Golden Ticket Fundraiser

Posted by Chloe Colquitt on 9 December 2022

Everybody wants to have a golden ticket. Even if they don’t know what it is, you know that if there were tickets available you would want the golden one. This is why there’s always so much buzz surrounding a golden ticket when you announce one. We must admit that a golden ticket fundraiser tends to work best alongside other fundraising events, so keep that in mind. It doesn’t mean you should always have it as a sideshow, but having it as the main event can leave people slightly alienated because of the initial high cost. Once people are in the mood for donating, a golden ticket fundraiser is more attractive.

What is a golden ticket fundraiser?

A golden ticket fundraiser involves a lot of money – of course, it’s a gold ticket, not a bronze one! But this means selling tickets for higher prices and in turn, giving our rewards that cost more money. It’s a high-risk high-reward event essentially. This is why we mentioned bolting it onto another fundraiser because not everyone is going to want to take that risk.

It’s important to note that just because you’re hosting something with high risk and high rewards, it doesn’t have to mean high financial risk. We’ll get into this later on with some golden ticket fundraiser ideas, but think outside the box a little for now and we’ll circle back. 

People buy tickets to your golden ticket fundraiser and then they win. Most of the time we suggest making this a ‘luck’ based win, as this will make everyone feel as though they have a fair chance. Nobody can buy more than one ticket and with a random draw that’s on display for everyone – the result cannot be disputed either.

Why would you host a golden ticket fundraiser?

There are many reasons to host a golden ticket fundraiser but ultimately, you’re trying to raise money. But perhaps you have been donated a high-value item for your prize draw – significantly higher than any other item. You could make this your golden ticket fundraiser item. Have people buy separate tickets for this fundraiser and select someone at random to win.

You might host a golden ticket fundraiser in places like schools or sports teams. It’s something that every pupil or team member will want, such as a new pair of cleats or books for a year. The golden ticket can allow them to have something they’d typically only dream of. That’s why you’d host a golden ticket fundraiser because it’s a huge attraction for a lot of people – giving your other events a lot of awareness and attendance also.

What events can run alongside a gold ticket fundraiser?

The best thing about a golden ticket fundraiser is that while they will potentially grab the most headlines and conversations throughout your community, they don’t need to be the main event. It’s a situation where everyone might turn up to purchase a ticket and have a chance at winning the golden ticket fundraiser, but it’s not the only thing going on.

With some sideline events such as a wine pull, you may find that nobody is really interested in them. So instead of making money, they tend to take up room in at your silent auction event. The golden ticket fundraiser will always attract attention, but what other events should you run alongside them? We suggest events that require a ticket to attend. These work best because you double down on your profits. If you’re hosting a gala, add a golden ticket fundraiser onto the side, that way you make a profit on the gala and the fundraiser. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t host a golden ticket fundraiser for events that don’t require tickets such as bake sales, but it does lessen the chances of people buying more than just a ticket to the fundraiser. Anything is better than nothing, so whatever you do, consider this idea.

Winning ideas for a golden ticket fundraiser

If you haven’t had a big ticket item donated to your cause it can be difficult to fund a golden ticket fundraiser. But, all you need to do is select something, work out how much you need to break even, and sell your tickets accordingly. Don’t sell tickets for a cruise at just $10 each and at the same time, don’t sell a dinner for 2 at a local restaurant at $100 a ticket. Here are some ideas that you can use for the winning ticket – expensive and more budget-friendly.

• Holiday for two
• Spa days
• Luxurious dinner
• Bottle of wine
• Gift basket
• Principle for the day
• Coach for the day
• Lunch with a favorite teacher
• New sports gear
• New books
• Large Walmart voucher
• Dance lessons
• Cooking classes
• Hot air balloon rides
• Helicopter experiences
• Fast car driving experience
• Theater trip to NYC

Chloe Colquitt

Campaign Success Manager

Chloe is a Givergy Client Success Manager based in New York, looking after our North America events on the East Coast. Chloe, who was previously based in our UK office until 2021, has the in-depth experience and knowledge of how to best use the Givergy system to exceed her clients’ fundraising targets, with a high focus on the Fund-A-Need portion. Chloe’s passion for delivering fundraising events led her to create her own fundraising event with a team to raise funds for a university partner charity in the UK. This has given her a first-hand experience to understand the challenges some of our clients face and how much time and energy is required to create a successful event.