Why organize an online or hybrid tombola?

First of all, let's look at the advantages of organizing your tombola totally or partially online:

1. You can get started quickly

With online payment, there's no need to wait for paper tickets to arrive before launching your raffle. Once your digital tools are in place, you can communicate directly about your raffle and raise funds.

3. You can raise funds in the 4 corners of the world

Online payment enables you to raise funds from more people. In addition to your members, you can reach and raise funds from people who feel close to and/or concerned by your cause and who are located in the 4 corners of the world. It could be the aunt of one of your students who lives in the US, or someone who is concerned about deforestation in Paris (and your association in Marseille), or the alumni of your alumni association. The possibilities are endless, so you're more likely to raise as much money as possible with as little effort as possible.

4. You have better control over your collection

Let's face it, sending an army of salespeople door-to-door is efficient, but it's a little more complicated when it comes to management. A lot of money flows all over the place, and it's hard to keep track of it all. Thanks to online payment, the money collected is secure and lands directly in the association's bank account. Moreover, if you use a service like GoTombola, you collect the money as and when payments are made. So there's no need for bills and small change to be lying around.

5. You give participants greater autonomy 

In fact, if you're organizing ticket sales at an event, you can offer participants the option of paying directly online via their cell phone, if they so wish. This will save you a considerable amount of time and make cash management much smoother.

How to organize your online or hybrid tombola

First of all, let's look at the advantages of organizing your tombola totally or partially online:

1. Setting up the tombola

To start with, ask yourself the same questions as you would for a non-digital raffle.

✅ What project do you want to fund?

✅ What day will the draw take place?

✅ What will the prizes be, especially the “star” prize(s)?

✅ How much will the ticket cost?

✅ How much do you want to collect?

Next, given that you want to use the digital tools at your disposal, it will be simpler and more efficient for you to communicate and promote your tombola or lottery on social networks, for this you need to know:

✅ Which digital community are you going to appeal to?

✅ Which social networks does the association own?

✅ Where is your largest community located?

Note that the 3 social networks most used by associations are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with Facebook being the social network that most favors interest-based gatherings thanks to its “groups” and “events” functions. We therefore advise you to be present on at least one of these 3 social networks, and to communicate regularly about your activity while interacting with your community.

2. Setting up digital tools

For fund-raising

First of all, choose a platform on which to broadcast your tombola. If you already have a website, create a new page and enter all the information you collected in the first step.

If you don't have a website, there are tools available to help you create a page quickly.

Then, once you've created your page, you need to enable visitors to buy their tickets straight away. To do this, you need to choose a credit card or bank transfer payment platform like Paypal or Stripe and link it to your web page and your bank account.

If these settings seem too time-consuming and/or complicated, there are ready-to-use platforms that allow you to launch your online tombola in just one click, such as GoTombola. With just a few clicks, you can create your own personalized web page, with integrated payment method and link to your association's bank account.

For the distribution and promotion of the tombola

The key to a successful tombola is the communication strategy! Put all the odds on your side by preparing all the tools you need to promote your tombola to as many people as possible, and raise as much money as possible!

To do this, remember to prepare :

✅ promotional images for social networks

✅ videos presenting the association and its volunteers (if they wish)

✅ a video with the sponsor

✅ a video with the sponsors who will talk about the tombola

✅ communication about the raffle (live or not, on which platform etc.)

1. The launch

Go all out! Communicate on all your networks, be remarkable. Clearly explain the purpose of the raffle and how much you want to raise.

2. Tombola in progress

Share the videos you've prepared, reminding your community to enter the raffle. Encourage participation by clearly stating how much you've raised and how much you need to complete your project.

3. The fence

The day before the draw, announce that the fund-raising campaign is coming to an end. If you've planned an event for the draw, be sure to mention the time and place, and whether it will be broadcast live. Take the opportunity to thank volunteers and participants.

As you can see, you don't need to communicate about your raffle every day, or you risk exhausting your audience. Plan 3 communication highlights over the time you have, for example if you have a month between the launch and the draw, plan one post (or even 2 maximum) per week.

If you'd like to know more about promoting your tombola on social networks, we've prepared an article on the subject right here.

Setting up an online or hybrid tombola saves you a considerable amount of time and increases your collection possibilities exponentially. It would be a real shame to do without these tools, especially as they are so intuitive to use.

However, at GoTombola we know that your time is precious and that the stakes of fundraising are increasingly important for your association, which is why we work every day to simplify fundraising for associations. So don't hesitate to visit our site or contact us if you'd like more advice, or read our other articles on how to make your tombola a success!