Official Rules and Regulations of Charity Raffles Held by Strengthening Opportunities Actions Resources, Inc.
Please read these Official Rules before entering any charity raffle (the “Raffle”) held by Strengthening Opportunities Actions Resources (the “Organization”). By purchasing a ticket, you represent that you meet all of the below-stated requirements and agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Organization, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, or its representative.
Definitions
Venue shall mean any location designated to host the drawing of the Raffle.
Raffle means the raising of money by selling numbered tickets, one or some of which are subsequently drawn at random, the holder or holders of such tickets winning a prize.
Participant means a qualified purchaser as defined below, of a Raffle ticket.
Net Proceeds of a given Raffle means the total sales of Raffle tickets for that game Raffle minus any related expenses from the Raffle ticket sales for the applicable Raffle Period.
Raffle Period means the duration of the game which commences and concludes at specified times and dates as announced and dictated by the Organization on marketing materials, social platforms, at the Venue, or online at communitiesthatsoar.org/raffles.
Prize may be one or several as calculated and defined by the Organization for the specified Raffle Period and prior to the scheduled draw.
Prize Claimant means the holder(s) of the randomly selected winning Raffle ticket number(s)
1. THE RAFFLE: The Raffle to be held at the named draw location (“Venue”) is a raffle whereby tickets are sold in advance of the drawing (with no far greater then 180 days prior to the date of the scheduled drawing) in New York State, surrounding states, and online when using an approved online raffle application. Each ticket shall carry a unique identifying ticket number. The announcement and commencement of the drawing shall start 30 minutes prior to the draw scheduled time to allow viewers, purchases, sellers, and Organization members ample time to logon to watch via Facebook or Instagram Live. Once the clock has reached the draw time, the winning Raffle ticket number will be will be randomly selected and announced on the Organization’s top prioritized social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter), a scoreboard at Venue, and posted on the Organization’s website at communitiesthatsoar.org/raffles. The Participant who purchased the winning Raffle ticket will receive a cash prize from the Net Proceeds of the Raffle for the applicable Raffle Period. All remaining proceeds from the Raffle shall be retained by the Organization of the Raffle to be used for charitable purposes in New York. Each Raffle Period shall be specified by the Organization. All Raffle ticket sales are final.
2. ELIGIBILITY: Pursuant to the rules described by the New York State Gaming Commissions in section 9 NYCRR § 4620.22 (Click to View Document), The Raffle is only open to persons located in the State of New York who are eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the date of such person’s purchase of the Raffle ticket (each a “Participant”). Employees, agents, representatives, and contractors of the Organization, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising/promotional agencies, and the immediate families and household members of each of the foregoing, are not eligible to enter or win. The Raffle is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws, and is void wherever prohibited by law.
3. ENTRY: If you meet the eligibility requirements, you may enter the Raffle by agreeing to be bound by these Official Rules and purchasing Raffle tickets in one of the following amounts: One (1) Raffle ticket for Ten Dollars ($10.00), Five (5) Raffle tickets for Fifty Dollars ($50.00), Ten (10) Raffle tickets for Ten Dollars ($100.00), or such other special pricing as may be announced from time to time. The purchase of an Organization membership or any other item is not required to enter the Raffle. Participant need not be present to win. All Raffle ticket purchases must be completed by the end of the applicable Raffle Period. The Organization and any related entities are not liable for any lost, stolen, late, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undelivered, or destroyed tickets regardless of cause including, but not limited to, any problem or technical malfunction of any computer, online system or server or technical problem. Further, Organization and any related entities are not liable for tickets redeemed in error by their respective employees, members or agents.
4. HOW TO ENTER: You can enter the Raffle during any Raffle Period by purchasing tickets in any of the following ways:
If Organization is unable to verify that you are over the age of 18 and located within the State of New York, you will not be able to purchase tickets online. No sale of a raffle ticket may be made to any person on the commission’s self-exclusion list. Online entries generated by script, macro, robotic, programmed, or any other automated means are prohibited and will be disqualified. Online entries containing offensive, obscene, derogatory, lewd, or other inappropriate content, as determined by Organization, in its sole discretion, are prohibited and will be disqualified. Entrants assume all risk of lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible entries.
5. DRAWING: The Raffle Prize winner (s) will be selected in a random drawing. A single or multiple Raffle ticket number (s) as specified, shall be randomly selected from all eligible Raffle ticket numbers sold during each Raffle Period. The drawing will be held at the time specified by the Organization (unless another time frame is designated for the drawing by the Organization, in its sole discretion). The random selection will be conducted by the Organization whose decision is final and binding. The randomly selected winning Raffle ticket (s) will be announced as specified in these Official Rules in Section 1 “The Raffle”.
6. CLAIMING A PRIZE: To claim a Prize, the Prize Claimant(s) must contact Organization and present the winning Raffle ticket within fifteen (15) calendar days of the applicable drawing either (i) in-person at Venue, or (ii) to a Organization representative via phone or email to schedule an online face to face confirmation. Each Prize Claimant must provide Organization with all information required to claim a prize (including, without limitation, eligibility and tax identification information). The Prize Claimant will be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility & Liability/Publicity Release (“Affidavit”) in the form approved by Organization, and a W-9 IRS form prior to receipt of the Prize. In the event that a Prize Claimant either: (a) does not notify Organization within fifteen (15) days of the drawing; (b) is ruled ineligible for any reason; (c) refuses the Prize; or (d) does not return an executed Affidavit, then, in each such event, the Prize will be forfeited and will be retained by Organization. Organization has no obligation and is not in a position to contact holders of potential winning ticket numbers. All Prizes will be delivered to Prize Claimant and paid via check within fifteen (15) days of the Prize Claimant delivering the winning Raffle ticket, executed Affidavit, and all other required documents to Organization. For security and safety reasons, no cash payments will be made to the Prize Claimant. Unclaimed winnings will be retained by the Organization for its charitable purposes. If you need more information, please call 1(917) 215-6826.
