What Goes in a Raffle Basket, and Which Companies Donate Each Theme?

A raffle basket works when everything in it fits one theme a guest can picture using: a family day out, a date night, a pantry treat, a book lover's weekend. Build each basket around one anchor item, such as attraction admission, a restaurant gift certificate or a bookstore gift card, then fill it with smaller pieces that fit the theme. Below, basket themes are matched to companies that describe a donation program on their own websites, so you can see who to ask for each basket before you write a single letter.

This guide is part of our fundraiser donation answers library. If you want donors organized by company type rather than by basket, see companies that donate raffle prizes.

Basket themes at a glance

Each theme below explains what those companies say about their programs and the condition most likely to decide your request.

Family day out

Admission makes the strongest anchor for a school or youth-group basket, because it buys an outing rather than an object. Urban Air supports community events with in-kind donations and asks for its online form at least 30 days before the event. Great Wolf Lodge takes requests by resort location and recommends applying at least three months ahead. Crayola Experience donates admission that is valid for one year, to 501(c)(3)s only, and asks that you apply 30 days before the event and not earlier. Long Island Aquarium sends admission for two to organizations fundraising for school or animal causes, by letter on letterhead. Fill the basket with snacks and a water bottle, and the outing does the selling. For more options, see theme parks and attractions that donate.

Date night

Pair a dinner with something to do afterward. Olive Garden takes written requests for gift certificates or food through the general manager of your local restaurant, on letterhead, at least 30 days before the donation is needed. For the second half of the evening, George Street Playhouse typically donates two vouchers for a mainstage production to 501(c)(3)s that ask by email, State Theatre New Jersey donates a limited complimentary voucher, and Helium Comedy Club Philadelphia donates complimentary admission to shows with four weeks' notice. Our roundup of restaurants that donate to fundraisers has more dinner options.

Pantry and treats

A pantry basket is the easiest to assemble from several small donations. GourmetGiftBaskets.com takes requests through an online form at least seven days before the event, and a donated basket can go on the table as it arrives. Trader Joe's accepts written requests for food and beverage donations on your letterhead, delivered to the store at least three weeks before the donation is needed, and limits them to one per organization per year across the whole company. Wawa donates soft pretzels or Wawa water, or a selection of gift items and coupons for auctions and fundraisers, to community and youth organizations near its stores, once per calendar year.

Chocolate and candy make an obvious anchor, but the makers give close to home. Spangler Candy limits most donations to organizations in the Bryan, Ohio area that benefit children and families, with at least four weeks' notice. Lindt, which gives only near its Stratham, New Hampshire headquarters, has paused: its page says, "Our donations program is suspended through the end of the year. It will resume in mid-January 2027." Outside the Bryan area, build the sweets basket from a local candy shop or bakery.

Book lover

Books-A-Million donates a $20 gift card to schools, churches, organizations and charities in the communities it serves, with priority for missions that promote reading, literacy and education. Requests go by email on its donation request form at least three weeks before the event, and its policy excludes donations intended for online auctions, so it fits an in-person raffle. Add bookmarks, a reading light and a mug.

Barnes & Noble is the one to know about before you write: it says it has no grant program, and offers bookfairs instead, where your group earns a percentage of net sales. That is a fundraiser to plan, not a basket donation.

Kids' art and craft

Oriental Trading runs a corporate giving program for 501(c)(3)s and public schools focused on education, youth, healthcare and human services, and says applications take four weeks to process. Crayola's charitable contributions go to nonprofits in its manufacturing areas of Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania, and Warren County, New Jersey, with four to six weeks allowed.

Golf

Topgolf considers donation requests from organizations within 40 miles of a Topgolf location, submitted at least 30 days and no more than 90 days before the event. Round out the basket with golf balls, a towel and a scorecard pencil set.

Wine night

Total Wine & More makes in-kind donations for auctions to registered 501(c)(3)s in states with a Total Wine store, with at least eight weeks' notice, and the applicant must be 21 or older. It says it cannot currently donate to fundraisers in Michigan. Check whether your state and venue allow alcohol as a raffle prize before building this basket, and keep it off the table at family events.

Programs that look like donations but are not

Some well-known brands appear in basket-idea lists but offer a purchase program rather than a donated item. Yeti says it cannot offer in-kind product donations; its fundraising program sells select products to qualified nonprofits at a discount. Kohl's says it does not accept requests for monetary or in-kind donations; what it offers groups is a Kohl's Cares Fundraising Gift Card program you register for. Both can still help a raffle, but plan for them as purchase programs, not donated items.

Putting the baskets together

• Choose themes first, then ask. Knowing that you need "an anchor for the date-night basket" makes each request short and specific.
• Ask for what the company says it gives. A request that names the donation the company already offers gets a faster answer.
• Check the area line before you write. Spangler Candy and Crayola give only near their own sites, and Topgolf only within 40 miles of a location.
• Mind the windows. Great Wolf Lodge recommends three months, Total Wine asks for eight weeks, and Crayola Experience wants exactly 30 days, not more.

The tricky tray and raffle planning workbook covers basket themes and assembly in detail, and our donation request letter template covers what to put in each request.