KENT, Conn.—An innovative fundraiser helped the Kent Memorial Library to add $10,000 to its coffers this summer.
The library, which raises two-thirds of its annual budget, has long held a car raffle during the summer to raise funds but this year found that the cost of cars is so high it made making a profit problematic.
“It was very popular, but it became prohibitively expensive. When we did it last year, we had to raise $28,000 before we made a dime,” said library Director Sarah Marshall.
A board member suggested the idea of a gift card raffle and the library conducted a raffle for gift cards that could be used at participating businesses in town.
A $10 ticket brought a chance to win the first prize of $1,500, a second prize of $1,000 or a third prize of $500. The winners could then choose the businesses where they wanted to use the cards and had the ability to split the sum up among businesses. The only rule was that the money had to be spent in Kent.
Marshall shopped for the cards at the businesses chosen by the winners.
“You could use the card for the dentist, to pay your kid’s tuition at school, for a contractor, at a business or a restaurant—any place that was participating,” said Marshall. “You could even make a donation to a non-profit. If you were from out of town, you might choose to use part of it for an overnight stay at an inn and some for a dinner at a restaurant or for shopping.”
“It was a clever ideal and it was wonderful to see how joyful it was for those who won and the businesses where they shopped,” said Marshall. “It was so positive across the board, supporting both the library and the community.”
She said the library will hold another raffle next year. “We set a modest goal this year,” she said, adding that next year the library will attempt to promote it more broadly.”