7. ODDS: Odds of winning are variable based on the total number of Raffle ticket numbers sold during each Raffle Period.
8. TAXES: Each Participant acknowledges that they have been informed that the IRS has taken the position that amounts paid for chances to participate in raffles, lotteries, or similar programs are not gifts and, therefore, the price of a Raffle ticket does not qualify as a deductible charitable contribution. The Prize Claimant is responsible for any and all federal, state and local taxes, fees and other government assessments on the awarded Prize. Furthermore, each Prize Claimant acknowledges that federal law requires that a tax withholding on certain prize values must be collected from winners upon award or distribution. Federal and state withholding laws are subject to change without notice. The withholding laws in effect at the time each Prize is claimed will be followed.
9. TRANSFER OF RAFFLE TICKET: Raffle tickets may not be resold, or permitted by a Participant to be resold. Any Raffle ticket which has been resold in violation of these Official Rules shall be void and such Raffle ticket numbers shall be ineligible to win. All individuals who re-sell, purchase, or receive a Raffle ticket in violation of these Official Rules shall be ineligible to participate in the Raffle or to win a Prize. The eligible individual in physical custody of the winning Raffle ticket shall be deemed the winner unless the ticket was re-sold or otherwise transferred in a manner in contravention of these Official Rules, in which case the winning ticket shall be voided and a new winner shall be randomly selected.
10. PARTICIPANT’S GRANT OF LICENSE: By participating in the Raffle or accepting a Prize, each Participant and Prize Claimant hereby irrevocably and perpetually grants to the Organization and their designees, a worldwide license to use, publish, reproduce, create derivative works of, distribute and publicly display any images or likenesses taken or captured of the Participant or Prize Claimant in connection with their participating in the Raffle or receiving a Prize (collectively, the “Images”), in any form, media or content which now or hereafter exists, for advertising, promotional or any other commercial purposes as well as non-commercial purposes. Participant and Prize Claimant each waive any compensation for any use of such Images. Participant and Prize Claimant each hereby release and waive any claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities and causes of action arising from the Organization or their designee’s, uses of the Images, including, without limitation, any claims for defamation, libel, invasion of privacy, publicity, personality, or exploitation of the Participant’s name or likeness.
11. RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY: By participating in the Raffle, Participant and Prize Claimant, both on each of his or her own behalves and on behalf of each of his or her spouses, assigns, guardians, administrators, executors and legal representatives, hereby release, waive, discharge, covenant not to sue, and indemnify the Organization, County of Queens, City of New York or Middle Village, together with all of the past, present or future predecessors, successors, assigns, parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, related entities and persons, owners, shareholders, members, partners, trustees, elected officials, directors, managers, employees, servants, principals, agents, consultants, contractors, representatives, Organizations, and insurers of each of the foregoing from any claim or loss arising out of or related to the Participant’s or Prize Claimant’s participation in the Raffle, acceptance of the Prize, or any exercise by the Organization of any of its rights set forth herein or the Official Rules of the Raffle, including, but not limited to, any claims related to (i) any injury to the Participant (including death) or the Participant’s property that occurs in connection with participation in the Raffle, receiving the Prize or any related activities, (ii) any failure to report and pay any income taxes arising from acceptance of the Prize, and (iii) the Participant’s acts or the acts of any other party with respect to the Participant’s receipt of the Prize, or participation in the Raffle, regardless of whether any such claims are caused in whole or in part by the negligence of any entity or person released hereunder.
12. DISPUTES AND GOVERNING LAW: The Raffle shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rule of any jurisdiction. As a condition of participating in a Raffle, Participant and Prize Claimant agree that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Raffle, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively by arbitration in a location selected solely by Organization in Queens County, New York. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will Participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorney fees, other than Participants’ actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering the Raffle), and Participant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. Any claims regarding the Raffle that are not deemed released, and in the event arbitration is not enforced, must be brought in the State or Federal Courts in Queens County, New York, and Participant and Prize Claimant hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for purposes of any such action. The Raffle is void outside the United States and where prohibited by law. IN NO EVENT SHALL ORGANIZATION OR ANY RELATED ENTITY BE LIABLE TO FOR DAMAGES THAT EXCEED THE VALUE OF THE PRIZE AWARDED TO ANY INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT IN THE RAFFLE.
13. DISQUALIFICATION; CHANGES: Organization reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that tampers or attempts to tamper with the ticketing process or the operation of the Raffle, re-sells their Raffle ticket, violates the Official Rules, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. The Organization reserves the right to, at its sole discretion, cancel, suspend and/or modify the Raffle or these Official Rules or disqualify any individual or ticket for purposes of protecting the integrity of the Raffle or addressing changes in business operations or other circumstances, to the extent allowed under applicable law. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE RAFFLE IS A VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, ORGANIZATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM AND/OR PROSECUTE ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
14. ORGANIZATION; WINNERS LIST: The Organization of the Raffle is Strengthening Opportunities Actions Resources, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and the address of its headquarters is 79-23 68 Avenue, Middle Village, New York 11379. You may obtain a list of the winning raffle ticket numbers by sending a request titled (identifying the “Raffle”) via email to [email protected] or to the above address, together with a pre-stamped, self-addressed envelope. The winning Raffle ticket numbers will be posted on Organization’s website at communitiesthatsoar.org/raffles.
To serve and improve communities by strengthening opportunities, actions, and resources so that its members can grow personally, academically, and professionally.
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