Prizes to choose for a successful raffle
Prizes are the key to getting people to participate in a raffle. Choosing the right ones can triple or quadruple your proceeds.
Here, we’ll show you how to go about it, the types of prizes that work best for your situation, and how to present them to encourage purchases.
We’ll guide you based on our experience and examples from real raffles that have raised over €500,000.
Why your prizes are crucial to your fundraising campaign
Before buying a raffle ticket, the first question a participant asks isn't how much the ticket costs.
It's: “Is it worth playing?” And the answer depends almost entirely on what's up for grabs.
Un lot spectaculaire fait deux choses simultanément : il justifie l'achat aux yeux du participant, et il provoque le partage.
"Tu savais qu'on peut gagner une voiture à la tombola de <nom de l'association> ?". Cette phrase vaut une campagne publicitaire entière. Ce que vous mettez en jeu est le moteur viral de votre tombola.
À l'inverse, une tombola avec des lots ternes, même pour une cause légitime, se vend difficilement.
Les participants ont besoin de voir la valeur avant de participer, y compris pour soutenir une association qu'ils apprécient.
Parmi les tombolas réalisées sur GoTombola et ayant collecté plus de 10 000 €, toutes sans exception avaient variété de lots de valeurs diversifiée.
Les participants y voient une chance plus importante de gagner en achetant plusieurs tickets, même s'il s'agit d'un lot de consolation.
Organize your prizes into 3 levels
Based on the most successful raffles, organizing prizes into three levels is the most effective way to balance emotional impact, perceived probability of winning, and total revenue. This applies regardless of the size of your raffle or the amount of funds you hope to raise.
This inverted pyramid, with a grand prize at the top and a multitude of smaller prizes at the bottom, plays on two well-documented psychological biases: the dream (the grand prize) and probability (many small winners). Together, they maximize the decision to buy.
This prize alone is reason enough to buy multiple tickets. It should be immediately clear what it is: a car, an all-inclusive trip, a video game console, or electric bikes. No abstract prizes or ones that are hard to value. Plan to have one prize to highlight.
These are the prizes that make people say, “There are actually quite a few things to win.” They reassure those who are undecided and encourage them to buy. High-quality gift cards, experiences (spa, fine dining, weekend getaways), sports equipment, and themed gift boxes. Include 3 to 7 of these items.
They create the impression that “it's really worth playing—everyone can win something, even if it's not much.” A mug, a book, a local gift card, a gift basket, or a discount coupon. Plan on 10 to 30 prizes, depending on the number of tickets sold.
The types of bundles that work and why
Here are the main categories of prize pools, ranked by their impact on sales, based on what we’ve learned from our data on over 13,000 prizes configured on GoTombola.
🏖️ Experiences and travel: the top category 🍽️
This is the most common category on GoTombola, accounting for more than 1 in 10 prizes. Experiences work because they tell a story. When a participant sees “a weekend in a campervan” they can already picture themselves there, even before clicking. All-inclusive exotic trips, in particular, generate a lot of engagement on social media.
🎮 High-tech: the universal trigger 📱
PlayStation 5, iPad, Nintendo Switch, iPhone, electric scooter, smartwatch... These prizes are instantly recognizable to any participant, regardless of age or background. Their value is universally known, which eliminates the need for any persuasion. The PS5 is the most common first prize offered on GoTombola.
🚗 Cars and vehicles: for large collections 🏍️
A car as the first prize is an immediate sign that “this raffle is the serious stuff” La Tanière (Endowment Fund), FNATH, FC Châtel-Saint-Denis, and several major organizations use this strategy. The median value of a car as a prize on GoTombola is €13,000. This type of prize package is reserved for raffles aiming to raise €30,000 or more.
🍱 Gift baskets and gourmet foods: local products take center stage 🫙
These are very popular for end-of-year raffles or local community organizations. They have the advantage of being easy to put together with local producers, which fosters a sense of community and highlights the partners.
🎁 Gift cards and vouchers: the flexible solution 🛍️
They’re very easy to obtain (any store can offer a gift card), appeal to everyone, and can be easily customized in value. Their downside: they’re less exciting. Use them for consolation prizes or participation prizes, but never as the grand prize if you can avoid it, and prioritize small businesses that are dear to your community.
Choose your prizes according to your situation
There is no one-size-fits-all list of “good prizes.” What works for an elementary school may not necessarily work for a national organization or an international NGO. Here’s how to tailor your prizes to your specific context.
School / Parent-Teacher Association
- Who? Parents aged 30–50, families
- 1st prize: games console, iPad, electric bike
- Other prizes: amusement parks, gift cards, books
Sports club
- Who? Members, families, fans
- 1st prize: travel, premium sports gear
- Other prizes: autographed jerseys, sports experiences
Charity/International organization
- Who? Wide audience, donors
- 1st prize: exotic trip, car
- Other prizes: cultural experiences, fine dining
Endowment Fund / University Hospital
- Who? Professionals, general public
- 1st prize: cruise, high-end iPhone
- Other prizes: watches, weekend getaways, vouchers for leisure activities
The right fit between cause and prizes
The most effective raffles create a connection between their cause and their prizes. This connection reinforces both the purchase of the ticket and the emotional aspect of the donation.
La Tanière Zoo Refuge, whose latest raffle raised several hundred thousand euros, included a VIP ticket featuring lunch with the founders. It was a one-of-a-kind prize, unavailable anywhere else, with strong symbolic value.
Showcase your prizes to encourage participation
An attractive prize that’s poorly presented won’t sell. How you present your prizes on your raffle page is just as important as the prizes themselves.
The photo: a decisive first impression
A blurry, generic, or missing photo significantly reduces the appeal of a prize.
Use high-quality, high-resolution images and show the prize in context: the car on a scenic road, the trip with the beach and sunshine, the experience in action.
GoTombola lets you add up to 10 images per prize. That’s plenty to showcase your top prizes!
A memorable and compelling title and description
A good title immediately sparks the imagination. Include the destination, the duration—in short, what’s included.
A good prize description, on the other hand, combines three elements: the concrete value of the prize, an emotional element (“imagine yourself aboard a catamaran at sunset”), and a mention of the sponsor (“offered by [Partner Name]”).
This has two effects: it reinforces the credibility of the prize and highlights the partner.
The display order
The most spectacular item must be displayed first, without exception. It’s the one that catches the eye and prompts the decision to buy.
The intermediate items follow, and the smaller items bring up the rear.
Don’t try to balance things out: put the best one at the front.
Our features, specially designed to showcase your products
GoTombola has developed a set of features specifically designed to maximize the impact of your prize set.
Various display modes
Whether you want to display them as a gallery, a list, or thumbnails, we've provided various options to meet your needs.
Image gallery for each item
Up to 10 images per prize. Perfect for showcasing different aspects of a trip or piece of gear.
Prizes in multiple copies
Set up multiple copies of a prize. Each copy is processed individually in the draw.
Highlighting your sponsors
Give your partner some visibility by adding their logo and a mention of them in the prize, or highlight them in a dedicated section.
Create your raffle and set up your prizes in just a few minutes
Upload your images, sponsor logos, and custom descriptions, and get your QR code instantly.
Hundreds of organizations have already done so.