Quick Idea: The Anti-Raffle Fundraiser

🙃 The Anti-Raffle: A Fundraiser No One Wants to Win

Forget designer hampers and flashy prize packs — what if your next raffle deliberately featured the kind of prizes no one wants?

Enter the Anti-Raffle: a hilariously subversive twist on the traditional raffle, where the goal is not to win… and people will actually pay to avoid taking home the prize.

🎟 How It Works

Instead of selling tickets, you give away raffle tickets — usually as a condition of entry to another event, like a trivia or bingo night. Then the fun begins…

• When a ticket is drawn, that unlucky “winner” is awarded an embarrassing, ridiculous, or just plain undesirable prize.

• If they don’t want to accept it (and most people won’t), they can pay a small fee — say $5 or $10 — to put their ticket back in the draw.

• Then another ticket is drawn… and the cycle continues!

Eventually, someone gives in and accepts the prize — either because they don’t want to pay or because it’s all in good fun.

To maximise the laughs (and the donations), run this for multiple prizes across the night. Some events even threaten to take a photo or video of the “winner” receiving the prize for extra incentive to pay up!

🏆 Prize Ideas Nobody Wants (Hopefully)

Tailor your anti-prizes to suit the vibe and crowd. Some of our favourites include:

Gag Gifts:

• A tin of Spam or baked beans

• A $3 bottle of goon wine

• An op-shop vase or hideous sculpture

• A bar of novelty soap shaped like something weird

Public Embarrassment:

• Singing the national anthem solo

• Performing a line dance for a full song

• Doing a slow catwalk lap in borrowed stilettos

• Wearing a ridiculous wig, hat, or costume for the rest of the night

Bonus points if you can combine a physical item with a public dare — like a giant temporary tattoo that must be applied immediately!

🎯 Why It Works

The Anti-Raffle works because it’s unexpected, interactive, and gets the whole room involved. It’s a natural icebreaker and laughter-generator — and people will pay to avoid that awkward walk to the front.

You’re not relying on people spending big up front; instead, you’re collecting lots of small, spontaneous donations. It’s perfect for low-cost fundraising events where fun is the main goal.

👀 When to Use (and When Not To)

This idea works best at:

• Parent social nights

• Trivia or games nights

• Private functions where most people know each other

Avoid using it at highly public events or mixed-age community settings, where embarrassment might not land the same way.

✅ Final Tips

• Keep the tone light and inclusive — it’s meant to be fun, not humiliating.

• Be mindful of your crowd’s boundaries. What’s funny for one group may fall flat for another.

• Don’t overdo it. Three or four anti-prizes sprinkled through the night is usually the sweet spot.

• Have a backup plan in case no one will take the prize!

🌟 A Little Humiliation for a Lot of Laughter

When done well, the Anti-Raffle becomes a highlight of the night — and a surprising little money-maker. It’s low cost, high impact, and gives everyone something to talk (and laugh) about for weeks.