What are these fundraisers?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

A message from my neighborhood group says that a fundraising evening will include a 50/50 raffle, mulligans, and a silent auction. I know about silent auctions, but what is a 50/50 raffle and what are mulligans?

[disneysteve]

A message from my neighborhood group says that a fundraising evening will include a 50/50 raffle, mulligans, and a silent auction. I know about silent auctions, but what is a 50/50 raffle and what are mulligans?

A 50/50 is where everyone puts in $1 (or whatever denomination) and then they randomly choose a winner. The winner gets 50% of the pot and the charity gets 50%.

I know what a mulligan is in golf. Is this a golf event?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Thanks, Steve.

No, not golf. It is a trivia game night. I understand mulligan can mean a second chance in a game, but the use of the word didn't seem to refer to the trivia game.

[creditcardfree]

50/50 raffles are big here where we live at school sporting events. I hadn't heard of them before. And yes, half goes to the random winner, the other half to the school. A pretty simple way to raise money.

I don't know what mulligans are either!

[disneysteve]

50/50 raffles are big here where we live at school sporting events. I hadn't heard of them before.

Interesting that you weren't familiar with them. I thought a 50/50 was one of the most basic fundraisers. We do them at all kinds of things from small club meetings to major events.

Of course, in most places, doing a 50/50 is actually illegal unless you have a gaming license but that's one of those laws that never gets enforced.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Indeed, I was thinking the 50-50 would be illegal here. (So are some other things like bingo.) Ironically, this is a fundraiser for the neighborhood organization that is established via federal block grant neighborhood designations. Funding comes from the federal government, the city through various agencies, personal and family memberships, corporate donations (especially in-kind donations such as for paint, printing services, restaurant services, and such).

[disneysteve]

Indeed, I was thinking the 50-50 would be illegal here.

Most games of chance that involve money are illegal in most places unless you are licensed. However, as I said, I've never heard of those laws being enforced. Really, what official wants to come in and arrest some charity group for fundraising?

Our synagogue got a gaming license several years ago when we wanted to hold a casino night. It was required by the companies that come in and run those events. That's when we learned that so many of our fundraisers over the years were technically illegal.

[creditcardfree]

Interesting that you weren't familiar with them. I thought a 50/50 was one of the most basic fundraisers. We do them at all kinds of things from small club meetings to major events.

Must be an east coast thing. I lived in four cities in two Midwestern states and never heard of them. We only moved to our east coast state this June, these 50/50 fundraisers were at nearly all football games we went to. It took me awhile to even understand how it worked, since not all the school explained what it really was. Just assumed everyone knew. That is the one thing that stinks about moving...the local customs that everyone assumes everyone already knows about.

[disneysteve]

Must be an east coast thing. I lived in four cities in two Midwestern states and never heard of them.

How about that. So was there anything similar in the midwest that just went by another name? It doesn't get any more basic than "everybody puts in a dollar and the winner gets half the pot".

Sometimes they'll give you a raffle ticket for your dollar but frequently you just give a $1 bill and write your name on it. Then they pull a bill out of the basket and that's the winner.

[MonkeyMama]

I've never heard of a 50/50 either. Apparently it is illegal in our state. & not just as a gambling rule but in that proceeds must benefit the charity. I imagine any legit charity would not want to risk losing their nonprofit status.

[disneysteve]

I've never heard of a 50/50 either. Apparently it is illegal in our state. & not just as a gambling rule but in that proceeds must benefit the charity. I imagine any legit charity would not want to risk losing their nonprofit status.

As I said, it's illegal around here, too, but everybody has them. Our Disney collectors club has a 50/50 at every meeting. Groups at the synagogue have them regularly. I think the Men's Club has one every month at their Sunday brunch. It's an extremely common fundraiser since it is simple to run and there are no upfront costs for the charity. You don't need to worry about printing tickets and it doesn't matter how many people show up or participate. It's a guaranteed success.

[MonkeyMama]

As I said, it's illegal around here, too, but everybody has them. .

& Apparently it's not being enforced and no one is worrying about losing their nonprofit status. My point is it is being enforced in my state and the stakes are high. So no one does this.

[disneysteve]

& Apparently it's not being enforced and no one is worrying about losing their nonprofit status. My point is it is being enforced in my state and the stakes are high. So no one does this.

Understood. If local enforcement is happening, I totally understand.

I'm curious what types of fundraisers are common in your area? We're always looking for new ideas.

[creditcardfree]

Raffles for themed gift baskets seem to be pretty popular in the midwest. All items are generally donated. You know exactly what you get if you win the raffle.

Spaghetti dinners. Selling magazines, candy bars, popcorn, cookies. Selling holiday wreaths, fruit and candy.

Two school districts back had a huge indoor carnival type event at the high school on a Saturday. Food served, games set up in many rooms to play with tickets you purchased, chances to win prizes, inflatables to enjoy. Cake walks, penny toss, pop walk...so much stuff all donated with the goal to make money for the PTA. And they had themed gift baskets there. All money evenly divided between all schools in the district.

Car washes. Our local cheer leaders are having a parking lot sale this next weekend. Sounds like anyone can buy a spot to sell their own things for $30 or donate items the cheerleaders will sell.

One music program would sell dozen baked holiday cookies for $5 after a holiday program. They would always sell out. Brought in around $500 in 20 minutes.

Coupon books or sheets for local businesses. Usually can sell for $20, but the buyer gets more than $20 worth of coupons.

I prefer to just give cash if an organization is selling...because I don't usually want the stuff being sold!!

[disneysteve]

I prefer to just give cash if an organization is selling...because I don't usually want the stuff being sold!!

Same here. Whenever our daughter came home with a sales thing for school/theater/scouts/whatever, we just made a donation to the organization. Most of the time, the cash was worth more to them than the profit they would make on a sale anyway and we didn't have to buy overpriced candy, nuts, wrapping paper, candles, and other stuff we didn't even want.