Planning Draws
Laws, Rules, Regulations
The Manitoba Gaming Control Commission has information on Raffles and 50/50 draws - all of which need to be licensed. You will be charged a fee based on the gross revenue. Give them a call at (204) 954-9400 or send them an email at licensing@mgcc.mb.ca to find out how the rules will apply to your social. It's important to plan in advance, as you will need to take time to fill out an application, and wait for it to be processed.
Silent Auction or Raffle
At a social you will usually see tickets sold near the door, and a display of prizes at the rear of the hall. Each prize package has a bag or basket associated with it. Guests purchase tickets and distribute them in the bags or baskets for the prize packages that they hope to win. Prize draws are usually held around midnight, and the prizes are distributed that night.
For a package to seem worthwhile to your guests, your regular prizes should be valued in the range of $100 to $350 each and grand prizes $400 to $600. It's nearly impossible to get a full set of prize packages entirely from donations, so you will probably be pitching in some money to fill it out.
Getting Donations for Social Prizes
Curious about who to ask, and how to ask them? Take a look at our page on soliciting donations.
Once you know who to ask, take a look at a typical donation request letter.
Other Prize Sources
For most socials, at least some of the prizes will not be donated.
Consider cashing in any shopping reward points that you collect, and talk to your wedding party to see if they have any that they are willing to pool.
If you sell Avon, put the free products you receive into a gift. If anyone in your wedding party does, ask them if they are willing to do the same.
Have a hand-made package. You can include cookies, jams, salsa, as well as greeting cards or knit items. This is a great task to outsource to family and friends.
Take a look at clearance stores like XS Cargo, as well as out of season sales at regular stores. If you are planning the social far enough in advance, you can get end of season clearance items that are for the season your social will be. For example, if you social is in spring and you start planning it in fall, you can pick up cheap summer items for the children's, camping, or sports packages. Go to boxing day sales to pick up major prize items.
Themes
Have a theme for each prize package, and try to make them as varied as possible. Each package should have a
major and several minor prizes. Each package will have a list in front of it, detailing its contents and
naming any companies that donated.
Common themes include:
- Guy's
- Girl's
- Romantic / XXX
- Seasonal
- Cooking / Food
- Sports / Golf / Camping
- Children's
- Home Entertainment
Think outside of the box. Most socials will have the standard prize packages, so you should try to get at least one prize package that will stand out and get your guests excited. Consider trying to get tickets or passes to unusual activities like archery, dance schools, or tarot readings.
Putting it All Together
There are a few things to consider once you are ready to wrap up each prize package. First off, make sure that the prizes are clearly visible by putting them in baskets and using clear plastic to wrap them up. Boxes make your prizes into too much mystery, while leaving prizes loose makes them a temptation for sticky-fingered guests, and a nuisance to try to pack into the car for the winner.
Each prize package will need a sign indicating what is included. You will want this to be clearly visible, especially if the package includes small or hard-to-idenfity items. You can use your creativity here to make the price packages sound appealing.
Perfume Draw
A "Perfume Draw" is a raffle for a bottle of liquor, usually a Texas mickey of rye.
It is not illegal to have liquor as a prize, but there are restrictions. Check out the MLCC's Occasional Permits page to find out more.
50/50 Draw
Many socials have a 50/50 draw. Usually these tickets are sold by helpers that walk through the party once it gets lively. One way to generate buzz for the 50/50 is to put half of the money onto some symbolic item over the course of the evening that the winner will take home. For example, if you are fundraising for a hockey team, tape the winnings to a hockey stick that your guests can see.
It's less common, but sometimes 50/50 tickets are sold similarly to prize tickets, where the guest needs to put the 50/50 tickets into a box or bag and keep the stub.
Ticket Prices
Ticket prices are usually around $2/ticket for regular prize tickets, and up to $5/ticket for grand prize tickets. The other option is to have ticket sheets, usually selling a sheet of 25 tickets for $10. 50/50 tickets are usually sold either $1 each or a set amount for a "wingspan" or arms-length of tickets. The ticket table will be busy, so keep your pricing scheme straightforward.
If you decide to have separate "Grand Prizes" make sure that you colour code the tickets and the baskets - your guests will be drinking so you want to keep it simple!
Door Prize
It's common to have a door prize or another free draw of some kind - it's a courtesy to your guests and it helps keep people around until the end of the party. Either have your guests enter the draw as they come in, or have unique numbers for the door prize on the social ticket stubs.
The Draws
The raffle, 50/50 and door prize draws are held around midnight. Turn down the music, turn up the lights, head to the microphone and pull winning tickets from a hat (or basket).