Church Fundraising Software Built for Real Raffles & Real Ministries
Why church teams choose Chance2Win
Because church fundraising is not just about collecting money. It is about protecting trust, and every Chance2Win church raffle is built around that.
Church fundraising needs a different kind of system.
Churches are stewarding relationships, reputation, and transparency at the same time. That is why many generic fundraising tools fall apart in real parish fundraising environments. A simple donation form is not the same thing as a raffle website, and this is why tip-based platforms create friction at community events.
- What churches often run into on generic platforms
- Optional guilt-based tips that create hesitation at checkout
- Surprise service prompts that feel awkward for supporters
- Stripe-only processing limitations for certain fundraiser setups
- Limited raffle capabilities dressed up as “fundraising tools”
- No practical support for cash, check, or in-person church events
- What church leaders actually need
- Simple, transparent checkout that does not confuse parishioners
- Support for online and offline ticket sales in one clean system
- Multiple raffle formats beyond one basic prize drawing
- Printable tickets and manual drawing workflows when needed
- Human help from a team that understands nonprofit raffles
What Churches Actually Run
(That Most Platforms Can’t Support)
Most fundraising platforms can only handle one basic raffle, one prize, one drawing.
Churches run far more than that. With Chance2Win, your parish runs every event on one system.
50/50 Church Raffles
Display percentage, total sales, or custom administrative adjustments. Simple, transparent, and trusted by congregations.
Basket Raffles & Tricky Trays
Multiple baskets. Multiple ticket pools. Clean tracking, so every supporter knows exactly where their tickets go.
Progressive Jackpot Raffles
Progressive jackpots. Weekly drawings. Long-term congregation engagement that builds momentum week over week.
Ball Drop & Duck Race
Pre-numbered balls or ducks with exact number matching, so there are no missing numbers due to refunds or failed orders.
Hybrid Parish Events
Online sales plus in-person cash and check at the festival table, all merged into one drawing pool.
No other major “free” platform supports all of these in one system. That distinction matters for your ministry.
Free Is Not Free
If It Costs You Trust
Church leaders do not want friction at checkout. They want clarity. They want predictable outcomes. They want their fundraiser to feel professional.
Here’s what actually happens with tip-based “free” platforms in church environments:
- 30 to 40% of donors abandon checkout due to tip pressure
- Older parishioners get confused or embarrassed by service prompts
- Surprise fees create distrust between church and congregation
- Stripe-only processing limits certain prize categories
- Large parish event traffic can slow or crash basic systems
Transparent pricing consistently outperforms surprise tipping models in real church environments. What looks free on paper quietly reduces total revenue in practice.
30-40%
Reported checkout abandonment when unexpected tip screens appear, a consistent finding across the fundraising industry
$0
What your organization pays with the Chance2Win Zero Fee model: no hidden loss in completion rate, no guilt screens
Transparent, upfront pricing removes surprise, reduces friction, and protects trust, which is far more important in a church environment than a theoretical $0 platform fee.
Transparent Pricing for Ministries
Zero Fee
Church pays $0- A transparent 12% service fee is shown at checkout
- Church keeps 100% of the base ticket price
- No tip surprises
- No guilt screens
Church pays $0Payments Processed through
Premium Plan (Most Popular)
Starting at $329.00
- Starts at $329
- Church decides if and how service charges are applied
- Works with multiple payment gateways
- Greater flexibility for larger parish events
Easily connects to
Which pricing model is right for us?
Zero Fee or Premium how do we choose?
When does Premium beat Zero Fee?
What exactly is the 12% on Zero Fee?
Will supporters get hit with surprise fees or tip prompts?
What is the optional 8% on Premium?
Built for parish festivals, after-service sales, and real-world volunteer teams.
Church raffle ideas for every kind of church fundraiser
Church raffles fit almost any church fundraiser, because they give every member of the congregation and the wider community an easy way to take part. These ideas all run on a Chance2Win church raffle website:
- Parish festival basket raffle: families donate themed baskets, and supporters put their tickets toward the baskets they want. See how a basket raffle works.
