Thank you to everyone who joined our latest lunch and learn session on Prize-led fundraising!

A huge thank you to Helen Daw, Head of Data Strategy and Insight, and Gemma Ward, Service Delivery Manager at Woods Valldata, for sharing their insight on how prize-led fundraising can help arts organisations generate regular income and recruit new donors in a struggling economy.

Missed the event?

We got you! Click on the video below to watch the full recording, or scroll down to read some key takeaways and resources…

Click here to watch the full recording on Youtube

🌟 In the wider charity sector, prize-led fundraising is a growing income stream, generating income for charities and organisations of all types. Over £367 million was raised for charities in 2021 through  with 18.5% anticipated growth in the next 5 years.

🌟 Prize-led fundraising entails generating income through raffles, lotteries and other opportunities for donors to win prizes whilst supporting a good cause. Raffles are one-off gifts, often linked to a specific campaign with start and end dates, while lotteries are weekly or regular draws, where donors tend to sign up to regular giving or direct debit for more chances to win a prize.

🌟 Prize-led fundraising is a different way to ask for support, which can hold a different message to a traditional cash appeal and bring a whole new demographic of donors, attracted by prizes. Raffles ten to attract an older generation of supporters, and as such they can be a good feeder for legacy fundraising, while regular giving tends to attract a younger demographic, possibly due to easier set up digitally.

🌟 While it may seem different than other forms, don’t forget it IS fundraising – so just like every other fundraising campaign, think about channels of acquisition, retention and supporter stewardship. You are taking your supporters on a journey, so the same rules apply!

🌟 It is, however, a different offer than traditional philanthropy in terms of legislation, so you will need to think about the legalities of being registered with the Gambling Commission – your lottery provider will usually look after the details on your behalf.

🌟 Why and how can arts organisations sign up? Raffles and lotteries can be a new, fun way to engage with new donors and ask existing supporters to extend their giving. Don’t get too boxed down with traditional forms of cash lottery; prizes are a chance to think creatively and try out different engagement routes – so tailoring your messaging and designing your campaign through different channels (including social media or digital channels) can really help you reach new donors.

Further reading

Young Arts Fundraisers is not affiliated with Woods Valldata, and other services providers are available.

We are grateful to the team at Woods Valldata for sharing some free resources and events below.

‘An Introduction to Weekly Lottery for Charities’ free webinar, next on 19 April 2023 – click here to sign up.

‘Prize-Led Fundraising Benchmarking and Trends 2023’ free webinar, next on 25 April – click here to sign up.

More information on their Affinity Lottery, helping charities manage and run weekly lotteries, or on there, can be found on Free Resource library or on their website, here.

You can also arrange a chat and a demo with Gemma Ward from Woods Valldata at this link https://meetings.hubspot.com/gemma-ward.