Raffles give students and teachers something fun to talk about. Whether you're raffling a big item like a bike, or a unique experience like Principal for the Day, it's easy to build excitement. In this step-by-step guide, we'll give you all the essentials you need to launch your first raffle with LiveSchool!

Step 1. Pick Rewards ⭐

To start, design your raffle with a trusted committee. Like all LiveSchool systems, the goal is to start small and effective, then grow over time. Brainstorm rewards options you can offer by:

• Seeking donations from local businesses
• Asking your staff what experiences they would "donate" to winning students (e.g. Gym Assistant, Main Office Helper, or Pizza with the Dean)
• Identify what items you can afford from the school incentive budget. Popular items include electric scooters and hoverboards, basketballs and other sports gear, gift cards, and of course, any type of technology.

Your biggest asset in this process is an understanding of what motivates students. Take some time to gather student feedback to pick the most enticing rewards.

Pro tip: Small group reward raffles like "pizza party with friends" are often crowd pleasers. Students can team up with their friends to try to win. If any student in the group wins, they all get to enjoy the reward!

Step 2. Promote! 📣

Think of the contests and promotions that you have participated in. What made them fun? How did they "sell" the concept? Put on your marketing hat to get students excited!

• Social media posts! Post wherever your students are with pictures of your upcoming prizes.
• Make a video! Show off the upcoming prizes. Even better, offer special projects for students to produce a promotion video and earn LiveSchool points.
• Put fliers around your school! Students will be reminded everywhere they go!
• Morning announcements! Remind students of upcoming raffle items over the loudspeaker.
• Teacher hype! There's nothing more effective than teachers sharing excitement directly with students.

Step 3. Raffle Time! 🎟️

Give students specific times they can purchase their raffle tickets! Here are some of the most common approaches:

• At a table during lunch
• During advisory period
• Directly from teachers on Fridays

Once students have purchased their tickets, you'll be able to use LiveSchool reports to pick your winner. We've put together an article that will walk you through all the logistics of how to Run a Raffle with LiveSchool.

It's time to announce your winners and celebrate! 🎉  This is the best part – get creative and have fun with the process! You can announce winners on social media, morning announcements, Friday afternoon – or whatever works best in your culture.

To get inspired, enjoy this absolutely awesome student-led announcement video! Shout-out to St. Augustine Prep in Milwaukee, WI!

Examples: Putting It All Together

Check out how Jackie, Gym Teacher at Bullen Middle, runs a beloved school-wide "Pie a Teacher in the Face" raffle:

1. Students purchase raffle tickets from Jackie during a given time. Jackie puts the rewards into LiveSchool and gives the students physical tickets.
2. Students then go around to different buckets where they can choose which teacher they would like to pie in the face. Each bucket has a teacher's name on it.
3. Once the window for purchasing tickets is closed, Jackie goes through and pulls a few tickets from each bucket. These are the lucky winners who get to pie their teacher in the face!

Here's another example from Ana Gutierrez, Principal at Lakeside Middle School in CA:

1. Ana automatically enrolls students in a raffle each month if they are highest LiveSchool point earners, or have the most growth. This lets Ana create a sense of community even though students aren't physically together.
2. Students can work to participate in the raffles by earning more LiveSchool points. For instance, students earn points when they attend a virtual assembly. Students also earn points when their parents engage in a workshop!
3. Ana raffles coupons, toys, fidget spinners, and other prizes donated from local businesses and organizations. For each raffle, she creates a powerpoint highlighting the ways students could earn points, when the raffle was happening, and at the end, announcing who was eligible for each prize. She created tiers based on growth - the higher the growth, the better the prize!

Every school adapts raffles to their students and culture. Get creative, keep it simple, and have fun!

A special shoutout to Jackie B., Ana G., and Paul K. for inspiring this blog post with your raffle ideas!