Nearest the pin

Nearest the pin

Raffles

Nearest the Pin

The most commonly known version of this fundraiser is the golfing concept of hitting the ball towards the hole and the closest being the winner.

In it’s essence, participants get an attempt at a task or guess and the winner is the person who gets closest to the answer, “the pin”. It is easy to sell tickets because it is novel and fun while still drawing on the fundamentals of why raffles are so successful.

The beauty of the Nearest the Pin event it that it can be applied creatively to so many different sports and ideas. For example, 300 people could be given a small soft football and all kick it towards a “pin”, your participants could throw frisbees, tennis balls or even guess how many jellybeans are in the jar. All involve the winner being nearest the pin.

If you get creative with your event it has the potential to be very popular and if unique and promoted well, you may find the local media might also want to pick up the story.

Why Nearest the Pin?
Nearest the pin is a great fundraiser to use when you are looking to create a great deal of interest from the community (and potentially even the media) and when you are looking for a fun, engaging, creative way to run a raffle.
This fundraiser can work for all sports clubs and in both city and country clubs.

When should I hold this fundraiser?
Depending on what you are using as your activity for Nearest the Pin it may be indoors or outdoors. You will need to take into account the weather and may also like to consider making it part of a larger event.

Key Activities
These are the tasks you will need to consider assign to volunteers at our club:

Before the day

• Decide the date of the Nearest the Pin and whether it will be in conjunction with any other events.
• Advertise the raffle and make sure it is on all advertising for the day if it is in conjunction with another event.
• Source affordable items for your activity.
• Sell raffle tickets/items.
• Organise how you will run the activity.
• Communicate the timing well.

On The Day

• Set up the activity area to ensure safety for all those attending.
• Run event
• Present the winner with the prize

After the day

• Publicly thank everyone involved
• Announce the amount of money raised and the winner

Who can help?
It is important to engage your members to help in the running of your fundraiser.
For Nearest the Pin you could approach them to help:

• Promote and sell the tickets
• Secure prizes
• Source the items needed for the activity your club chooses
• Help logistical on the day

You could also approach current club Sponsors for prizes.

Recruiting your people
It is important to create a culture of volunteering at your club to help not only with fundraising but also across the day to day running of your club. For more on how to create this at your club, click here.

Using technology to making it easier
You may like to consider using technology to reduce the workload on your volunteers and increase your fundraising dollars. For an event like Nearest The Pin, you may like to sell tickets using a platform like TryBooking.

TryBooking lets you sell tickets, take payments and donations for events online.

This takes care of a great deal of the work that is usually left to volunteers and automates the ticket selling process.

You can set up and customise your own event page and a unique URL in minutes. This lets you easily share the event online and engage members and supporters. Your club may also like to use social media, email newsletters and your club website to promote the event.

Financial Considerations
Potential profit this event can generate can be anywhere from $200 to $10000. Revenue raised relates directly to ticket prices and sales. The revenue can vary depending on two things, the sale price and number of items or guesses. Priced at anywhere from $2 to $100 per item or guess and the number of items or guesses only limited by the amount you choose to sell. The cash prize will determine the regulations for gambling licensing.

The upfront investment for this event will revolve around the use of the raffle items, ticketing, licensing, and insurance.

It is important to create a budget for the event and identify how much cash you will need before the day. For a Nearest the Pin event there may be substantial costs to lock in your helicopter or cherry picker and golf balls. You will also need to factor in prizes (if not already donated).

Promotion
Promote ‘Nearest the Pin’ using traditional club resources such as the club website, newsletter and social media pages. If the raffle is part of a larger event, ensure it is also on all of the event’s advertising. Also don’t forget to call on your members to spread the word and make contact with the local media to see if they would like to cover the event.

Communication considerations
As Nearest the pin is essentially a raffle, the winner doesn’t necessarily have to be there on the day. This opens up options for selling tickets via social media and to a wider audience than just your members and supporters. This way people anywhere in the world can buy a raffle ticket which allows for funds to be raised from sources external to the club.
Use social media to sell tickets and live stream the event on the day!

What can go wrong? (Risk Management)
Financial Risks
There are obvious financial risks if enough tickets aren’t sold and the prizes and setup costs more than is made.
Weather
The weather can make the day difficult to run should their be extreme heat or extreme rain. Alternative arrangements should be discussed and decided on prior to the day should they be necessary.
Crowd Safety
The health and well-being of your crowd should be a focus at all times. It is important that your club takes time to consider all possible risks and how to minimise these, particularly in the “drop zone” where items will be dropped from a great height.

Licenses and Permits
It is important for clubs to take the responsibility and check their state or territory’s gambling regulations to make sure their Nearest the Pin fundraiser is a legal event.

Additional Factors to consider
The activity
As your activity could involve large numbers of people all safety precautions need to be made to keep participants safe.

Additional Revenue Opportunities
‘Nearest the Pin’ is an event that can be run as part of a larger event and could even be the key activity or can also run as a stand alone event.

Disclaimer
This procedure should be treated as a guide only. Your club should seek advice specific to the needs of your club and event. Seek further details from authorities and service providers; especially in regards to insurance, licences, permits, spectator and participant safety.