The Lacrosse Wife

Popular throughout the Midwest (but apparently nowhere else in the world), the MEAT RAFFLE is a fun way to raise funds without too much infrastructure or volunteer time.

The meat raffle is especially effective in places where people have some fundraising exhaustion and need new ideas.

This is what our raffle ticket looked like:

Meat Raffle Steps

RafflePoster8x11 — Meat raffle promotional poster – click to view larger

1. Get a LOT of meat, preferably donated. Check with your local butcher shop, grocery store, farmers’ market, local meat producers. If they won’t donate, it’s ok. You can purchase meat affordably and still raise plenty of funds to cover the purchase.

You do not need to have the meat in your possession, leave it with the provider of the meat and arrange for the winner to receive the meat directly.

2. Print raffle tickets. Make sure your tickets are numbered and allow space for name and phone. A professional graphic designer and/or print shop will save you lots of time and give you the high-quality feel you need to be successful. If the ticket looks and feels good, you will sell more tickets and sell them faster!

3. Market the raffle. You need three things – posters, people, and social media. Be sure to feature the meat provider prominently! A dancing cow or other gimmick (think Chick-Fil-A) helps if you’ve got a lot of foot traffic where you’re selling tickets. HAVE FUN!

4. Sell tickets widely. Don’t just sell the tickets to your friends and family, but use the opportunity to introduce your organization to the community! Everyone loves meat. Our club sold the majority of our raffle tickets at our community’s 2-day summer festival, where we also had a tent to promote the club and sell lacrosse merchandise.

Run the raffle ticket sale for 2-3 weeks
Parents, take a batch of tickets to work.
Look for other local events where you can be present and sell tickets

5. Draw a winner and fire up the BBQ!

Things to consider:

Is there a limit in your state to how much money you can raise by selling raffle tickets? (In Washington state, it was $5000)
To help boost sales, offer a prize for the person who sells the most raffle tickets.

Sample letter asking for meat donation

Dear ,

We’re launching our first annual meat raffle and bringing the great Midwestern tradition to western Washington!

Our club serves 220 lacrosse players from the ____ area and many of our families consistently shop in _______ since there are limited resources for great food as you travel east.

Our team members and parents will be set up in a booth at the Festival from August 10-12 to sell raffle tickets as a fundraiser for [your organization name here].

The Festival draws over 30,000 visitors and our Meat sponsors will be heavily promoted in our booth with banners, ads, anything that can fit in the space we will most certainly include!

If you know of any meat-loving businesses who would be willing to donate to our raffle, we would greatly appreciate meat of any size or variety.

I’ve attached a letter about us as well, with some history about our club and who we are.

Please let me know if I can provide any more information or jump in the car to meet anyone!

Hope your summer is going great. Thank you!