Every organization needs support to be a success and fundraising is no exception. One of the most important factors in motivating support is how you present - or market - the need. If a need is presented as something that touches the person’s life in a personal way, then that is a strong motivating factor. If it is also presented as something that will fill the need or fix it, then that is good too, but it depends on what the need is.
As has been mentioned before, many people don’t like to think that they are pouring funds into a black hole that will never fill. That is, that the need will always exist no matter how much is given to support it. They prefer to think that their contribution will play a part in becoming an answer to the problem, to the point that the need may be filled at some date in the future.
For instance, to take a simple example would you like to support a deprived, third world person all of their life - and remember they will have children who will also require support - or would you rather help them attain the means of supporting themselves? If a campaign for supporting third world persons is aimed at the latter, then many more people will be motivated to give to it.
Careful strategies must be applied to the fundraising advertising and media campaigns to motivate people in the correct way. Another important factor is emotional appeal, but for the ordinary raffle perhaps the biggest motivator is to have fantastic prizes.
While some people will be motivated to support your fundraiser simply because it is a good cause, most people like to have the chance to win something that they would never buy for themselves, usually because they can’t afford it. That’s why the trailer load of groceries - plus trailer- is such a good raffle prize. Other good prizes these days are trips away, even overnight or for the weekend. The location need not be exotic, but it does need to be somewhere else than local.
Cars and boats are also prizes that will have people snapping up tickets, but there are rules and regulations in each state to govern these kinds of prizes, so be sure you find out what they are before you start.
Finally, encouragement is a good motivator for your sellers. Pick a leader who knows how to keep in close personal contact with your team and encourage them to go their hardest.
