Race Night Fundraising Ideas | How to Raise More Money at a Charity Race Night

Sell Tickets in Advance

Start your fundraising before the event even begins by selling admission tickets in advance.

You could offer:

• Standard entry tickets
• Family tickets
• Table tickets
• VIP tables
• Entry including food
• Entry including a welcome drink
• Entry including raffle tickets

Selling tickets in advance helps you plan numbers, build excitement and secure income before the night. It also encourages guests to commit early rather than leaving everything until the last minute.

For many fundraisers, a simple ticket price between £5 and £15 per person can work well depending on the type of event, venue and whether food is included.

Ask Local Businesses to Sponsor a Race

Race sponsorship is one of the best ways to increase profits at a charity race night.

Each race can be sponsored by a local business, supporter, family, group or organisation. In return, their name can be announced during the evening and included on any printed race cards, posters or promotional material.

Example race sponsor names could include:

• “The Smith Family Stakes”
• “The Red Lion Charity Cup”
• “The Lancashire Builders Handicap”
• “The Local Business Derby”
• “The PTA Gold Cup”
• “The Clubhouse Sprint”

You could charge a set fee per race sponsor, for example £25, £50 or £100 depending on the size of your event and the profile of the audience.

This works especially well when you have local businesses who want to support the community and gain a little promotion at the same time.

Sell Horse Names Before the Event

Another simple fundraising idea is to sell the names of the horses before the race night.

Supporters can “buy” or name a horse in advance. The names can be funny, personal or linked to your cause.

Examples could include:

• “Grandad’s Flyer”
• “PTA Rocket”
• “Lucky Linda”
• “The Chairman’s Choice”
• “Last Orders”
• “Fast But Late”
• “Never On Time”

You can charge a small fee to name each horse. If you have eight races with eight horses in each race, that gives you up to 64 horse names to sell before the event even starts.

To make it more exciting, you could also offer a small prize to the owner of the winning horse in each race.

Create a Printed Race Card

A printed race card can make your charity race night feel more professional and can also become another source of income.

Your race card could include:

• Race names
• Horse names
• Jockey names
• Sponsor adverts
• A message from the charity or organiser
• Raffle prize details
• Event running order
• Thank-you messages
• QR code for donations
• Contact details for future fundraising support

Local businesses may pay to advertise in the race card, especially if the event is supporting a good cause in the local area.

You could offer small advert spaces such as:

• Quarter-page advert
• Half-page advert
• Full-page advert
• Back-page sponsor advert

This is a great way to raise money before the event takes place.

Run a Raffle During the Evening

A raffle is a classic fundraising idea and works perfectly alongside a race night.

Ask local businesses, parents, members, suppliers or supporters to donate prizes. These could include bottles, hampers, restaurant vouchers, beauty treatments, afternoon tea vouchers, event tickets, gift cards, sports memorabilia or experience prizes.

Promote the raffle throughout the evening and draw it near the end of the night to keep people in the room.

A good raffle can often raise a significant amount, especially when guests are already in a fun and generous mood.

If you are running raffles, lotteries or prize draws, it is sensible to check the current Gambling Commission guidance so the event is run correctly. The Gambling Commission notes that raffles and lotteries have rules depending on how they are run, especially if tickets are sold online, by phone or away from the event.

Add a Charity Auction

For larger fundraisers, a short charity auction can work very well.

Auction prizes could include:

• Meal vouchers
• Hotel stays
• Signed sports items
• Business services
• Holiday accommodation
• VIP experiences
• Golf days
• Beauty or spa treatments
• Event tickets
• Corporate donations

The key is to keep the auction short, lively and well-timed. It usually works best around the middle of the evening or just before the final few races, when the room is warmed up and engaged.

Add Food to Increase Ticket Value

Food can help you charge more for admission and make the evening feel like a complete social event.

Simple food ideas include:

• Pie and peas
• Hot pot supper
• Curry night
• Chilli and rice
• Buffet
• BBQ
• Pizza night
• Cheese and wine
• Afternoon tea-style fundraiser

You can either build food into the ticket price or sell food separately on the night.

For example, instead of charging £5 entry, you might charge £10 or £15 including food, depending on your venue and costs.

Use a 50/50 Style Fundraising Pot

Many charity race nights use a simple fundraising pot where part of the money goes to the good cause and part goes back as winnings or prizes.

The exact format should be agreed before the event and clearly explained to guests. Keeping it simple helps everyone understand how the fundraising works.

For example, if tickets are sold for each race, guests should know how winners are paid and how the charity benefits.

