Charities quit lottery plans

Press, 11 July 1989, Page 4

Charities quit lottery plans

PA Auckland Two national charities have cancelled fund-raising raffles as a result of what they describe as public suspicion.

The Red Cross and Crippled Children Society scrapped lotteries in the wake of failed fund-rais-ing ventures run by promoters in the last year. The secretary-general of the Red Cross, Mr Jerry Talbot, said a lottery planned for June had been put off indefinitely because of publicity surrounding the fund-raising failures. Last month an Auckland fund-raising company, John Patrick Associates, which ran Supersport Lotteries, went into voluntary liquidation, while several weeks before a promoter allegedly absconded with money from an Auckland first-aid-kit venture. “There have obviously been a number of instances which would lead

us to believe that the public’s confidence in lotteries generally has been undermined,” Mr Talbot said. The Red Cross cancelled the lottery after consultation with its promotion company. The charity organisation had hoped to make $lOO,OOO from the venture, but Mr Talbot said there was no alternative to raise the money and any thoughts of expanding activities would have to be “put on hold.” The Crippled Children Society’s national executive officer, Laureen Outrim, said her organisation would miss out on $lBO,OOO. "We have had to cancel three lotteries scheduled for this year,” she said. “Our promoter said it is

not the right time to launch these. “People are definitely suspicious. Those of us who have checked the fine print have been damaged by the others who did not.” The charities’ problems have come as no surprise to the chairman of the Commonwealth Games fund-raising company, Mr Malcolm Beattie. He said his market research showed the big lotteries such as Supersport were being shunned by the public and charities alike, and his company would have nothing to do with promoters of big raffle schemes. “I think they are really finished in this country. I think it will take one heck of a lot to gain, or regain, people’s confidence.”