Raffle is not dead! It just needs some CPR (Care, Promotion and Re-investment)
Prize-led fundraising has been a quiet individual giving fundraising hero for many charities over the past few years – and charity raffle is a big part of that story. Even though some organisations are seeing pressure on response or volumes, the picture from Woods Valldata’s 2026 prize-led fundraising benchmarking and trends webinar - now available on demand - is more positive (and more nuanced) than “raffle is dead”. When charities are willing to invest in raffle, the results can be significant.
What Trends are we Seeing in Raffle Right Now?
From Woods Valldata’s prize-led universe and sector benchmarks:
Response Rates are Holding UP
Warm direct mail raffle response has remained relatively stable year-on-year, even as costs rise and the wider giving market tightens.
Average Gifts are Edging Up
Average total gifts (tickets + donations) are increasing, though not quite at the pace of inflation. That means value per responder is still moving in the right direction
Mailing Volumes have Dipped
Many charities have pulled back mailing volumes by 10–11% or more, driven by:
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Tough ROI targets
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Higher print and postage costs
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Less cold DM acquisition
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A shift towards email and digital
Digital is Playing a Bigger Role
An increasing share of raffle responses now come in online, driven by email and supported by organic online activity such as websites and social media. Hybrid programmes (DM + digital) are now the new normal.
Put together, this isn’t a story of a product that’s failing. It’s a story of a product that still works, but raffle is being asked to do more with less. However, we can see that when charities invest in raffle, the results can be fantastic. The National Trust raffle, for example, relaunched in 2024 after a 30-month hiatus and generated a return on investment of 2:1.
What About the Benefits When Charities Invest in Raffle?
Rather than quietly shrinking raffle programmes, there’s a strong case for leaning back in:
1. Raffle engages a distinct – and often older, highly responsive – segment
Profiling consistently shows that a raffle demographic skews towards:
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Older supporters (Often 70+)
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Loyal, responsive mail audiences
- Supporters who enjoy 'games of chance for good'
In other words, people who may not respond as well to purely digital or non-prize appeals – but who will reliably support you via raffle.
2. It offers Current Supporters a new Way to Give
For many existing donors, raffle is:
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A lower-bar way to give again
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a more 'fun' experience
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Something to share with friends and family
This makes raffle a great choice for cross-selling from cash and regular giving programmes or for reactivation programmes in other products such as a step down as for lapsed RG donors.
3. It diversifies your Fundraising Mix
In an environment where general donations are under pressure (see CAF UK Giving reports: https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/publications), having a product that can achieve the following is strategically valuable because it:
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Generates campaign-based cash
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Engages a different supporter profile
- Can be flexed seasonally (i.e. Christmas, Spring, Summer...)
How Can You Get More From Your Raffle Programme?
The data from the webinar points towards several recommendations to build your raffle which complement the five we talked about previously in this blog:
1. Review and Test Your Prompts
If value isn’t keeping pace with inflation, prompts and suggested ticket bundles may need revisiting. Test:
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Higher ticket bundles
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Clear “good/better/best” options
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Stronger framing of impact per ticket book bought
2. Guard Against Over-Pruning Your File
Chasing short-term ROI by mailing only the “top” segments risks shrinking your base too far. Consider:
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Re-testing marginal segments
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Using modelling to widen selections efficiently (Sequoia Insights can help with this)
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Supplementing DM with email reminders to boost overall response
3. Make Digital Work Harder (Without Abandoning DM)
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Email “boosters” before and near deadline
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Create simple, mobile-friendly landing pages
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Include integrated tracking so you can understand online vs offline play patterns
4. Lean into The Fun Without Losing the Cause
The webinar panel discussed this and concluded that the strongest results came when:
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The cause was clearly front and centre
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The prize and “it could be you” element added excitement and urgency
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Winners and their stories were shared to make “winning” feel tangible
Where Woods Valldata Can Help
If you’re rethinking your raffle – or wondering whether now is the right time to invest more:
- Woods Valldata supports charities of all sizes with raffle design, benchmarking, data strategy, creative testing, and end‑to‑end delivery.
- Explore case studies of how other organisations have grown their prize-led programmes:
https://www.woodsvalldata.co.uk/case-studies/ - Read more about individual giving and prize-led trends on the Woods Valldata blog:
https://info.woodsvalldata.co.uk/blog
Raffle isn’t yesterday’s product. With smart targeting, testing and supporter-focused design, it can be one of the most resilient and diverse income streams in your mix.
