Hold a raffle or auction

Raffles

No licence is needed so long as you follow these guidelines when running a raffle: 

• Ticket sales and announcement of winners must be held during the event on the night itself only
• No more than £250 can be spent buying prizes and no cash prizes can be given (although vouchers are ok) 
• All tickets must be sold at the same price, i.e. you cannot sell five £1 tickets for £4
• No tickets should be brought or sold by children under the age of 16

If you want to sell raffle tickets in advance to the general public it’s known as a ‘society lottery’. There are certain restrictions for promoting your raffle as a society lottery, so before you start advertising and selling tickets, make sure to read the Gambling Commission guidance.  A small society lottery:

• does not have proceeds that exceed £20,000 for a single draw
• does not have aggregate proceeds from lotteries in excess of £250,000 in any one year
• does not require a Gambling Commission licence
• must be registered with the local authority in the area where the principal office of the society is located 

Details of registration requirements and procedures should be available from the licensing department of the relevant local authority. Application forms for registration to run a small society lottery can be obtained from your local licensing authority. Your raffle will also need to tick the following boxes:

• A person will need to be registered as the ‘promoter’ - this will be the person or group responsible for the raffle and not Lymphoma Action
• All tickets must contain: the society name on whose behalf the lottery is being promoted (we are Lymphoma Action, registered charity number 1068395); the ticket price; the promoter’s name and address; and the draw date

Prizes 

The right prizes are an important part of making your raffle a success! Think about having a range of different prizes to suit different people's interests - and start asking early so you have enough time to follow up if needed. Use your networks and contact local businesses as they may be more likely to support than bigger companies. Don't forget tickets and vouchers as well as physical items - you might like to approach cinemas, theatres, wine shops, specialist food shops/delis, restaurants/cafes, hairdressers, beauticians, local attractions and local sports clubs/gyms. We can provide you with a letter of support to help you, please just contact us on 01296 619419 or fundraising@lymphoma-action.org.uk to ask.

Auctions 

If you have the right prizes and audience you could consider holding an auction at your event:

• Keep it short i.e. six really good lots to ensure that you hold your guests’ attention
• Send a list of auction prizes (together with terms and conditions) to your guest with the final information about the event - that way they’ll come knowing what they want to bid on
• Make sure your auctioneer is fully briefed on each of the prizes including any terms and conditions, value (to make sure it doesn’t go for too little) and who they need to thank
• You’ll need volunteer spotters to keep track of who’s got the latest bid and to ensure that you get their information and payment once they’ve outbid everyone else

For more information, please contact the fundraising team by phoning 01296 619419 or emailing fundraising@lymphoma-action.org.uk