We stepped off the full-time cruising path and found ourselves in Apollo Beach, Florida, settling into a small house right on the water. It wasn’t “giving up the water” — it was choosing a different way to live with it. We still sail almost every day. Morning light, evening calm, quick sunset sails that clear your head and give you space to think.
Those sails ended up changing everything.
Slowing Down Enough to See What Was Next
When you’re constantly moving, it’s hard to hear yourself think. Landing in one place slowed us down just enough to ask a simple question:
What do we want to build next?
We’ve always had strong technology and development backgrounds, and we’ve always been builders at heart. At the same time, we started noticing how many nonprofits, schools, and community groups struggled with fundraising — especially raffles.
Paper tickets. Manual tracking. Limited reach. Tons of work for modest results.
It felt outdated. And unnecessary.
Early Days of Online Raffle Tickets
Back in the mid-2000s, before online fundraising platforms were common, we started experimenting with digital raffle ticket technology. At the time, this was not mainstream. Secure online payments were still evolving. Automation wasn’t a given.
But the idea was simple:
If people can buy products online, why can’t they buy raffle tickets?
So we built it.
Slowly at first. Then more deliberately.
As WordPress and eCommerce matured, it became obvious that this technology needed to live where people already were — on their own websites.
WP Raffle: Giving Organizations Control
That thinking led to WP Raffle.
WP Raffle was created for organizations that wanted to run raffles on their own terms. Not locked into a platform. Not paying unnecessary fees. Just a solid Raffle Ticket Generator for WooCommerce that worked.
With WP Raffle, organizations can:
- Sell raffle tickets directly from their WordPress site
- Automatically generate and manage ticket numbers
- Use WooCommerce for payments and reporting
- Keep ownership of their data and audience
It wasn’t about chasing trends. It was about giving people a reliable tool that actually solved the problem.
Chance2Win.org: When “Do It For Me” Made Sense
As WP Raffle grew, we kept hearing the same thing:
“This is great — but can you just run the whole thing for us?”
That’s how Chance2Win.org was born.
Chance2Win is the full-service evolution of everything we learned — a managed online raffle fundraising platform designed for nonprofits that want results without technical complexity.
With Chance2Win, organizations get:
- Turnkey raffle campaigns
- Proven fundraising structures
- High-conversion ticket pages
- Zero platform fees
It’s focused, intentional, and built to raise more money — not just sell tickets.
The Common Thread
On the surface, BoatBlender and online raffle software may not look connected.
But the thread is the same.
- Independence
- Ownership
- Building things that actually work
- Rejecting unnecessary middlemen
Leaving the cruising lifestyle didn’t mean leaving freedom behind. It meant redefining it — trading constant movement for purpose, impact, and clarity.
Apollo Beach, daily sails, and a little less noise gave us the space to build something that helps real people fund causes that matter.
BoatBlender may be retired, but the journey didn’t stop.
It just changed course.
Why We Built Chance2Win (And Why It’s Different)
As we worked with more nonprofits, something became very clear very quickly:
Most online raffle platforms weren’t built for the way real nonprofits actually fundraise.
They focused on simple 50/50 raffles or sweepstakes-style giveaways. That works for some organizations — but for many schools, fire departments, service clubs, and community groups, the most successful fundraisers have always been basket raffles (also known as tricky trays) and Queen of Hearts games.
The problem?
No one had figured out how to do those properly online — at least not in a way that everyday nonprofits could actually use.
So we built it ourselves.
The First True Online Basket Raffle & Tricky Tray Platform
If you’ve ever run a basket raffle in person, you know why they work:
- People love choosing where their chances go
- Higher-value baskets attract more spending
- It’s interactive, social, and fun
Trying to recreate that experience online is not simple. It’s not just “selling tickets.” It’s managing multiple prize pools, ticket allocation, fairness, transparency, and reporting — all while keeping it easy for the buyer.
That’s exactly what we solved.
Not a workaround.
Not a hacked-together form.
A purpose-built system that mirrors how these fundraisers actually work in the real world — while scaling them far beyond a physical room.
For everyday nonprofits, that meant:
- No custom development
- No complex setup
- No platform lock-in tricks
- Just a system that works
Bringing Queen of Hearts Online — the Right Way
Queen of Hearts raffles are another perfect example.
They’re wildly popular. They raise serious money. And they are notoriously difficult to manage — even in person. Add online sales, and most organizations hit a wall fast.
We saw two problems:
- Nonprofits wanted to run Queen of Hearts online
- There was no ethical, transparent, nonprofit-friendly solution
So again, we built what didn’t exist.
That means:
- Proper card tracking and reveal logic
- Clear audit trails
- Fair play built into the system
- Easy participation for supporters
- Compliance-friendly structure for organizations
No spreadsheets. No guesswork. No “trust us” systems.
Built So Nonprofits Keep More — Not Platforms
One thing we’ve always been firm on:
fundraising platforms should not win more than the fundraiser.
That’s why Chance2Win was designed with:
- Zero platform fees
- Transparent pricing
- No revenue skimming
- No forced upsells
Our goal wasn’t to extract value — it was to multiply it.
When nonprofits raise more and keep more, the mission wins. Period.
From Tools to Outcomes
WP Raffle gave organizations control.
Chance2Win takes that foundation and says:
“We’ll handle the complexity — so you can focus on your cause.”
Basket raffles.
Tricky trays.
Queen of Hearts.
These aren’t side features. They’re the heart of what makes Chance2Win different — and why so many organizations can now run fundraisers online that simply weren’t possible before.
This wasn’t built for venture capital.
It was built for real nonprofits, doing real work, in real communities.
