The charity has withdrawn because they were not able to mount an effective marketing campaigne to sell the tickets.  I am back to the beginning and looking for a non profit organization once again. 

This whole process has been a bit of a roller coaster ride but I really appreciate all of you who called or emailed wanting to understand the process, I am happy that I was able to share with you how you too can do it.  The bottom line it requires working with a non profit that is aggressive and have a support system built around them to help them accomplish the hugh goal of raffling off a house.

I'll keep looking for the right non profit group.

Loriann

While the non profit group is doing its work to get ready for the raffle I am on the forefront trying to keep up marketing routine in order to make as many people as possible aware of the "Buckeye House Raffle for Charity"  I have listed things I have done and also want to hear from you!  What tips do you have for no cost or inexpensive INTERNET MARKETING (driving traffic to my site). 

Doing an event of this type requires a lot of people in order for it to work.  In particular we will need a minimum of 5000 tickets @$100 each to be sold in order for the raffle to happen.  So again, I am on a mission to get the info out to as many people as possible.

Things I have done:
1. Create a cheap website with godaddy.com - domain and site $7.99
2. Created business card size with website address and house to hand out to people everywhere I go - cost only about $4.00 for slow shipping from Vista Print who offers free business cards.
3 Trying out Blastomatic (free way to get site linked to millions of other sites) still working on this one
4. Contact media

Things I plan to do:
1. Create press release and send to media in major markets across the US
2. Reconnect with media to do follow up stories
3. Get a video up on U-tube 


As for the rest.. PLEASE send me your IDEAS!

Thanks
Loriann

As you can imagine I get many emails and phone calls from homeowners across our nation and a couple of emails from people in other countries with questions on how this works and is it legal.  I will tell you what I know and hopefully this will help you. 

1.  Research - Before doing anything you need to do your homework.  For your state, you need to find out what the rules are governing raffles (gaming).  I have noticed that some states actually have guidelines that are specific to house raffles.  Whatever your state has make sure you find out and do exactly as it says.  You will notice that most of these regulations can be found on the State Attorney General's website and also in state penal codes.

2.  Legal Advice - I am not a lawyer and cannot offer any legal advice, so it is in your best interest to get legal counsel to understand the rules and statutes governing a raffle.

3.  Get your Ducks in a Row - make sure that you outline how the raffle will work before you involve the none profit 
- Develop contact needed between you and the nonprofit organization and spell out each obligations.  You will need to communicate what your needs are so the non profit can create rules that are inline with your goals. 
*** Remember this is a Fund raiser for the Non Profit Organization*** When all said and done, they will be taking on this huge project in order to raise needed funds to support their organization.

4.  Be prepared that however long this process takes, your home needs to be solvent.

5. Marketing your House is KEY for you.  The Non Profit will Market the Raffle

We are on track to announce the name of the non profit organization by the beginning of Jan 2009.  It has been a lot of work going on behind the scene but worth it!  Thank you all for continuing to check back and telling all your friends about my site.

Loriann

You may have noticed that I added a countdown counter to the website.  The raffle tickets will go on sale February 24, 2009.  As the details are finalized I will keep you posted.

Loriann

For those who want to raffle off your house here are some tips:

1.  Picking the right charity to work with is paramount.  You will need to establish a high level of trust in the nonprofit to be able to do all the things they will need to do in order to have a successful raffle.  The nonprofit will also need to have a high level of trust in you to do the things you commit to do.
2.  Take your time to work out the details upfront.  There are so many details that need to be worked out, you must do your due diligence upfront which should allow the back end of the process to be smooth.
3.  Doing this takes the mindset of take no prisoners.  You know what the goal is and you will doggedly and steadily pursue your goal.  Rome was not built in a day and this process will take months.  If you have the time energy and a really really good attitude you will go far.
4.  the last tip for tonight, remember thoughout the process you must promote your house.  This whole process is about marketing, marketing, marketing.  You will need a great number of people who are interested in taking a risk to gain something great!

Good Luck!

Hi all,

We are working really hard to get all the details for the Raffle worked out.  I will soon announce who the charity is you will be supporting when you buy a raffle ticket.  Right now I know that when the tickets go on sale they will be $100.00. 

Loriann

The meeting with the non profit is rescheduled to next Thursday, November 13, 2008.  I will keep you all posted.

I will be meeting with the non profit organization tomorrow to discuss the details of the raffle.  Yeah! We are all one step closer.  By the weekend I should have even more info so stay tuned for further developments.

Loriann

Welcome to my blog. Here I will talk about the process of the whole house raffle process.  I have received calls from many of you indicating that you too want to raffle your house.  I want to let you all know the process to raffle one's house could take anywhere from 6 to 18 months, depending on many factors.  During that whole time period you need to remain solvent so the property is available to be given as the prize and not taken back by the bank. 

Keep checking back and I will keep you updated on the process.

Loriann