Money Moral Dilemma: Should I keep the money I won playing a charity lottery?

DAN56

The whole point of lotteries is that people have (a slim) chance of winning, so why feel guilty if you do?
By all means donate some back (with gift aid) but don't feel guilty about spending some of it.

mazza73monk

Keep EVERY single penny. I'm speaking from experience here, our local hospice is a multi-million pound charity, they are grab-grab-grab at every opportunity. Their best paid staff are the fundraisers themselves, earning £45k+, all other staff are paid the very minimum wage and are worked like slaves. Never donate before doing your research

Ron246235

Some people seem to think it is ridiculous to play a lottery if you don't want to win a big prize. But the explanation is obvious, and it is even mentioned in the question. The person does it for a bit of excitement, they enjoy winning the occasional small prize, and they never imagined they would win a big prize.

The answer to the question is: it is up to you how much you think about it, and you are free to keep it or donate it back. If you can't decide, keep half and donate half. 

Missy15

I work in a charity shop, and for every win through our own shop lottery ticket sales, we as the sales people use it as "tool "to sell more tickets.
We also get immense pleasure that someone has won by buying our tickets, even if it's only a tenner.
So enjoy your win, do what you want with the money and be happy that your win also paves the way to others buying tickets, and therefore making more money for that particular charity.

Jodo

SpicyLentil said:

Whilst I get where you’re coming from, think about the inflated salary the CEO’s receive, working for a charity! At least you are giving by way of participating in the lottery. If you don’t need the money or feel that guilty, maybe keep it by and donate it to a shelter at Christmas to enable many homeless people to either enjoy a Christmas dinner or have a bed for the night 

How do you know the CEO of the OP’s preferred charity receives an “inflated salary” (whatever that is)? 

pollypenny

sounds a bit sanctimonious to me. Why do a lottery if you don't want to win. Just donate. 

Carrypack1

Definitely keep the money! You earned it by generously doing the lottery in the first place. I also return small amounts but I would keep a large amount as that is what lotteries are. The amount they receive is far greater than the amount given in winnings so do not feel guilty and enjoy it! dont think the highly paid CEO's feel guilty about their salaries and bonuses!

CapeTown

mazza73monk said:

Keep EVERY single penny. I'm speaking from experience here, our local hospice is a multi-million pound charity, they are grab-grab-grab at every opportunity. Their best paid staff are the fundraisers themselves, earning £45k+, all other staff are paid the very minimum wage and are worked like slaves. Never donate before doing your research

Good lord. Hospices do a fantastic job. It is very hard to die peacefully with little money. You have clearly never worked at one

curlyB56

I also won money on a charity lottery - I then checked out the lottery and found they keep 49p of every £1. Which means for the many years I have been supporting the charity, they have been receiving far below what I hoped. I have now made a donation, based on the lottery win, with gift aid and cancelled my lottery;  setting up a regular donation with gift aid, now gives my charity £1.25 for each £1. It is outrageous that this information is not clearly stated

horsewithnoname

Do whatever will make you happy.