By Phillip Gerrish, Marketing Services Manager | December 2025 |
Charity lotteries occupy a unique emotional space in fundraising. Unlike one-off appeals or direct donations, they combine hope, fun, and reward into a weekly experience, one that resonates deeply with supporters. For many players, charity lotteries aren’t just fundraising products, they’re the only part of a charity’s fundraising mix that consistently delivers on emotion, engagement, and enjoyment.
The Core Motivation: Making a Difference with a Dash of Delight
At the heart of a player’s relationship with your lottery you’ll often find “warm-glow giving”, the internal satisfaction one gets from donating to a worthy cause. In charity lotteries, this is amplified by players feeling better about themselves because they’re not just hoping to win, they’re also supporting a cause.
Two sides of the same coin? One: altruism, empathy, identification with the cause. Two: the chance to win something e.g. money, experiences, recognition.
Playing for £1 a week gives players two emotional bites:
- They’re doing something good: supporting a charity, affirming their values.
- They’re getting something in return: luck, excitement, fun.
It’s the perfect mix of intrinsic reward and extrinsic incentive. As research shows, this combination gives players a “cheap permission to daydream,” tapping into hope and optimism bias with the feel-good factor of giving.
The Power of the Draw: A Weekly Habit with Meaning
A weekly draw can be habit-forming. According to behavioural science, habits form when actions are easy to repeat and provide a reward. Charity lotteries deliver:
- Ease: small cost, minimal effort.
- Reward: the thrill of possibility, the comfort of contributing.
This routine builds loyalty over time. Yet many charities underuse the opportunity by treating the draw as an afterthought, posting results online and waiting to see what happens.
Engagement Through Active Participation - Not Passive Results
A key differentiator is how some Sterling clients handle draw results:
- They email weekly results directly to players (opt-in/opt-out).
- They share impact stories, puzzle challenges, prize updates.
This turns a passive “draw happened” moment into an engagement opportunity, reinforcing emotion, commitment, and anticipation.
The Emotional Layers at Play
Here’s what’s really happening emotionally:
- Hope & Anticipation
Before the draw, players experience a dopamine-fuelled thrill. The “what if” moment is its own reward.
- Warm Glow
Whether they win or not, players feel good supporting the cause. That feeling reinforces their identity by contributing to something they believe in.
- Habitual Joy
A routine weekly results email anchors the lottery experience and makes it emotionally satisfying.
- Social Proof & FOMO
Seeing others play, celebrating winners, or teasing a big Superdraw taps into social norms and fear of missing out.
What Players Want and How Lotteries Can Deliver
Based on consumer psychology and behavioural theory, charity lotteries succeed when they tick these boxes:
- Clear value: “£1 gives me a chance to win and supports a cause.”
- Emotional engagement: stories, puzzles, anticipation, and community.
- Regular touchpoints: weekly emails, reminders, and updates.
- Social connection: shared experiences, community pride, impact, and social proof.
Sterling’s Expertise: Turning Theory into Action
Sterling doesn’t just understand the psychology, we build systems to enact it:
- Opt-in weekly draw emails with results, impact stories, and potentially puzzles!
- Superdraw campaigns that elevate excitement and re-engagement.
- Segmented communications: One-off purchasers, long-term players, and lapsed players can each receive tailored messaging.
- Triggered journeys: automated emails or letters based on play history and behaviour.
This approach ensures charity lotteries aren’t just fundraising tools but that they are emotion-led engagement engines that build loyalty, retention, and sustained impact.
Final Thoughts
Charity lotteries sit at the intersection of hope, generosity, and play. They offer the emotional rewards consumers crave, not just the warm glow of impact, but the thrill, camaraderie, and routine of weekly play.
When non-profits recognise this, and when partners like Sterling create the systems and storytelling to support it, charity lotteries become your fundraising MVP. One-pound-at-a-time building communities of hope, emotion, and lasting support.
---------------------------
About Sterling Lotteries
Sterling Lotteries partners with over 800 charities, providing leading prize-led expertise through responsible, innovative, and engaging weekly lotteries and raffles.
We power seamless player experiences, compliance peace of mind, and support charities running creative campaigns that bring prize-led fundraising to life.
www.sterlinglotteries.co.uk
enquiries@sterlinglotteries.co.uk