The raffle is drawn, the winners are celebrating, and the funds are in. What you send in the next 48 hours decides whether this was a one-off transaction or the start of a supporter relationship. A good thank you email costs nothing, takes minutes to send, and is the single most reliable way to turn this year's ticket buyers into next year's.
Below are five ready-to-use templates covering every audience: winners, non-winners, your full supporter list, prize donors and volunteers. Copy, personalise the bracketed fields, and send.
When to send
Aim to thank everyone within 48 hours of the draw while the raffle is still fresh. If your platform notifies winners automatically at the moment of the draw, as GalaBid does by email and SMS, your thank you email is a follow-up rather than the official notification, which takes the pressure off and lets you focus on gratitude and impact.
Template 1: Thank you to raffle winners
Subject line options:
- You won! Thank you for supporting [Organisation]
- Congratulations [First Name], and thank you
Hi [First Name],
Congratulations again on winning [Prize] in our raffle! You should have already received your winning ticket confirmation, and we will be in touch shortly with details on [collecting/receiving] your prize.
More importantly, thank you. Your support helped us raise [Total Raised] for [cause/project], which means [one sentence of concrete impact, e.g. "every student in our program starts next term with the equipment they need"].
Enjoy your prize, you have more than earned it.
With thanks,[Name], [Role][Organisation]
Template 2: Thank you to participants who did not win
This is the email most organisations skip, and it matters more than the winner email. Non-winners are the majority of your list, and how you treat them decides whether they buy again.
Subject line options:
- Thank you [First Name], here is what you helped us achieve
- No prize this time, but a big result for [cause]
Hi [First Name],
Our raffle has been drawn, and while your ticket was not among the winners this time, we did not want the moment to pass without saying thank you.
Together, our supporters raised [Total Raised] for [cause/project]. Because of you, [one sentence of concrete impact].
The full list of winners is available on our raffle page: [link].
We hope you will join us again next time. Until then, thank you for backing [Organisation] when it counts.
With thanks,[Name], [Role]
Template 3: Results announcement to your full list
Send this to everyone: purchasers, past supporters and subscribers who did not take part. It closes the loop publicly and plants the seed for the next campaign.
Subject line options:
- The results are in: [Total Raised] for [cause]
- You did this, [Organisation] raffle results
Hi [First Name],
Last [day], we drew the winners of our [Raffle Name], and we are thrilled to share the result: together we raised [Total Raised] for [cause/project].
That means [two or three sentences of concrete impact: what the money funds, who benefits, when].
Congratulations to our winners, and enormous thanks to everyone who bought a ticket, shared the campaign or cheered from the sidelines.
A special thank you to the local businesses who donated our prizes: [Sponsor names]. Please support them as they have supported us.
[Name], [Role]
Template 4: Thank you to prize donors and sponsors
Send this individually, not as a bulk email, and copy in your board chair or president where the donation was significant. A personal thank you now is your warm-up for next year's ask.
Subject line options:
- Your prize helped us raise [Total Raised]
- Thank you from everyone at [Organisation]
Hi [First Name],
Our raffle has wrapped up, and I wanted to write to you personally. The [Prize] you donated was one of the stars of the campaign, and it helped us raise [Total Raised] for [cause/project].
[Winner first name] from [town/suburb] was the lucky winner and was absolutely delighted.
We recognised [Business Name] on our raffle page, [and in our results email to X supporters / on our social channels]. If it would be useful, we would be glad to share a photo or post you can use on your own channels too.
Thank you for standing behind [Organisation]. We could not run campaigns like this without partners like you.
Warm regards,[Name], [Role]
Template 5: Thank you to volunteers
Hi [First Name],
The numbers are in: our raffle raised [Total Raised], and a big share of that is down to you. [Specific contribution, e.g. "The tickets you sold on the night added up to [amount]" or "Your table visits kept sales moving all evening"].
Thank you for giving your time and energy. Volunteers like you are the reason [Organisation] can do what it does.
We would love to have you back for [next event]. No pressure, but the team would not be the same without you.
[Name], [Role]
Five rules for raffle thank you emails
- Lead with the total and the impact, not with your organisation. Supporters gave to the cause, so show them what the cause gained.
- Send within 48 hours. Gratitude has a half-life.
- Never treat non-winners as losers. No "unfortunately", no "sorry". They funded the result; frame it that way.
- Name your prize donors in the wide-list email. Public recognition is the cheapest sponsor benefit you can offer and the one they value most.
- Plant one seed for next time. A single line about the next campaign or a "join our list" link is enough. Resist turning a thank you into a pitch.
Make the sending easy
Pulling the recipient lists for these emails takes minutes when your raffle runs on a digital platform. GalaBid's Participants report gives you every purchaser's details, and the Raffle Tickets and Winners report separates your winners from the rest, so segmenting winner and non-winner emails is a simple filter rather than a manual cross-check.
Run your next raffle on GalaBid's raffle platform, free to set up, with automatic winner notifications and full participant reporting built in.