We will only host raffles for actual nonprofits. There are specific rules and legal requirements for online raffles and we strongly encourage the organizations to check the rules for their state when doing fundraising raffles. The rules vary by your location. We do not allow raffles in 5 states currently due to legal requirements in those states.
Is there somewhere we can get a template for rules for a raffle?
Yes, we have a boilerplate template for rules. You will want to check with the legal requirements for your state where your non-profit is located to make sure they are correct for your area, but our template is a good starting point. You can download it
here.
How does the non-profit get the contributions?
Chance2Win does not touch any funds for your raffle. All orders are sent directly to your credit card processor and they are responsible to deposit the funds directly to the non-profits bank account. Each non-profit will need to to have their own credit card processor.
What does it cost to host an online raffle with Chance2Win.org?
Chance2Win charges a fee to setup and host a raffle with up to $5000 in donations. Our current pricing can be found here. You can upgrade when your raffle hits that limit to the next level. There is also the fee for credit card processing which is approximately 2.9% and 30 cents a transaction. Those are taken from your credit card processor.
Chance2Win also has the option for the Charity to collect/charge a service charge for tickets. This is fully optional. Most charities add a 7.5% service charge which helps offset the Chance2Win fees and the Credit Card Processing. Our statistics show that adding a service charge to your ticket prices has almost a zero impact on conversions. You just need to let us know if you want to add a service charge when you setup your raffle.
How does the non-profit pay chance to win for the service fees?
Chance2Win will process an authorization on your credit card when you check out for the initial package and will charge your card when your Charity is approved. After that, we will invoice you for the next level when you reach that number of contributions and you can pay online via your Credit Card or Checking Account.
Why would you want to do an online raffle?
An online raffle is an excellent way for a non-profit to generate funds by giving people a chance to win a donated item. The times have changed significantly and it is become much harder to manage and administrate traditional raffles where your members are out manually selling tickets. By using an online raffle system your members can now leverage the power of social media and online communications to increase the average donation size and total campaign contributions for your raffle significantly.
Is an online raffle legal?
Yes, except in 5 states and for those 5 states, we will not accept raffles. The rules vary from state to state and dictate the requirements for ensuring that your online raffle meets all the legal requirements. For example: In many states, the non-profit must have a way for someone to enter the raffle without making a contribution, such as by mailing a single self-addressed stamped envelope, hand written per entry. California has a requirement that requires that 90% of the ticket gross goes to the charity, which would rule out the option to do 50-50 raffles in California. Some states require a permit to raffle items over $5,000. We would urge you to consult with legal counsel to make sure that your raffle meets all legal requirements.
Chance to Win also has a sample rule template available to assist the non-profit in creating their rules to be posted on their raffle.
Do I get a list of all the donors?
Yes, the non- profit can view contributions and tickets in their admin panel. Additionally, they can export a full list of donors with their name, address, email, in csv format to be used to import into the mailing list program.
How can I see all of the ticket numbers that have been issued for my raffle?
The admin panel offers a list of orders and you can sort and adjust the view by date. You can also download all off the ticket numbers in CSV format to be used in Excel, etc.
How can I see our donations and the entries to date for a raffle?
Simply by logging into your charity admin center.
Do you have sample rules?
Yes – we provide a sample rule template
here. Please check with your specific state requirements and legal counsel to make modifications.
Can we offer multiple prizes such as first second and third place?
Sure, just specify the prizes in your description. When you pick a winner, simply pick a 1st place winner, a 2nd place winner and a 3rd place winner.
What kind of prizes can we offer?
It is virtually endless as long as it is legal. We have had 50-50 split the pot prizes, cars, motorcycles, vacations, lunch or dinner with celebrities, and autographed memorabilia.
How long will it take to set up a raffle?
It takes about 5 minutes to setup your Non-Profit account. Chance to Win tries to approve the account immediately during business hours or the next business day after hours. Upon approval, you can setup your raffle. If you have pictures, your raffle description, ticket pricing and your rules, it will take about 4 or 5 minutes. Some customers have been up and running from application to live raffle in 30 minutes during business hours.
How long does it take to set up Stripe or Square?
Most customers report that it takes about 5-10 minutes. You will need your tax id number and your bank account info. Lately Stripe has been taking a few days to verify the account and Square has been almost instant.
Can we use our own credit card processing or paypal?
Yes, we can link most credit card processing services via Authorize.net. Our most popular choices are Authorize.net, Stripe and Square. You cannot use PayPal as PayPal does not allow Charity Raffles. We do not accept PayEezy, Venmo or Quickbooks Payments.
How fast does the charity receive its contributions?
Each contribution is processed immediately via your credit card processing and most processors have different options for the distribution of funds.
Is there a minimum charge for the service fees for Chance to Win?
We charge by the size of the raffle being hosting. The minimum package is our Starter Package which allows you to process $5000 in donations for your charity.
Here is our current pricing.
How can we promote our raffle to maximize entries?
