Companies that will donate raffle prizes

A question about : Companies that will donate raffle prizes

Hi
I am planning a charity skydive for Crohns and Colitis UK in memory of my boyfriend who passed away suddenly aged just 25. 19 of his closest family and friends are all planning on taking part in the skydive which means we have an awful lot of money to raise.
In order to raise the money we are hoping to hold some charity nights and do raffles and things but I just want to know if anyone has had any success in getting any companies to donate any prizes and what companies are best to approach.
Thanks
Rachel

Best answers:

• Generally I'd say use your personal contacts: you've got 19 people all with their own colleagues / networks / friends, so see what they can blag! Also check whether any of them work for companies who will match fund any sponsorship they raise themselves.
• i done a fundraiser last month n 95% of my raffle prizes came from asking friends n family on facebook and getting them to share my status....hairdressers, nail technicians, tattooists, reiki, photographers, massages etc plus i asked some of the local businesses that have been familar with me for a long while and got gym memberships, sweet trees etc.
  if you can get a letter from the company you are doing it for, wilkinsons will take a copy and let you know within the week, and tescos are good too. i hear coop are generous but i havent tried that yet xx
• I did some fund raising a few years ago for a small local organisation, I found most of the big stores e.g. M & S, Boots etc donated something e.g. gift vouchers, football clubs, especially local ones, usually give something - we had match tickets from Spurs and signed pennant from Arsenal, these always go down well in an auction or raffle. Local small shops e.g. hairdressers might give free haircut vouchers.
• So, if I buy a raffle ticket, the money is used for you to go sky diving. I don't think so.
  If I give money to a good cause, then that is what it should be used for. Not to cover the expenses of the organisers.
  If you have to raise a lot of money for the sky dive then scrap the sky dive and give the money raised to the charity.
• Try McDonalds, I worked there for years and we always helped funraisers out with meal vouchers. We just required you putting your request in writing, also we used to give out a large drink urn and free still fanta and cups so people could sell the drinks at their fundraiser
• if you have any local tourist attractions, it may be worth contacting them - a few years ago i wrote to our local steam railway and they donated a family pass for a year for a charity raffle. the lady who won it was chuffed to bits as her daughter and family had just moved back to the area and it was something she could do with her young grandchildren.
• Thanks for your replies and advice, i will try some of those companoies. paddyrg and 27col I am fully aware not all the money they ask for goes to the charity, so much covers the jump cost and the rest goes to the charity, we are all paying for the jump cost ourselves therefore any money raised after is going to the charity so people are not buying tickets to fund our experience they are buying them to support the charity in memory of my boyfriend. We chose a skydive as we wanted to do something special to remember him by and if people won't be generous and support us jumping out a plane then I don't know what they will for.
• Hey,
  I know this is an oldish thread but I am in the middle of organising a raffle myself for a volunteer program i am taking part in. I've sent out lots emails/letters to businesses asking for donations from businesses and even some celebrities (reality tv stars will ahve an email for their agents somewhere on twitter page). so far i've only got 2 responses, Charlotte from Geordie shore and Harper Collins publishers. Tony&Guy do a raffle of some sort to give away goodie bags, you just send an email and hope for the best.
  I'm thinking if i get just one or two big companies to doante something then smaller ones will follow suit.
• I've never found big companies any good at all - except for Virgin who send through promotional things like hats.
  The best results I've always had are for entry tickets - and then raffling them off.
  Cinema's, 10 pin bowling, zoos, sealife - try out your local tourist guides and write to every single attraction.
  I got over 30 sets of family tickets back from 40 letters - swimming pools, farm attractions - anything privately owned.
  Good luck.
  Another good thing is an 'auction of promises'. We raised over Ј7,000 at our school from that.
  Or you can hold a printed ticket raffle with cash as a prize and take that from the takings. That works well if you have a large group to issue the tickets to.
• i'm running a coffee morning for our local hospice with my Brownie pack
  We got loads of great raffle prizes, i emailed local companies/attractions...
  got bowling tickets, entry tickets to a farm, science centre, kew gardens, got tickets for a local football match and an ice hockey match. plus more!
  went into hobby craft and they gave me a Ј10 item
  rymans sent me a few items - they're really random but it's something!
  local go kart place has given me a 30 mins session which is worth Ј30
  so try locally....
  local shops, attractions, take aways/pubs/cafes/hairdressers/florists etc etc
• It's worth bearing in mind that companies are much more likely to help out if the can see benefits, by way of good publicity, for themselves.
  So think about what you can offer them - are you going to have local press at your raffle or draw, reporting on who gave the top prize? Will you have a website or facebook page listing and linking back to the businesses which have supported you? If your event will have a programme or other publicity material will that list the donors / show their logos?
  That type of information should included when you make the request. Even if it is just making clear that it will be announced who donated the prize at the time it is drawn then that is better than nothing.
  many companies, particularly smaller ones, will prefer to support their local community, so if you can show that your event benefits your local community in some way you may be more likely to succeed (even if it is focussing on how your fundraising may help a national charity expand its provision in your local area.
  most companies get a lot of requests for sponsorship and other donations, so they have to pick an chose, and in many cases will have a limited budget for sponsorship/charity - if they say no, and if you organise events regualarly, it may be worth asking them whether they have a specific budget and when it is set, so you can ask at the appropriate time of year next time round.
• Hi I'm Leah's I'm 15. I will be finished school and going to collage, sevareal members of my family have had cancer And I want to find a cure for it once and for all! In the summer of 2015 I will be hosting a evening event of games auctions and raffles also singers and dancers to raise money but these all these games need prizes... And the hall is going to cost Ј50 and the dj Ј150 I'm paying for that from my own money I need help!!!