Submitted by Lynn Lewis, Rotary Club of Mississauga
 
We first began researching a raffle after hearing about the success of the Mudcreek Rotary Club in Nova Scotia with their raffle.  It has been reported that raffles bring in $1.5 million annually to their tiny community of 4,000+ people. Although it has taken Mudcreek Rotary 6 years to be successful, their experience is a testament to the power of working together with the community in order to make amazing things happen. 
 
One of the factors that we determined as a reason for their success, is to have 80 locations selling “toonie tickets”.  After researching their model, it was determined that this particular idea was not legal in Ontario, and in our discussions, they indicated that the process was labor-intensive, as well as a difficult model to work with and explain to others. 
 
To move forward, we switched our model to have an on-line “Catch the ACE”.  The Rotary Club of Mississauga worked with Ascend Fundraising Solutions to put the requirements and systems in place to facilitate this type of raffle.  
 
For a “Catch the ACE” Rotary Raffle to work well, it requires large participation from purchasers. This may not be an easy task for one Rotary Club. It is big cash prizes that drive big ticket sales. By collaborating with other clubs in Ontario, we could potentially have over 100 clubs to help us promote the Feel Good Raffle. The power of collaboration works in Rotary’s favour, as the weekly jackpots will be exponentially larger, which in turn will attract more players – many more than one club would be able to create on their own.
 
As holders of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) license, The Rotary Club of Mississauga will handle all of the reporting and costs associated with administering this fundraiser.  
 
All Rotary Clubs in the Province of Ontario are eligible to participate. Each participating Rotary Club selects their own charities they would like to support. All clubs will receive their own landing page so that it appears to be their own lottery.  There will be no manpower required by each club except to advertise in their own community.
The benefits of participating are many: Not only will it help shed light on each community’s Rotary Club, but it will also help charities in your area receive donations in your club’s name.  Win! Win!
 
For more information on how your club could participate, please contact Lynn Lewis at lynn4972@rogers.com or call 437-774-4972