Are you running raffles or fundraising at your event

Many times I have been to fundraising events and bought raffle tickets – sometimes hundreds of dollars worth of raffle tickets, but it wasn’t until I produced an event for a charity, that I was schooled on some of the not-so-obvious rules one must comply with.  I had no idea of the complexity around fundraising and so I've done a deep dive and sharing some info below and links for further research.

It’s not unusual for me to butt into an event proceeding if I see something that is going to get the event organiser in trouble.  Like, allowing presenters or audience members to speak without a microphone – nope, I’ll butt in and insist they use one.  That’s because sometimes I can’t hear very well but I don't need to share that with the whole room.  Everyone should use a microphone if it’s available - not everyone in the room can hear your "teacher" voice.

I was at an event and was about to witness the process of them drawing a raffle.  How they were about to proceed I knew, could get them in serious legal hot water.  As the raffle announcement was made and the bowl of tickets hoisted above the pickers head, I was compelled to halt the proceedings to ensure they didn't break the law!

Luckily this event was being run by people who know and love me, and I kind of taught them a lot of what they’re doing, so fingers crossed they forgave me…

But they were about to draw the minor raffle prize first,  and that’s a no-no, even if you are putting the tickets back into the bowl.

I see this happen a lot and as I said, it wasn’t until I was schooled in the rules around raffles, from a school event organiser no less, that it makes sense when it’s outlined to you.

Here’s an excerpt of the rules from the Queensland Government website:

• Each person who buys a ticket must have a fair and equal chance of winning the major prize in the art union at the time of drawing of the art union.

• If more than one prize is being offered in a game, the major prize must be drawn first, and the other prizes then drawn in descending order of number and value.

• Prizes may be drawn in an alternate order provided that the alternate order is clearly advertised at the time tickets in the game are sold.

You can find the full set of rules on all manner of fundraising in Queensland here, and even if you’re not in Queensland, it’s wise to track down the rules in your specific location.

But it makes sense right?  Of course, we should be drawing the major prize first because that’s why people have bought the ticket!  Sure, the minor prizes are nice to win, but the major prize is what we’ve all come for.

So, next time you to go to run a raffle or do some sort of fundraising, make sure you check out the rules in your local area and what is applicable to your type of organisation.  There are different rules, dollar limits, revenue limits and even rules around how much cash you can give away!  (ever wondered why the art union always gives away gold bullion???).

The same goes for competitions so make sure you explore your obligations before running one.