By Phillip Gerrish, Marketing Services Manager | April 2025 |
When charities explore prize-led fundraising, they often hear about two common formats: raffles and lotteries. While both involve selling tickets for the chance to win a prize and raise funds, they serve distinct strategic purposes and operate in different ways.
Understanding their differences (and how they can complement each other) can help charities design a more balanced, effective prize-led fundraising mix.
What’s the Difference?
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Feature
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Charity Raffle
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Charity Lottery
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Frequency
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One-off or occasional
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Weekly or recurring
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Ticket Type
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Typically sold in books of 10 at £1 per ticket, 1 or 2 books per player
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Subscription-based – typically 1 or 2 entries per week
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Draw Date
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Set for a specific draw date
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Drawn weekly, on a set day
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Prizes
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Often bigger or themed (e.g. £10,000 cash or a car)
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Typically smaller weekly prizes (e.g. £1,000 jackpot)
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Supporter Type
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Event-based, ad-hoc, impulse donors; regular raffle players
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Committed, regular supporters; appeal also to wider supporter base
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Main Sales Channels
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Direct mail, online, face-to-face, events, community-based
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Face-to-face or online via subscription (DD) (plus other channels utilised)
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Example
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Christmas Superdraw
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Weekly Hospice Lottery
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Strategic Purpose
Raffles: Tactical Fundraising Tools
- Great for campaigns and events – Christmas, anniversaries, galas, community fairs
- Excellent for reactivating lapsed supporters or tapping into warm audiences
- Often tied to a seasonal appeal or story-led campaign
- Can generate bursts of income
- Lower commitment: good for first-time givers
Think of raffles as "campaign fundraising": similar to a cash appeal.
Lotteries: Sustainable Income Engines
- Build reliable, unrestricted income over time
- Ideal for creating monthly giving habits with a fun twist
- Capture and retain supporter data, allowing for deeper engagement
- Work best with a long-term acquisition and retention plan
- Great for legacy nurturing, as lottery players often become your most loyal donors
Lotteries are your “robust powerhouse”: they grow steadily and compound value over time.
How They Work Together: Synergy in Action
Charities that use both raffles and lotteries strategically can maximise fundraising across different audiences and campaigns.
Raffle → Lottery
Use raffles to introduce supporters to prize-led giving.
After the raffle, invite players to join your weekly lottery for more chances to win—and more consistent support.
- “Enjoyed the Christmas Raffle? Play every week and help us all year round.”
Lottery → Raffle (Superdraw)
Engage your existing lottery base with raffles combined with your lottery creating a Superdraw:
- Thank them with the chance to win bigger prizes
- Celebrate seasonal moments or events
- Boost excitement or upsell extra tickets
- “Lottery members are entered automatically into our Spring Superdraw!”
Operational Considerations
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Factor
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Raffle
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Lottery
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Setup Time
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Can be shorter – depending on mailing campaign plans
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Longer – usually 3–6 months marketing launch (shorter if using a platform like Unity)
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Cost
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Lower upfront costs – depending on mailing campaign plans
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Investment in marketing, lottery platform, and retention planning (low cost if using a platform like Unity)
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Management
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Simple for small raffles; scalable with ELM support
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Often outsourced to an External Lottery Manager (ELM) for full compliance and operations
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In Summary
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Raffles
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Lotteries
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Best for focused, seasonal fundraising
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Best for long-term income growth
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Lower commitment, high engagement
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High retention, low attrition
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One-off events, milestone stories and seasonal campaigns
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Weekly rhythm, ongoing supporter journey
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Entry point for new donors; regular committed raffle players
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Effective for donor acquisition and development, also relationship builder for loyal supporters
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Strategic Takeaway
Don’t choose between raffles and lotteries – use both for different goals.
A smart charity fundraising strategy layers raffles and lotteries to:
- Engage a wide range of supporters
- Balance short-term and long-term income
- Maximise return on marketing and supporter data
- Strengthen brand presence and supporter experience
Ready to Evolve Your Prize-Led Fundraising?
At Sterling Lotteries, we help charities design integrated raffle and lottery strategies – so you don’t just raise more, you build better supporter relationships.
Contact us to explore a plan tailored to your charity’s goals.
enquiries@sterlinglotteries.co.uk
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About Sterling Lotteries
Sterling Lotteries partners with over 800 charities, providing leading prize-led expertise through responsible, innovative, and engaging weekly lotteries and raffles.
We power seamless player experiences, compliance peace of mind, and support charities running creative campaigns that bring prize-led fundraising to life.
www.sterlinglotteries.co.uk
enquiries@sterlinglotteries.co.uk