- After-service 50/50: sell tickets after Sunday services and online during the week, and split the pot with the winner. See the 50/50 raffle.
- Weekly Queen of Hearts: a progressive jackpot that brings people back to the parish hall every week as each card is revealed. See Queen of Hearts.
- Church picnic duck race or ball drop: pre-numbered ducks or balls sold online before the event, with a live drop on the day. See the duck race and ball drop.
- Fish fry or pancake breakfast raffle: sell raffle tickets online ahead of the meal and with cash at the door.
- Youth group trip or mission raffle: a single prize that funds a specific trip, so supporters know exactly what they are helping.
- Christmas or Easter raffle: a seasonal prize tied to the holiday, when attendance is highest.
Can a church hold a raffle?
In most states, yes: a church that qualifies as a nonprofit can usually hold a raffle, but the rules differ by state. Some states require a permit or license, some limit online ticket sales, and a few do not allow certain raffles at all. Check your state’s rules before you sell tickets. Our state-by-state summary of online raffle rules is a good place to start, and Chance2Win only builds raffle websites for IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organizations. For the full process, see our guide on how to run a raffle online.
How church raffle tickets work online and at the door
Supporters buy church raffle tickets on your raffle website by card, and volunteers enter cash and check sales as manual orders, so every ticket lands in the same drawing pool. For a manual drawing, you can print ticket sheets or export the ticket list, and you can also run a digital random draw. If a volunteer gets stuck, Chance2Win support answers the phone at (813) 699-9325, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm EST.
Church raffle prize ideas that sell tickets
The best church raffle prizes are things your church members actually want, and many of them can be donated by local businesses or families in the congregation. A strong prize list mixes one headline prize with several smaller ones:
- Gift baskets: themed baskets built by ministries or families, such as a family movie night, a gardening basket, or a local favorites basket.
- Dinners and experiences: a dinner for two at a local restaurant, a dinner hosted by the pastor, or tickets to a local game or show.
- Services from church members: a month of lawn care, a house cleaning, a family photo session, or a handmade quilt.
- Gift cards: grocery, gas, and restaurant gift cards from local businesses suit almost every household.
- Cash: a 50/50 raffle splits the proceeds between the winner and your church.
- A bigger prize for a building fund: a vacation stay or a large TV when the raffle has a large goal.
Wine, bourbon, cigars, and firearms are regulated prizes. A church raffle with one of these needs a payment processor that allows them, such as Flux Payments, because Stripe and Square prohibit them.
Plan church raffles around the church calendar
The most effective church raffles line up with the church calendar, when the congregation and the wider community are already together. Good moments include the parish festival, a fall festival raffle, Christmas and Easter services, the church picnic, and a spring fish fry. Set the drawing date and time for the night of the event, so people who bought raffle tickets online and at the door can watch the winners drawn together.
Whether your church raffle is a small after-service 50/50 or a large building fund raffle, decide three things early: the raffle prize, the ticket price, and what the proceeds will pay for. Those choices shape every announcement, and the raffle website itself.
How to promote a church raffle
- Announce the raffle from the pulpit and in the bulletin, with the link to your raffle website.
- Share prize photos on social media and in the church email newsletter in the weeks before the drawing.
- Sell tickets at a table after services for members who prefer cash or checks, and enter those sales on your raffle site.
- Ask ministries and youth groups to share the link with their own families and friends.
- Post a reminder in the final week, and announce the winners after the drawing.
Where church raffle proceeds go
Church raffles raise the most when the proceeds have a clear purpose: a building fund, a youth group mission trip, a food pantry, or a new roof for the parish hall. Name that purpose on your raffle website and in every announcement, so supporters know what their tickets pay for. On the Zero Fee plan, your church keeps 100% of the ticket price, and supporters pay the 12% service charge shown at checkout.
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Manual offline entry
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Printable tickets
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Digital drawing + livestream support
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Unified reporting
We Believe in
Faith-Based Responsibility
Verify Eligibility
Confirm your church meets local requirements for nonprofit raffle eligibility before launching any campaign.
Local Permissions
Confirm your local municipality and diocese permit raffle-style fundraising for faith-based organizations.
