Hosting a raffle or sweepstakes on Zeffy

Zeffy offers two lottery formats under one campaign type: Sweepstakes and Standard Raffle. Both pick a winner by chance. The difference is how people enter: in a raffle, buying a ticket is the only way to enter. A sweepstakes must also offer a genuinely free way to enter, with the same odds and prizes as paid entries.

How the campaign options work

"Raffle / Sweepstakes" is a single campaign type in Zeffy. When you create the campaign, you choose the lottery type. Sweepstakes is selected by default and marked "Recommended".

Sweepstakes

Available to organizations in the US and the UK only.

A sweepstakes is a chance-based drawing where participants can enter without paying, alongside any paid entry options. Free and paid entries have equal odds and equal access to prizes. A contest, by contrast, selects a winner based on skill rather than chance. On Zeffy, Sweepstakes is the default lottery option, and it is the only option in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, and Utah.

• Availability. Organizations across the US and UK can use Sweepstakes.

• Free entry. A free way to enter is always available: Zeffy automatically provides a free entry method, limited to one free entry per email address per day. A free entry issues your smallest bundle, so if your smallest bundle is 5 entries, a free entry gives the participant 5 entries. You can't remove this option; it is set out in the rules. You can also add entry types priced as you wish. A suggested donation can't be required to enter. Zeffy charges your organization no platform, transaction, or card-processing fees: the optional contribution at checkout goes to Zeffy, not out of your funds. Every entrant, whether they use a free or paid entry, is added to your donor CRM automatically.

• Equal odds. Free and paid entries have equal odds of winning. You can't tie prizes to the amount a participant paid.

• Non-501(c)(3) organizations. Non-501(c)(3) organizations can't discount entry bundles: each entry must cost the same base rate.

• Official Rules. Zeffy generates Official Rules from your campaign details, lets you preview them before you publish, and makes them available to participants. The campaign displays a "No donation necessary to enter" notice that links to the official rules. The rules explain how to enter, eligibility, entry limits, dates, prizes, and how the winner will be selected and notified. The free entry method is documented in the rules.

• Total entries. You must set the total number of entries when you build the campaign.

Standard Raffle

Available to organizations in the US where legally permitted, as well as in the UK, Canada and Ireland. Raffles are not currently available in Australia. For a standard raffle, ticket sales are processed through Zeffy, but your organization is responsible for confirming the raffle is permitted in your area and obtaining any required licenses or permits.

A raffle is a chance-based drawing where participants purchase tickets and the winner is drawn from the tickets sold. Payment is required to enter, and there is no free entry method: that is the main difference from a Sweepstakes, where a free way to enter must always be available.

Standard Raffle is a separate option from Sweepstakes, so the Sweepstakes rules above don't apply to it. It has no free entry method, and Zeffy does not generate Official Rules for it. You are responsible for checking the rules that apply to your raffle. We don't make an odds claim for Standard Raffle entries.

Details that apply to both options

Both formats run on a Zeffy campaign page and checkout, and both support entry or ticket rates and bundles.

• Both require a draw date. The e-ticket includes a numbered entry with a detachable stub. When it's time to pick a winner, see Drawing a winner for your raffle.

• Standard Raffles require an "I confirm I am 18 or older" checkbox at checkout.

• Prize pools over $5,000 that are open to New York or Florida residents may require state registration and a bond. Zeffy does not handle those requirements. Prizes may be taxable, and organizations may have reporting responsibilities: confirm with the IRS or a tax professional.