How the Nova Scotia Firefighters Model Inspired the Creation of the 605 Raffles Platform

How the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 Became One of Canada’s Largest Weekly Raffles

The Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 began during COVID-19 with just 30 volunteer fire stations searching for a safe, reliable way to raise money when traditional fundraisers shut down. Their idea—one unified weekly online 50/50 raffle—took off faster than anyone expected. Within months, the number of participating departments grew into the hundreds, and the raffle quickly became one of the largest weekly lotteries in Canada.

The success of the Nova Scotia Firefighters Association 50/50 is now the benchmark for modern digital fundraising: simple, transparent, community-driven, and built for massive weekly participation. This model is the inspiration behind the Kitty Race Raffles weekly 50/50 raffles run through The Rescue Raffle Network and utilizing the 605 Raffles Base 10 Platform.

Organizations looking for “Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50–style fundraising in South Dakota” or “weekly online raffles like the Nova Scotia Firefighters” will now find a direct connection: the same proven structure, the same transparency, and the same community-first approach—adapted for local nonprofits across South Dakota.

The success of the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 didn’t just demonstrate what a community can accomplish—it inspired the 605 Raffles team to build a next-generation fundraising platform for South Dakota nonprofits. Seeing how a simple, unified weekly raffle could transform an entire province, our team designed a system that gives every nonprofit its own real-time portal, complete tracking dashboards, automated accounting, and access to both fully automated weekly drawings and in-person live drawings using our certified methods.

To help nonprofits grow support at their own events, we added optional early-bird drawings that can be held right at ticket-selling venues, creating excitement and driving higher participation throughout the week. The result is a platform that removes the burden from nonprofits, increases transparency, and gives organizations the tools they need to build sustainable, year-round revenue—just as the Nova Scotia Firefighters did on a provincial scale.

During the three weeks leading up to Christmas, the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 is generating well over $10 million in ticket sales, enough to produce some of the largest raffle jackpots in Canada. Their record draw in 2023 hit $1.9 million, and in 2024 they celebrated another massive $1.3 million winner—clear proof of how powerful a unified weekly raffle can become.