State Regulations
Follow state nonprofit gaming regulations. We encourage every organization to review local regulations before launching.
For clarity and transparency: Raffle ticket purchases are generally not tax-deductible because participants receive a chance to win a prize. We recommend communicating this clearly to your supporters before they purchase. Clear expectations protect your ministry and your congregation’s trust.
Why Churches Switch to Chance2Win
- The “free” platform caused checkout friction that hurt donations
- Basket raffles and multi-prize events weren’t supported
- Manual drawing compliance tools didn’t exist
- Tip prompts confused and embarrassed donors at checkout
- Progressive Queen of Hearts raffles weren’t possible
- Hybrid events (online plus cash at the door) were a nightmare
Chance2Win was built specifically for organizations that run real raffles in the real world.
Not just donation forms with a raffle add-on. Purpose-built raffle software for parish halls, festival grounds, progressive jackpots, and the hybrid realities of modern church fundraising.
Get the 120-Page Raffle Fundraising Book
Want the deeper strategy behind successful raffles?
The Chance2Win team wrote Raffle Mastery, a 120-page book covering raffle pricing psychology, promotion tactics, ticket bundle strategy, and the mistakes that cost nonprofits thousands.
The book normally sells for $19, but you can get the ebook when you join our occasional newsletter.
Church fundraising software comparison: Chance2Win vs “free” platforms.
- Typical “free” platforms
- Rely on optional donor tips to fund the platform
- Introduce friction and confusion at checkout
- Usually support only one simple raffle type
- Often limited to Stripe-only processing
- Usually weak on cash, check, and hybrid church events
- Not built for Queen of Hearts or multi-raffle parish events
- Chance2Win for churches
- Transparent 12% service fee model or tiered Premium option
- No guilt-based tip prompts
- Supports 50/50, basket raffles, Queen of Hearts, ball drops, and hybrid events
- Designed for online plus in-person church workflows
- Printable tickets for manual drawing compliance
- Built specifically for real-world nonprofit raffles
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a church pay anything to use Chance2Win?
Not on the Zero Fee plan. The church pays $0, and supporters pay a fixed 12% service charge that is shown before they complete their purchase. On Premium, tiered pricing starts at $329, and the church chooses whether to cover the cost or pass it on as a service charge it collects. It pays its own card processing.
Why not use a tip-funded fundraising tool instead?
Because “optional” tip prompts are not neutral. They change donor behavior.
Across the fundraising industry, organizations routinely report significant checkout abandonment when surprise tip screens appear. In many cases, completion rates drop by 30 to 40% when donors encounter unexpected service charges or guilt-based tip prompts at the final step.
For churches, this impact is often amplified. Parishioners may feel confused, pressured, or hesitant when asked to cover platform costs after already deciding to support the fundraiser.
What looks “free” on paper can quietly reduce total revenue in practice.
Transparent, upfront pricing removes surprise, reduces friction, and protects trust, which is far more important in a church environment than a theoretical $0 platform fee.
Which payment processors work for a church raffle?
Can we accept cash and checks at our church event?
Yes. On a Chance2Win church raffle website you can manually enter offline ticket sales, so everything merges into one drawing pool. This is essential for parish festivals and after-service ticket sales.
Can we print tickets for a manual drawing if required?
Yes. You can print blank or prefilled tickets directly from the Chance2Win admin dashboard to meet local drawing requirements.
Does this support Queen of Hearts raffles for churches?
Yes. Chance2Win supports Queen of Hearts raffles for churches, with a progressive jackpot and weekly drawings that keep supporters coming back.
Are raffle tickets tax-deductible for donors?
Generally, no. Because donors receive a chance to win a prize, raffle ticket purchases are typically not tax-deductible. Saying so clearly on your Chance2Win raffle page helps protect your ministry and your supporters.
Are church raffles legal, and what rules apply?
Raffle laws vary by state. Churches should confirm local eligibility and regulatory requirements before launching any raffle. Chance2Win provides the raffle website and transparency tools, and only builds raffle websites for IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organizations. We recommend consulting local authorities or legal counsel when needed.
