WHAT IS THE HOUSE OF DREAMS CHARITY RAFFLE?
The House of Dreams Charity Raffle is a fundraising event run by Naperville
Rotary Charities, Inc. (NRC) designed to generate new revenue that can be used
for charitable purposes. NRC is a licensed 501-c3 charitable organization. This
Raffle is not considered PHILANTHROPY in the traditional sense. Instead, it is
a fundraising event, using a raffle with prizes that have a total retail value
of up to $1.6 million to encourage people to participate. All net proceeds are
donated to charities.
Q: What does it
mean that the 23rd House of Dreams Charity Raffle Benefits Comer Children's
Hospital?
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A: The 23rd House of Dreams Charity
Raffle benefits Comer Children's Hospital means that proceeds from the raffle
are used to support Comer Children's Hospital.
Q: What is
Comer Children's Hospital?
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A: Comer Children's Hospital at the
University of Chicago is a top rated children’s hospital whose team of
pediatric experts use advanced diagnostic and medical techniques to care for
children of all ages. Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago
has again been ranked among the best children's hospitals in the United States,
according to the 2011 U.S. News Media Group's Best Children's Hospitals
rankings.
Q: Can you
provide some information on how many patients Comer Children's Hospital
treats?
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A: As a major referral center for
treatment of complex disease, Comer Children's Hospital cares for thousands of
children each year. About 4,600 children were hospitalized at Comer last year,
most from the Chicago area, but many from the Midwest and around the world.
Physicians at Comer also provided 40,000 general pediatric and specialty care
visits as well as 30,000 visits to the Comer pediatric emergency room.
Q: Why is it
named Comer Children's Hospital?
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A: The hospital is named for the
late Gary Comer, the founder of Lands' End, who made a generous gift in 2001 to
establish Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago, followed by
another gift to build the Comer Pediatric Emergency Department, followed by
another donation to create the Comer Center for Children and Specialty Care at
the University of Chicago. Since Comer opened in 2005, replacing the
University's former children's hospital, the health care teams there, headed by
University of Chicago faculty physicians, have expanded the hospital's
reputation as a nationally recognized center for neonatal care, diabetes,
pediatric neurosurgery, childhood cancers and other specialties.
Q: Who is
Naperville Rotary Charities, Inc. ("NRC")?
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A: NRC is a licensed 501(c)(3)
Charitable and Philanthropic Organization, which has a long and successful
history in community affairs. Since 1993, NRC has sponsored and conducted the
House of Dreams Charity Raffle, which raises funds used to support numerous
charitable and humanitarian organizations and/or projects locally and around
the world. This is the 23rd House of Dreams Charity Raffle.
Q: Is the House
of Dreams Charity Raffle ("Raffle") considered a charity?
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A: No, the Raffle is a charitable
fundraiser sponsored and operated by a charity, NRC, to support other
charities.
Q: What is a
Charitable Fundraiser?
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A: A charitable fundraiser is an
event or activity that is conducted with the goal of raising funds for a
charitable purpose. Every fundraising event has operating costs and expenses,
whether these expenses are covered with monies raised by the fundraiser or they
donated. The goal of every charity fundraising event is to have monies
remaining after all expenses are paid to put towards the charitable purpose.
Q: Does all
ticket revenue for this Raffle go to charity?
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A: All net proceeds go to charity.
The House of Dreams Charity Raffle is a fundraiser that operates with the goal
of raising money for charitable endeavors. This fundraiser has operational
costs, like all fundraisers; including the prizes given away (the current
Raffle's prizes have an estimated retail value of up to $1.6 million). This
Raffle fundraiser has been active since 1993 with 22 raffles completed over
that time. Net proceeds remaining at the end of each Raffle are placed into a
charitable endowment fund and used to benefit numerous worthwhile charitable
organizations. Since 1993, this fundraiser has provided millions of dollars of
support for local and national charities and has also built up a multi-million
dollar charitable endowment fund to continue supporting charities in need going
forward. NRC's goal is to keep funding this endowment so that it has the
ability to continue supporting charitable causes for years to come. Donations
can be made directly to the charitable endowment fund directly if you are not
interested in participating in this fundraiser. For information about making a
direct donation, please contact the phone number at the top of this website.
Q: What is the
cost of a ticket and how many tickets can I purchase?