Clear announcements from the host make a big difference and help the evening run smoothly.

Add a “Sponsor the Final Race” Premium Option

The final race is usually the most exciting race of the evening, so it can be sold as a premium sponsorship opportunity.

You could call it:

• The Charity Gold Cup
• The Grand Final Stakes
• The Chairman’s Cup
• The Community Cup
• The Sponsor’s Trophy Race

The final race sponsor could receive:

• A bigger mention from the host
• Their logo on promotional material
• A featured advert in the race card
• A photo opportunity
• A thank-you post on social media

This is a good upsell for a main sponsor or local business supporter.

Add a Photo Booth or Selfie Area

A photo booth or selfie area can add extra entertainment and give guests a keepsake from the night.

For larger charity race nights, a branded photo booth can also be used as an additional fundraiser. Guests can make a donation for prints, or a sponsor can cover the cost in return for branding on the prints or digital images.

Photo booths work especially well for:

• PTA race nights
• Sports club fundraisers
• Corporate charity evenings
• Presentation nights
• Charity balls
• Community events

A photo booth also gives you great images to use on social media after the event, helping promote future fundraisers.

Encourage Contactless Donations

Not everyone carries cash, so make it easy for people to donate digitally.

You could use:

• QR codes on tables
• QR codes in the race card
• A donation link on posters
• Card reader donations
• Contactless donation buckets
• Online fundraising pages

This is especially useful for guests who want to support the cause but may not take part in every race.

Promote the Event Properly Beforehand

The more people in the room, the more successful your fundraising race night is likely to be.

Promote your event through:

• Facebook posts
• Local community groups
• WhatsApp groups
• School newsletters
• Club emails
• Posters in local shops
• Venue noticeboards
• Business supporters
• Local press
• Instagram stories
• LinkedIn for corporate charity events

Make sure your promotion clearly explains:

• The date
• Venue
• Start time
• Ticket price
• Cause being supported
• How to buy tickets
• Whether food is included
• What guests can expect on the night

A race night is much easier to sell when people understand that it is a fun social evening, not just a fundraiser.

Share the Total Raised After the Event

After your race night, always share how much was raised.

This helps show supporters the impact of the evening and builds trust for future fundraising events.

You could post something like:

“Thank you to everyone who supported our charity race night. With ticket sales, race sponsorship, raffle prizes and donations, we raised an amazing £_____ for _____. A huge thank you to our guests, sponsors, volunteers and everyone who helped make the night such a success.”

This kind of post is great for Facebook, Instagram, local community groups and your organisation’s website.

Important Note About Race Night Fundraising Rules

A race night for fundraising should be run correctly and transparently. The Gambling Commission explains that a non-commercial race night involves people staking money on live, recorded or virtual races, and that charity race nights can be run without a Gambling Commission licence when the correct rules are followed. It also states that for non-commercial gaming, players should choose totally by chance, with no odds or form to help them choose, and that money raised must go to the advertised good cause, although reasonable costs can be covered.

This is why it is important to keep your event fun, fair, clearly explained and focused on the good cause being supported.

Introduction

A charity race night is one of the most enjoyable and cost-effective ways to bring people together, create a lively atmosphere and raise money for a good cause.

Whether you are organising a fundraiser for a school, PTA, sports club, local charity, community group, football club, rugby club, cricket club or social club, a race night gives your guests something fun and interactive to take part in. It is easy to understand, suitable for a wide range of guests and can be adapted to suit small local fundraisers or larger corporate charity evenings.

At Race Night Fun, we provide professional race night entertainment with projected races, PA sound, race night hosting and everything needed to create a fun evening of cheering, laughter and fundraising.

But the race night itself is only one part of the event. With a little planning, you can add extra fundraising ideas before and during the evening to help increase the amount raised.

Book a Professional Race Night Fundraiser

If you are planning a charity race night, school fundraiser, PTA event, sports club night, community fundraiser or corporate charity evening, Race Night Fun can help provide the entertainment and structure for a brilliant night.

We can supply:

• Professional race night host
• Large screen race projection
• PA sound system
• Race night equipment
• Tote-style betting tickets
• Fun race night atmosphere
• Help with event flow and timings
• Race night entertainment for clubs, schools, charities and corporate events

We regularly provide race night entertainment for venues, clubs, charities, hotels and community groups across the North West, Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and beyond.

A race night is more than just a fundraiser. It is a brilliant social event that gets everyone involved, creates a fantastic atmosphere and helps raise money for a good cause.