Raffle questions

[Addicting]

@Oak @brocksw @Big Fin @magnum44270 or anybody with experience in the raffle world.

Our HS band was selected to perform at Disney next year. Being the dutiful parent, I am now attending the Band boosters meeting to fund raise.

I’m aware each state has different rules on raffles and I am reading up on Michigan’s.

But what are the pro tips you can impart on me from your experiences running raffles?

We are thinking starting small and doing a beef. Selling this fall a drawing at home coming this September. 2 winners, half a side each, $20 a ticket 500 tickets? Would hate to sell out, think we can possibly do 1000.

I have a processor who will give a cut rate for sponsorship. We have a local livestock auction to buy it from. Figure less than 4K invested on our side.

Would lobby to do something hunting but there is major hurdles with that and school board.

 

[Treeshark]

In my experience with youth sports raffles, cash tag raffles are the easiest to sell and easiest to administer. Each kid gets ten cards (more if they can sell them), $10 each card. It’s usually good for $7-8k net to the team. Weekly drawing of varying amounts.

The one law we have here (not sure about Michigan) is that participation cannot be mandatory- but everyone does anyway.

 

[Big Fin]

Michigan requires you get a raffle license from your Gaming Board.

Your state does not allow the sale of online raffle tickets. Must be sold in-person.

Must be sponsored by a non-profit. Make sure your school is the sponsor, unless your booster club is a qualified non-profit.

If you do it as a sweepstakes the rules are far easier. The biggest difference is a sweepstakes requires an “alternative means of entry” and the alternative method must be free.

 

[Addicting]

Michigan requires you get a raffle license from your Gaming Board.

Your state does not allow the sale of online raffle tickets. Must be sold in-person.

Must be sponsored by a non-profit. Make sure your school is the sponsor, unless your booster club is a qualified non-profit.

If you do it as a sweepstakes the rules are far easier. The biggest difference is a sweepstakes requires an “alternative means of entry” and the alternative method must be free.

I was tracking that, the license takes about 8 weeks to get. The boosters is a 501-3c so we are covered there.

One opinion tonight was to limit the tickets to make it more attractive. But I think we can easily sell more especially for kids fund raising.

Is there a rule of thumb for cost to revenue generated on raffles?

 

[Addicting]

If you do it as a sweepstakes the rules are far easier. The biggest difference is a sweepstakes requires an “alternative means of entry” and the alternative method must be free.

I seem to remember Matthew hating the alternative entries recently. I think we will be sticking with a raffle.

 

[CT_SD]

Beef prices are at record highs. Currently trading around $4/# hanging weight. Add in something for processing and you might be over your $4k estimate on a fat calf.

 

[Addicting]

Beef prices are at record highs. Currently trading around $4/# hanging weight. Add in something for processing and you might be over your $4k estimate on a fat calf.

Auction last week had around $2.15 a pound for live. If we pick up a 1200lbs steer that is around 2500ish and the processor will do $.45/ lbs hanging weight for vac sealed and froze. Figured 60% hanging weight for an additional $324 in processing.

Who knows what will be at the sale when we get approval to purchase. So I figured 4K on the safe side and hopefully 10k in ticket sales. I’m new at this livestock auction thing so I could be way off.

 

[Big Fin]

Is there a rule of thumb for cost to revenue generated on raffles?

Depends on if the prizes are donated or purchased. Most groups want a 50% net, after all costs are accounted for. So build and audience of buyers and can do even better than that.

 

[Dakotakid]

How much do you need to raise?

Getting a beef donated goes a very long ways towards the goal and is usually tax deductible or great advertising. Banks usually have a specific budget that they are required to donate back to the community.

We generally try to raise funds from multiple angles— donations by business towards the prizes, sponsors get there names on the tickets.

Then the raffle of the prize.
And if you do a banquet for the raffle- funding per table.

 

[Gulf of America]

Auction last week had around $2.15 a pound for live. If we pick up a 1200lbs steer that is around 2500ish and the processor will do $.45/ lbs hanging weight for vac sealed and froze. Figured 60% hanging weight for an additional $324 in processing.

Who knows what will be at the sale when we get approval to purchase. So I figured 4K on the safe side and hopefully 10k in ticket sales. I’m new at this livestock auction thing so I could be way off.

View attachment 407285

I would think you could do 4 winners that each get a quarter - plenty of potential ticket buyers aren’t hunters with a 3 freezers in the garage and might have a hard time dealing with 300lb of beef anyway. $20 a ticket for an ~$800 prize still seems like good value. We do an annual raffle for ski patrol, and we get some generous prize donations, but we still sell $6k of tickets with about $1k spent on prizes each year.

 

[CT_SD]

Auction last week had around $2.15 a pound for live. If we pick up a 1200lbs steer that is around 2500ish and the processor will do $.45/ lbs hanging weight for vac sealed and froze. Figured 60% hanging weight for an additional $324 in processing.

Who knows what will be at the sale when we get approval to purchase. So I figured 4K on the safe side and hopefully 10k in ticket sales. I’m new at this livestock auction thing so I could be way off.

View attachment 407285

FuturesOne cash cattle update:


Sharply higher cash cattle yesterday. Early afternoon $250-$252 began to trade. The trade then jumped up to $255. Late inB the day western Nebraska traded at $256. Finally a few ended up trading at $257. Dressed trade similar started out $395-$396 then moved up to $400.

From this morning. Definitely talking about different regions of the country. Also, most fat steers in major feeding regions are finishing at ~1600# live weight. Just didn’t want you to underestimate cost.

 

[Addicting]

How much do you need to raise?

Getting a beef donated goes a very long ways towards the goal and is usually tax deductible or great advertising. Banks usually have a specific budget that they are required to donate back to the community.

We generally try to raise funds from multiple angles— donations by business towards the prizes, sponsors get there names on the tickets.

Then the raffle of the prize.
And if you do a banquet for the raffle- funding per table.

The problem we run into in our small community is every booster club hits up the same 20 businesses. They can only support so much. We were talking that we needed to step away from that and do something different.

The community already supports us with 4 other revenue sources. That doesn’t cover as much as we need to help pay for some of this trip.

 

[Addicting]

Dressed trade similar started out $395-$396 then moved up to $400.

I don’t know what that is.

Talked with the local farmer who attends the auction and she said we should expect 1200-1500 at that sale. Even at 1500 at 2.50 would put us in at $4250. If they are up to $4 a lbs I will try and find a local farmer where we can buy off the farm and use heart strings. $4 is high.

 

[CT_SD]

I don’t know what that is.

Talked with the local farmer who attends the auction and she said we should expect 1200-1500 at that sale. Even at 1500 at 2.50 would put us in at $4250. If they are up to $4 a lbs I will try and find a local farmer where we can buy off the farm and use heart strings. $4 is high.

$400 is per hundred weight for dressed cattle-not live wight-so equivalent to $4/# hanging weight. Live cattle are at $250-257/100#. A 1500# live steer would be about $3750 at $250/100#.