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A: Each ticket costs $100 USD and
there is no limit on the number of tickets a single individual can purchase.
The more tickets you purchase the more chances you have to win a prize. Also,
remember that all of the net proceeds raised in this fundraiser are used for
charitable purposes, and that buying more than one ticket qualifies you for one
or more of the great multi-ticket bonus prizes being offered.
Q: What happens
to the prizes if all the tickets are not sold?
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A: Regardless of how many tickets
are sold in the Raffle, certain prizes are guaranteed and the chance to win a
prize will never be less than 1-in-15 with a single ticket purchased. All
Holiday Drawing Prizes, Valentines Drawing Prizes, March Madness Prizes,
Mother's Day Prizes and Multi-Ticket Grand Prizes will be awarded. If greater
than 40,000 tickets are sold in this Raffle, the $1 Million Grand Prize will be
awarded in full. However, if less than 40,000 tickets are sold by
11:59 p.m. CST on
June 06, 2012, the Grand
Prize for this Raffle will be reduced by a factor equal to the actual tickets
sold divided by 40,000. This factor will be applied to all available payment
options for the grand prizewinner.
Q: How do I
qualify for the MULTI-TICKET Prizes?
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A: All tickets purchased by the
same individual (i.e. have the same billing address or credit card number,
etc.) will qualify towards an individual's ticket total. Any additional ticket
purchased after the first ticket in the Spring 2012 Raffle, will qualify the
purchaser for one or more of the applicable multi-ticket prizes that have not
yet been drawn for at the time of that ticket's purchase.
In addition to the Grand Prize of a $1 Million Dream Home or $1 Million Cash
and all of the other regular prizes being drawn for, each additional ticket you
purchase after your first ticket will also be eligible for one or more of the
applicable MULTI-TICKET Bonus prizes. There are several Multi-Ticket bonus
prizes available throughout the raffle period including in the Holiday Drawing
held on
January 12, 2012, Valentines Drawing held on
February 23, 2012, March Madness Drawing held on
March
29, 2012, Mother's Day Drawings held on
May 24,
2012, and the final drawings held on
June 21, 2012.
Only those tickets purchased prior to each drawing's specific cut-off date will
count towards an individuals total ticket count and eligibility for those
drawings. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How do the
Holiday Drawings Work?
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A: All tickets that are purchased on or before
December 31, 2011 will be eligible for the applicable Holiday Bonus
Drawings held on
January 12, 2012.
All tickets purchased prior to the eligibility cut-off noted above will be eligible for the
first ticket prize. Eligibility for the remaining prizes being drawn for on
January 12, 2012 is based upon the number of tickets purchased by
an individual prior to the drawing's cut-off date. To qualify for all five prizes being drawn
for on
January 12, 2012, you must purchase at least five (5) tickets
before the cut-off on
December 31, 2011. See the FAQ above related to
multi-ticket prizes for details about multiple ticket prize eligibility.
See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How do the
Valentines Drawings Work?
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A: All tickets that are purchased
on or before
February 08, 2012 will be eligible for
the applicable Valentines Bonus Drawings held on
February 23,
2012.
All tickets purchased prior to the eligibility cut-off noted above will be
eligible for the first ticket prize. Eligibility for the remaining prizes being
drawn for on
February 23, 2012 is based upon the
number of tickets purchased by an individual prior to the drawing's cut-off
date. To qualify for all five prizes being drawn for on
February
23, 2012, you must purchase at least five (5) tickets before the
cut-off on
February 08, 2012. See the FAQ above
related to multi-ticket prizes for details about multiple ticket prize
eligibility. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How do the
March Madness Drawings Work?
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A: All tickets that are purchased
on or before
March 14, 2012 will be eligible for the
applicable March Madness Drawings held on
March 29, 2012.
All tickets purchased prior to the eligibility cut-off noted above will be
eligible for the first ticket March Madness prize. Eligibility for the
remaining March Madness prizes being drawn for on
March 29,
2012 is based upon the number of tickets purchased by an individual prior to
the drawing's cut-off date. All additional tickets purchased after the first,
and bought prior to the March Madness cut-off date of
March 14,
2012, will be eligible for the additional multi-ticket March Madness prizes.
See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How do the
Mother's Day Drawings Work?
