Our newly formed Trout Unlimited chapter is planning to have a booth at an upcoming Sportsmen’s Show. The main purpose in having the booth is simply to let the public know we exist. Many people are not even aware that the Trout Unlimited organization even exists let alone that we have a local chapter.
Since we are a newly formed chapter, we don’t have any money in the bank yet. To offset the cost of the booth rental, we are planning a raffle. Any suggestions for a raffle prize? Our first thought was, or course, a fly rod & reel. The chance to win a fly rod would appeal to the fly fishers in the crowd and/or, perhaps encourage a non-flyfisher to take up the sport. However, eastern South Dakota is not really a hot-bed of flyfishing so there will be many more non-flyfishers in the crowd. We also thought of a float tube. That would appeal to the flyfishers as well as those who chase some of the warm-water species.
I should mention that this is a VERY large Sportsmen’s Show. This 4-day event will draw thousands of people so the potential to sell a lot of raffle tickets is very good. We will want our raffle prize to appeal a lot of different types of anglers.
A good quality but inexpensive combo is a good item. Maybe a few flies.
Do make sure you don’t run afoul of your state’s rules for raffles for non profit organization. For example here in CA at least 90% of gross proceeds must go to charitable programs. No more than 10% can go to expenses, which includes facilities and prizes (prizes can be donated though). Your state may have its own rules.
The Alaska Fly Fishers has a raffle at the local (Anchorage) Sportsman’s Show every spring for a high end fly rod and reel. A local shop donates the rod, usually a Sage, and we add a reel either from a donation or that we buy (usually cheap, direct from the manufacturer) and raffle them together. We also have a free kids raffle (it is pretty easy to get someone to donate a kid, so be selctive there! ) for either a tying kitor a free family pass to our annual fly fishing seminar.
Asking for prizes is easier for some than others…
Printing a coupon on the back of the tickets for a donor store is a good way to sell potential donors on helping you… and themselves at the same time.
Better prizes will increase your ticket sales, guaranteed!
If you have to buy a rod, look at Sierra Trading Post for some great deals on name rods.
A quick check of CA law found the provision you mentioned… 90% must go to the good cause… However, it does not say “gross proceeds” but rather “revenue” and a quick check of the CA legal definition of revenue finds they use the standard definition of “return on investment.” So all costs are subtracted and it is very much a “net” requirement.
I looked because that is an extremely difficult standard to live up to and I know there are commercial fundraisers there and they would not work for 10%.
Also, the State is not intrested in occasional charitable raffles… They make it easier than most states.
art
if you really want to get people to buy tickets, add a cheap TV to the mix. everyone wants another television! it could be playing a DVD about fly fishing or fly tying or casting or all three. a moving TV picture really attracts folks to stop and look, especially in a huge show like you’re going to. stuck to the top of the TV you put a bright day-glo sign WIN THIS TV! and off you go.
Ms. Betty is a pretty young girl who likes to visit South Dakota. Maybe you could get her up to sell kisses. They probably had a jolt coming from a real swamp witch.
Since your real motive is to make people aware of the chapter. Why not tie up a bunch of flies, if you have a 100 give away 25 each morning stuck on a business card with the chapter information on it. Just a thought.
I have seen this. business cards with a fly stuck into them. real attention getter, and if you have a decent sized club, you can get 1000 flies pretty quickly. make sure you only give them to people who stop, or people like me will swipe a few off the table because we are cheap barstids
A water proof camera has proven popular with my chapter’s annual raffle, as well as guided trips (especially if you can get a guide to donate part of his time.)
OK, I’ll confess. I’ve been a professional marketing guy for over 40 years. This response is based on that experience.
It appears that the objective of your raffle is to maximize the funds your raise, not to maximize booth attendance by current and potential fly fishers. If it was the latter, your raffle item should be fly fishing related. But the former indicates it should be an item or items that appeal to the widest number of people attending the event.
Narrowing it even further, you need to decide if it is better to appeal to a sub-segment who are willing to spend a lot (either in a high priced single ticket or in a lot of more moderately priced tickets) or to a larger group willing to take a flyer on a low priced ticket with a low odds of winning.
I don’t know the right answer to these. But I have noted that the West Denver TU chapter, which is in an area with LOTS of fly fishers, has raffled off a single prize for many years at local shows. It is always a collection of high end fly fishing gear packed in a custom fitted hard case that makes it easy to carry and display at multiple shows. The value is in the thousands and I think tickets are around $2, but could be wrong about that.
If you want to learn of their experience with this approach, you can contact them at this link. http://www.westdenvertu.org/
Thanks for the clarification. “proceeds” was the term used the memo from our club. Our club and some others had to change the way they ran their raffles after inadvertently running afoul of the laws. Among the things that changed were how to facilities used for the annual big fundraiser were paid for and the elimination of some smaller events that were held during the year. The attorneys in the club sorted it out. Many other organizations have had to change their fundraising efforts over the last few years.
Anyway, the main point was to be certain the club is in tune with local law.
And back to the main question, if the primary audience is non flyfishers, then complete combo is better than just some flies, or videos, or other accessories. The complete outfit is ready to go whereas with other stuff the winner needs to acquire additional things to start flyfishing.
Royce - our TU Chapter’s raffle offered several good prizes and most were donated with credit to the donor on our website (www.roanoketu.org) and printed flyers and tickets. In the past we’ve also had a rifle or shotgun as a prize and that might appeal to non-fishers in your area too. T.U. Chapter #308 Roanoke, VA
A listing of our raffle items and details are on the website page. When you get to the home page just click on the banner that runs along the top of the page.
) for either a tying kitor a free family pass to our annual fly fishing seminar.