# Drawing Winners

## Drawing winners

**When to use this:** Your raffle has ended and it's time to pick the winners.

**Who can do this:** Admins only.

**Where to find it:** In your raffle dashboard → **Draw & Timeline**.

### Before you draw

* The raffle must be in Awaiting Draw statues which can happen if you sell out of tickets, if the close date has passed and/or if the draw date/time has elapsed. Once it has, the raffle moves to **Awaiting Draw**.
* Double-check your prizes and tiers on the **Prizes** step — you can't undo a draw.
* Make sure you're ready to notify winners soon after — supporters expect a quick turnaround.

### Drawing the winners

Draws in RaffleLink are **manual** — they don't happen automatically on the draw date. You run the draw when you're ready.

1. Go to your raffle → **Draw & Timeline**.
2. Click **Draw Now**.
3. Read the confirmation: *"We'll automatically draw a random winner for each prize in your raffle. This action cannot be undone."*
4. Click **Confirm** to run the draw.

The system picks a random winner for each prize tier, starting from 1st prize, and the raffle moves to the **Drawn** state.

### Reviewing the winners

Once the draw is done, the **Winner Details** tab appears. It shows:

* Prize tier (1st, 2nd, 3rd…)
* Prize title and value
* Winning ticket number
* Winner's name, email, and phone number

Check the details carefully before you publish or email anything.

### Telling winners

You have two things to do — in whichever order suits you:

#### 1. Email the winners

1. On the **Winner Details** tab, click **Preview & Send Email**.
2. Choose who receives it:
   * **Winners only**, or
   * **All ticket buyers** (great if you want to thank everyone and announce the results).
3. Review the email preview.
4. Click **Send**.

#### 2. Publish results to your public raffle page

1. On the **Winner Details** tab, click **Publish Now**.
2. Confirm.
3. The winners are now visible on your public raffle page — anyone with the link can see the results.

> Public results and announcements will only show the winning ticket numbers and location — no names or emails

After publishing, you'll get a success screen with a link to the public results page so you can share it on social media or with your community.

### Common questions

**Can I re-draw if a winner doesn't claim their prize?** Not automatically in the beta. Contact support if you need to re-draw a specific tier.

**Can I export a winners list?** A CSV / export button isn't in the beta yet — for now, the Winner Details tab is your reference.

**What if a winner's details are wrong?** Contact the buyer directly using the email/phone on the Winner Details tab to confirm, and reach out to support if the record itself needs correcting.


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