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A: All tickets that are purchased
on or before
May 09, 2012 will be eligible for the
applicable Mother's Day Drawings held on
May 24, 2012.
All tickets purchased prior to the eligibility cut-off noted above will be
eligible for the first ticket Mother's Day prize. Eligibility for the remaining
Mother's Day prizes being drawn for on
May 24, 2012
is based upon the number of tickets purchased by an individual prior to the
drawing's cut-off date. All additional tickets purchased after the first, and
bought prior to the Mother's Day cut-off date of
May 09,
2012, will be eligible for the additional multi-ticket Mother's Day prizes. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: Can I pool
my cash together with friends or family to buy a ticket?
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A: There are no restrictions on a
winner's ability to share prizes after they have been awarded in the Spring
2012 HOD Charity Raffle. However, all tickets must be purchased in one (1)
single person's name and all prizes are awarded solely to the purchaser's name
of record and the address on the winning ticket. Note, the winner of any prize
remains solely responsible for: (i) complying with all prize requirements; (ii)
providing Naperville Rotary Charities, Inc. ("NRC") with all proper transfer
documentation bearing notarized signatures, as required by NRC, in connection
with any transfer of a prize; and (iii) any and all taxes, fees, assessments
and like charges associated with their prize. NRC is not a party to and assumes
no responsibility related to any transfer of any prize or to any agreements or
understandings regarding the treatment or distribution of any potential prizes.
NRC's sole responsibility is to award all prizes to the purchaser's name of
record and address as stated on the winning tickets. To meet the eligibility
requirements for any of the Multi-ticket drawings, the name and address for the
purchasing party must be the same on each ticket purchased (See the
multi-ticket FAQ for more details). See
Official
Rules for full details.
Q: If I
purchase a ticket for the Holiday Draw, Valentines Draw, March Madness Draw or
Mother’s Day drawing, am I eligible for the other drawings?
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A: Yes. Once purchased, a ticket is
eligible for all applicable prize drawings in the Spring 2012 HOD Charity
Raffle that have not yet occurred as long as it is purchased prior to the
specific drawing's cut-off date, and in the case of the multi-ticket drawings,
all ticket purchased must also meet the specific multi-ticket eligibility
requirements. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: If I win a
prize, am I still eligible for future drawings in the current House of Dreams
Charity Raffle?
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A: Yes. A ticket can win more than
once in any House of Dreams Charity Raffle. Each winning certificate number is
put back in for all future eligible drawings within the same raffle that the
original ticket was purchased. Although not statistically likely, a ticket
could theoretically win the prize in every drawing for which the ticket was
eligible. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How soon do
I get my raffle certificate in the mail after purchase?
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A: Whether you place an order for
your Spring 2012 House of Dreams Charity Raffle ticket(s) via phone, online or
through the mail, you will be sent a paper certificate in the mail for your
records. Your certificate should arrive in the mail within seven (7) to ten
(10) business days after it is successfully processed (including receipt of
payment). If you place your order on the secure website, you will also receive
an email confirmation shortly after your order has been successfully processed,
assuming that you provide a valid email address during purchase and that your
ISP or your computer does not block or otherwise restrict the confirmation
email from being delivered (i.e., spam filters, etc.).
Q: I did not
receive my order confirmation and raffle certificate in the mail or in my
email, what do I do now?
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A: All certificates are sent via
regular mail to the purchasers address provided at the time of purchase. For
tickets purchased online, an email confirmation is also sent to the email
address entered on the online order screen. If you entered an email address and
did not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam filters and junk
email boxes as your computers settings may have screened our communication as
spam. If you still cannot locate the confirmation email and-or paper
certificate, please send us a message using the contact form located on the
Contact Us page of the website. Please be sure to include all pertinent
information to assist us in researching your order and resolving any issues.
Q: How much
money goes to Charity?
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A: Naperville Rotary Charities,
Inc. is run by volunteers from the Naperville Rotary Club. Marketing expenses,
the cost of the prizes, and advertising-media costs associated with the House
of Dreams Charity Raffle vary with each raffle. However, 100% of the NET
proceeds derived from the House of Dreams Charity Raffles are designated to
support charitable and humanitarian programs and entities including Comer
Children's Hospital.
Q: What do you
do with the marketing data you ask for?
