especially important to consider during challenging economic times.
Current trends and insights
Our research, including our annual Individual Giving Survey presented in The Lowdown and Prize-led Benchmarks webinars, sheds light on the growing popularity of prize-led fundraising among charities:
Increasing adoption: In our 2023 survey, a staggering 75% of charities reported incorporating prize-led fundraising into their fundraising mix, indicating a significant upward trend.
Rise of weekly lotteries and raffles: The data reveals a steady rise in the prominence of weekly lotteries and raffles as key fundraising products for charities, reflecting their effectiveness in meeting fundraising objectives.
You can learn more about what's happening in raffles and lotteries in the 2026 Woods Valldata Prize-Led Fundraising Benchmarking and Trends Webinar.
Keeping pace with prize-led fundraising trends is important for any organisation looking to grow and future-proof their programme. From digital innovation in player acquisition to new approaches in supporter engagement, the landscape is always moving — and those who adapt tend to see the strongest results.
A positive future outlook
Data from the Gambling Commission paints an encouraging picture for the sector — lottery sales have grown continuously over the last ten years, with no signs of slowing down. This sustained growth reflects not just increased participation, but a platform that is proving itself as a reliable and sustainable source of income for good causes.
Perhaps most encouragingly, the gap between contributions to good causes and expenses continues to widen. More funds are reaching the causes that need them, helping charities connect with new audiences and deliver greater impact for the people they serve.
Now is the time to get started!
In summary, prize-led fundraising offers a wealth of opportunities for charities seeking to diversify their fundraising strategies and engage supporters in innovative ways. With its proven track record of success and promising future outlook, now is the perfect time to explore the possibilities of prize-led fundraising for your charity.
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Ready to launch your prize-led fundraising with Woods Valldata?
Ready to embark on your prize-led fundraising journey? As specialist fundraising consultants, there’s nothing our expert team doesn’t know about prize-led fundraising strategies for charities.
So, if you’re ready to launch your prize-led fundraising, contact us today to kickstart your raffle or weekly lottery campaign and unlock the full potential of your fundraising efforts!
Let's make a difference together through the exciting world of prize-led fundraising!