Well the originator of this thread never buys raffle tickets anyway so why should he worry? :-)

Perhaps, if many people hold the same view, folk clubs should dispense with the raffle but I reckon that we would have to increase the door charge by at least £1 to compensate for this loss of income. The amount of raffle money(In pounds) we take in tends to be roughly equal to the number of punters but other audiences will probably be more generous than those in Edinburgh. Having said that, those who actually do purchase tickets at EFC are much more generous than that as they obviously make up for those who are too miserable.

Of course, there will be some genuine cases where a person can't afford to buy a ticket but, if that's the case, would they be able to pay the extra £1-£2 which would be necessary if we abolished the raffle? So, at least they're able to come along to the concert.

One other benefit for folk clubs is that raffle money will go into *club funds* whereas a large percentage (if not all, in some cases) of door money MUST be paid to the guest artist. Of course, if we can't meet the fee with the door money, we still have to subsidise it from club funds.

So, it is important that a club does build up a reserve of funds. It's not for the benefit of any indivual on the committee/club and, of course, it gets ploughed back "into the music" eventually. However, it gives clubs a cushion if the door takings are poor on a particular night and can also enable a more adventurous booking policy when you don't always have to worry about making an occasional loss.

Anyway, it's also a bit of fun surely?