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A: The marketing data collected is
used only to help us communicate with our supporters about the House of Dreams
Charity Raffle and its activities. Learning more about those who participate in
this fundraising program has allowed the House of Dreams Charity Raffle to
maintain its role as one of the most important charity fundraisers in the area.
We do not sell, rent or otherwise use your information except in connection
with the House of Dreams Charity Raffle. For more information, please see our
Privacy Policy.
Q: Is my credit
card number secure?
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A: Yes. All credit card and
personal information collected as part of the ticket purchase process are
maintained using secure methods including a secure website, secure bank
lock-box and secure telephone connections. You can view our website's online
security certificate during the checkout process or from the "Buy Tickets"
screen. You can also view our
Privacy Policy.
Q: How will I
know that my credit card payment went through?
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A: You will receive an email
confirmation within a few hours after your purchase has been successfully
processed and payment accepted. You will also receive a printed ticket receipt
via regular USPS mail in approximately ten (10) days. Please note - the charge
for your ticket purchase will show up on your credit card statement as
"Naperville Rotary Charities" or "House of Dreams" or something similar.
Q: Which credit
cards do you accept?
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A: We accept Visa, MasterCard,
Discover, and American Express. You can also send us a check with your ticket
request if you prefer. To mail in a ticket request, simply print out an order
form, complete and sign the form and send it in with your check to the address
noted. To phone in your ticket request, call us toll free at any time at the
phone number listed at the top of this website.
Q: What if I
want to pay cash?
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A: We do not recommend that you pay
for a raffle ticket using cash. Please do not send cash through the mail with
any ticket request, NRC is not responsible for lost or misdirected mail in
ticket requests.
Q: Do you send
unsolicited mail?
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A: The mailing and email address
you provide to us is only used to provide information on current and future
House of Dreams Charity Raffles. If at any time you wish to discontinue
receiving any information of this nature from us, please contact us with your
request and we will act to remove you from our mailing list and-or email list.
Also, we do not sell, rent or otherwise use your information except in
connection with the House of Dreams Charity Raffle. For more information,
please see our
Privacy Policy.
Q: Where is the
location of the Grand Prize Dream Home?
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A: The Grand Prize winner of the
Spring 2012 House of Dreams Charity Raffle can build their Dream Home anywhere
in the contiguous United States subject to the terms and conditions of the
Raffle rules. See
Official Rules for full details.
Q: How will I
know if I win a prize?
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A: Winners will be contacted via
phone or through the mail following each prize drawing. The contact information
provided with the ticket purchase will be utilized to contact winners. All
winners will also be available on the House of Dreams Charity Raffle website
after each drawing.
Q: Are the
certificates consecutively numbered?
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A: No. Certificate numbers are
randomly generated and assigned as ticket requests are processed. After a
ticket request has been successfully processed, the assigned certificate number
will be communicated directly over the phone for telephone orders or sent via
confirmation email for online orders. All persons that purchase a raffle ticket
will also receive a paper copy in the mail.
Q: How many
certificates will be sold?
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A: There is no cap on the number of
certificates that will be sold prior to the Spring 2012 House of Dreams Charity
Raffle final entry deadline of
June 06, 2012.
Q: Can my
raffle ticket be used as a tax deduction?
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A: 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 your entry does not qualify
as a deductible charitable contribution. Please consult with your own tax
advisor for any additional information. The IRS further requires corresponding
income tax withholding on prizes with values of $5,000 or greater be paid prior
to prize distribution.
Q: Can I "Gift"
my winnings to another person?
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A: Yes. There are no restrictions
on a winner's ability to share prizes after they have been awarded in the
Spring 2012 HOD Charity Raffle. Subject to the pertinent prize requirements,
you are free to donate, gift or otherwise distribute your prize to another
person or entity, including another charity. You can also typically roll your
winnings over for certificates in the next House of Dreams Charity Raffle, or
if you choose, donate your winnings to Naperville Rotary Charities for use to
support its charitable and humanitarian activities. Note, the winner of any
prize remains solely responsible for: (i) complying with all prize
requirements; (ii) providing NRC with all proper transfer documentation bearing
notarized signatures, as required by NRC, in connection with any requested
transfer of a prize; and (iii) any and all taxes, fees, assessments and like
charges associated with their prize. Please see
Official
Rules for more details.