Each raffle has a unique link. For starters, we suggest making sure the link is on your website and social media profiles. Share your raffle with all of your friends and family and members. Look for places to promote your raffle. The more you promote and share your raffle the more successful your raffle will be.
Do we have to be technical or do we need a web designer to set up our raffle?
Not at all. You need to be able to upload photos and add the information for your raffle and charity.
How do we get support if we need help with our raffle?
Visit our support page and fill out a support ticket.
Can we talk to a customer service rep if needed?
Yes, 813-699-9325, we are located on the east coast and our hours are Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm EST.
How are the winners selected?
It depends on how you want to select the winner. We have a random winner picker in the admin panel, or download all the tickets in the provided CSV and then use a service like random.org to specify the starting and ending row and then get a random entry for your winner.
What is required to host a raffle?
You need to be a non-profit, you need a prize, ticket prices and rules.
How long should we run our raffle?
It really depends. Part of it depends on who will be sharing it and how you will be marketing it. For large prizes, like cars, etc. we suggest a minimum of a few months. For smaller, more local raffles, a month or 6 weeks tends to be a good timeframe.
A Fifty-Fifty Raffle, sometimes called a split the pot raffle, is where the total raffle contributions are tallied up and the winner of the raffle gets a percentage of the total. In a true 50-50, the winner gets half and the charity gets half. Some split the pots offer different percentages. One great idea we have done in the past is where an online split the pot is created along with a large fundraiser such as a food truck rally or golf tourney, the winner gets 50% if they are present at the event when the winner is chosen. If the winner is not present, then the charity gets 60% and the winner gets 40%. That is a great way to entice the entrants to also attend your fundraiser.
If we do a 50-50 raffle how can we display the current value of the pot?
We have a few options for 50-50 style raffles. You can choose to display the whole amount or an estimated winning. You can also set a percentage to deduct so that any service fees or admin fees can be removed from the amounts displayed.
Can we offer different ticket packages?
Absolutely! And you should. Different ticket packages are the number one reason that online raffles see such a significant increase in average contributions. By offering additional entries for larger donations, the majority of your donors donate much more.
Can we upload our own pictures and images for our raffle?
Yes, when you setup your raffle, you can upload jpg or png image files.
Can we specify a specific number format for the tickets?
No – to keep it simple, we have a set format for the ticket numbering. If you have a need for a specific format, you will need to host your own raffle on a dedicated website. We recommend the
wpraffle.com raffle ticket generator for WordPress and WooCommerce to handle that. If you need a web developer we suggest contacting
TheWebDesignNinja.com as they specialize in these types of websites.
Can we specify the end date and the drawing day?
Yes – please see the raffle setup.
Can we set up the raffle and then set the time and date that it will become available?
Yes, and we encourage that. When you setup the raffle, you are asked for the start date and end date. You can edit and adjust settings and it will display automatically the dates.
Do we get an alert when people make a contribution?
Yes, the non-profit email address that you used to sign up for the account will get a copy of each receipt with ticket numbers.
What is an online raffle?
An online raffle is just like a traditional raffle where people make donations for tickets with the chance to win a prize. In a traditional raffle, the people get a physical ticket. With and online raffle, they get a virtual ticket with their numbers. The ticket numbers are stored in a database and a random generator is used to choose the winner. The prize is a physical prize.
Who can make contributions and enter the raffle?
We currently support entries from the United States of America. We do not allow entries or contributions from outside the U.S.
Is there a geographical requirement for the nonprofits?
The non-profits must reside in the United States. We allow non-profits from all states in the U.S., except AL, CA, HI, KA, SC, or UT
Can people outside of the United States enter the raffles?
Not at this time.
How can we handle cash and/or check entries?
There are 2 ways to handle this. One is to do manual orders from your raffle website dashboard. We also have a way to import them from an excel sheet.
Can we customize our raffle page?
Somewhat. We offer the ability to upload images and you have an area for the description and rules. To keep it simple, we have a set format for each page to minimize the amount of work for a non-profit to setup a raffle.
If you have a need for a specific format, you will need to host your own raffle on a dedicated website. We recommend the
wpraffle.com raffle ticket generator for WordPress and WooCommerce to handle that. If you need a web developer we suggest contacting
TheWebDesignNinja.com as they specialize in these types of websites.
Can users pick their own ticket number?
No – Tickets are assigned automatically.
How do we put our raffle on our own webpage or Facebook page?
Each raffle has a link and you can share the link on fb. We also link to your Social Media and Website from your raffle website.
Is there a minimum amount of time to run a raffle?
Yes, Chance 2 Win requires a 2 week minimum run. We encourage longer runs as it tends to make the raffle more successful.
Is there a minimum ticket price?
Yes - Chance2Win will not accept tickets that are less than $1 per ticket. Keep in mind that credit cards processors charge a percentage plus a per transaction fee which is typically around $.30 per transaction. Organizations should set a minimum sale of $10 or higher to avoid paying a high percentage for small orders.
Do we get a dedicated link/page for our raffle?
Yes. Every charity and every raffle has its own url/link. You will get your own website at (charityname).OurRaffle.org
