Income from raffles and lotteries has remained strong in the face of economic downturn, but is there even more room to grow? Joe Saxton outlines new research on how charities are using lotteries and what’s holding them back.

Lotteries are the only type of fundraising that everybody I have talked to says have held up well during the recession. Indeed I have talked to charities that have seen their lottery (or raffle – I’ll refer to all as lotteries for simplicity’s sake) income increase dramatically over the past few years. And this growth is at a time when the economic climate is dire and people fear for their jobs. At the same time lotteries are often seen as the embarrassing poor relation of proper fundraising. A bit tacky. A bit down-market for a charity.