Check with the Parish as well...I'm sure they know the in's and out's of raffles....ours has them all the time....

I say go for it...you will never know unless you try....possible add some small print that if somany tickets are not sold the raffle will be canceled and your money will be returned....that has happenedm but usually when a car is being raffled off and not enough tickets have been sold....

Looks like New York State Racing & Wagering Board governs raffles in your state. Here are a couple of places you might look that spell out the rules. Plus, if you call that department, they should be able to help you.

www.racing.state.ny.us/charitable/Raffle_Information.htm
www.racing.state.ny.us/charitable/Raffle_Information.htm

In your case, you are talking about some serious money, so it would be wise to follow all rules required by your state.

Thank you "ttnc4me" and "JHB" for your responses. I really appreciate your thoughts and reflections. It helps so much to brainstorm my thoughts with this message board.

Because the Playground Committee is separate from the PTO, that is why we are doing fundraising. I agree that having an "In Lieu of Fundraising" fee and then fundraising with a similar looking group raises some potential questions from our parents. Some parents may see us and one and the same. Our PTO still is not doing fundraising, and the majority of our parents are grateful for that. We still hold receptions, gatherings, and other activities that promote "fellowship" among our school families and believe me, as a PTO Board member, it is a relief to concentrate our energies on FUN things, rather than fundraising at these gatherings.

I happen to be on both Boards (Playground and PTO) though I am not the chairperson of either group. I am in charge of Fundraising for the playground though, and we already have a gal that is working diligently toward grants. I think you raised a valid point about parents not being happy about paying their PTO fee and then having to feel obligated to contribute to the playground fundraising--so one of my challenges will be to get the message across that the two groups are separate and have different objectives. The PTO fee only covers the yearly operating expenses. (Field trips, receptions, teacher appreciation, supplies, "wish list" items for our school etc..) Our budget is firm and there's not alot of "left overs" at the end of the school year. There is no way our ILF fee could ever cover the playground renovation. An early estimate to redo our playground is at least $50,000 and I'm sure it could go higher.

We only have 150 families or so at our school, but we are a Catholic School that has a supportive and large parish. I'm actually anticipating that most of the ticket sales would come from them. We also have a fairly active alumni association so I'm hoping to have their support as well.

I have the same questions regarding the "what ifs" with whether or not we'll sell all the tickets and what if we come up short. That's what I'd lose sleep over!

We have a number of lawyers in our school families. Perhaps I will tap into their knowlege as to my "what ifs" with making the ticket sale quota and also the state requirements for New York State.

I'm hoping that someone will see this message and tell me they've done this already and "here's how" hahaha! I can use all the help I can get!

Thank you for raising some great points, both of you!

Sue

Definitely check out the laws in your state. A raffle or lottery is often considered gaming and regulated by state law. For instance, here in Texas - I don't think cash raffles are even allowed. A raffle with a prize has to follow specific rules.

Our high school athletics boosters raffled a car this year. We're in a very diverse district with families ranging from upper-middle incomes to very poor, with a high percentage of free and reduced lunch students.

They sold the tickets for $25 and worked their tails off for about 4 months with volunteers selling at every event imaginable. I'm not sure how they came out - but I know it was more work than they anticipated and the $25 ticket price was a more difficult sale than they had hoped.

Good luck!

My only concerns would be, if you only have 150 middle class families, where are the other ticket sales going to come from?
Not that a 50/50 lottery wouldn't work, but I'm not sure how you could set an exact winning amount without knowing what your sales would be. If you advertise a $15,000 grand prize but only sell $10,000 worth of tickets, then what?
If you already charge a fee "in leiu of", as a parent I would feel misled if fundraising was then added. You possibly could have fun nights at restaurants or family nights, but you won't make near the amount of money necessary in a reasonable length of time.
I've not done such a large scale project so I would have to defer to the playground forum for thoughts. The only thing that comes to mind are grants, but if you find any that don't seemingly require a master's degree in grant writing, I'd love to know too. We're in a pretty similar position, but are just doing without, because of the sheer magnitude of the project and so many other things needed as well.

Hello,

I am trying to find out more information about holding a large-scale lottery at our school as a Playground Fundraiser. My idea is to sell a set amount of tickets (say 1000?) at a set price ($50?) with a stated amount for the first, second and third place winners. ($15,000, $3000, and 4 $500 winners). This would give us a profit of $30,000.

Has anyone done this before? Was it successful? Was it difficult to sell high priced tickets? Would you do it again?

Currently, our PTO does not do large scale fundraising; instead we charge each parent an "In Lieu of Fundraising" fee to cover our operating expenses. With our newly formed Playground Committee, (separate from the PTO), we need to start fundraising to attain our goals.

Our private elementary school is small - only 150 families or so. The income of most of our families is not particularly high, but not poverty either.

I'd appreciate any thoughts, suggestions etc...

Thanks,

Sue