Eventgroove’s New “Raffle for Success” eBook Reveals Data-backed Insights and Strategies for Nonprofits Running In-Person and Virtual Fundraisers

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September 8, 2022

Eventgroove analyzed platform data and drew on its over twenty years of business to identify the factors that make successful raffles for nonprofits.

September 8, 2022 – Eventgroove, whose fully integrated, all-in-one event, fundraising, and e-commerce platform helps customers execute wildly successful climate-friendly events and fundraisers, today announced the launch of “Raffle for Success: Insights and Strategies for Successful In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid Fundraisers.”

As part of a new content initiative to share key histories from within Eventgroove’s platform as well as recent customer results, Eventgroove gathered advice from the company’s most successful raffle organizers and drew insights from nonprofit industry experts. Nonprofit organizers who aim to optimize their fundraising efforts will gain valuable, fact-based information on hosting in-person, virtual, and hybrid raffles.

This eBook is the first and only of its kind, providing fundraising organizers with examples, best practices, and resources that will help maximize their fundraising efforts. Topics covered include:

Which raffle format (online, in-person, or hybrid) is the most successful
How to price your raffle tickets
Assessing the optimal length of a raffle/fundraising campaign
Whether a raffle is stronger on its own or paired with other fundraisers
The efficacy of other fundraiser campaign types, such as sweepstakes
Rules, guidelines, and best practices on how to run a raffle in the US and the UK

Coordinated with this eBook release, Eventgroove is also pleased to announce the appointment of Ron Fusco to the role of Vice President of Marketing. Ron brings a wealth of digital marketing expertise to Eventgroove and will be leading all global channel marketing.

“Our team is very excited in getting Ron onboard at Eventgroove. His depth of knowledge on search, social and content marketing will help drive the next evolution of market engagement at Eventgroove, “ says Lance Trebesch, CEO of Eventgroove.

Ron, who has been working to build this eBook campaign with the Eventgroove team remarks that, “Since 2019, raffle organizers have raised over $1.4 Billion with Eventgroove. Clearly, raffles are an extremely effective way for nonprofit organizations to raise money, so we are thrilled to offer this free resource to nonprofits. Using it, they’ll make informed decisions with regards to their raffle campaign fundraising strategy and execution, helping them to earn as much for their cause as possible.”

Each year, over 35,000 nonprofits—some of whom contributed valuable insights into what they did to make their raffles such huge earners—count on the Eventgroove platform to host successful fundraisers consistent with their organization’s brand and message. The eBook includes comments and recommendations from nonprofit industry experts who also offer their perspectives on the eBook’s findings.

“Raffle for Success: Insights and Strategies for Successful In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid Fundraisers” is available on the Eventgroove website – no registration required.

About Eventgroove

Eventgroove is the premier one-stop integrated events and fundraising platform pioneering a customer-centric, climate-friendly approach to events, fundraising, and ecommerce. From simple event ticketing and donation pages to more complex multi-location events and concurrent fundraising campaigns with an e-commerce storefront, Eventgroove enables its customers to manage, market, and execute events and fundraisers from one place completely under their brand.

Eventgroove serves over 78,000 customers annually across the nonprofit, entertainment, education, sports, faith, civic, and corporate sectors. Eventgroove operates in the US, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

How Selling Prom Tickets Online Works

Creating a ticket sales page takes no time, and you can customize it so it matches your prom theme and school branding. Here’s the shape of it:

Create the event. Name (Enchanted Forest Prom, 2026), date, venue, capacity, dress code, anything else students should know.
Set ticket types and prices. Most committees do one student ticket plus one guest or date. Some add an early bird ticket tier at a $10 discount for the first two weeks.
Grab a shareable link. Drop it in the school newsletter, add it to a QR code on your prom posters, then drop it into the school’s socials and the committee group chat so everyone can share within their networks, and the principal’s morning announcements.
Collect the money. Card and digital wallet payments flow straight into your account, whether someone pays in person at school or at the door on prom night.
Scan tickets at the door. Each student arrives with their printed prom tickets or a digital version. A volunteer scams them using their phone.

6 Things to Look For in a Prom Ticketing Service

Not every ticketing platform is set up for school events. Three things that matter:

Real-Time Data: Student planners and faculty advisors need to monitor sales and revenue, and access updated attendee reports.
Clear Fees: Every platform makes its money through fees. These fees can be passed on to buyers or absorbed by the school. In addition, when credit cards are involved, processing fees always apply but may not be included in your free ticketing platform’s service. When these are not included in the platform price, you’ll need to organize online payments separately, which can result in a much higher per-ticket cost on your end.
Online and physical tickets: Printing prom tickets is something many schools do – they’re a great memento of the night, and make the experience more special. Make sure your platform’s capabilities include tracking and scanning both printed and digital tickets.
Easy attendee check-in: Look for a platform that lets you scan without an app or special equipment. When faculty can scan tickets using their mobile phone‘s browser, getting up to speed takes less time.
Attendee management: You’ll want to track students as they enter, leave, and return. Ensure your service can support this.
Ticketing adaptability: Creating ticket bundles, reserved seating, and comp codes for VIPS means your chosen platform needs to be flexible.

What to Charge For Tickets To Prom and When to Sell

On average, a prom ticket costs between $55–$125. The exact number depends on the venue, what the night includes (DJ, photos, dinner, flowers, and the like).

Pre-prom ticket sales strategies

Early Bird discount. Knock $10–$15 off the standard price for the first 2–3 weeks of sales. An early bird ticket strategy rewards students who buy first, builds momentum, and gives your committee how the night is tracking weeks before prom.
Group bundles. Offer a small discount for friend groups buying 4 or 6 tickets together. Ticket bundling speeds up sales and they nudge friend groups to commit early.
Reserved tables. If you want groups to sit together, set up your ticketing with reserved seating and sell whole tables as a single package.
Day-of door pricing. Charge $10–$15 more at the door than online to encourages families to pre-buy.

When to sell tickets

Open sales 6–8 weeks before prom, switch from early bird to standard pricing 2–3 weeks in, and close online sales 24–48 hours before the dance so you can finalize the catering count.

A note on the platform side: Eventgroove’s setup is free, and the service fee on paid tickets is small (2% + $0.75 per ticket). You can pass that fee on to ticket buyers, and for free events, there are no fees at all.

If you’re looking for an efficent and easy way to sell school dance tickets and manage your attendees, we’d love it if you gave Eventgroove a try. Our ticketing platform is free for organizers, with low ticket-buyer fees, no hidden charges, and no contracts. Plus, we’re also online printers, so you order custom prom tickets, VIP badges, and flyers all in one place.