Jen:  This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook.  I’m Jen Lemanski, this week’s guest host, and back again with Nicole Riley, one of our Audit Senior Managers on our Not For Profit team.  Welcome back to the Playbook Nicole.

Nicole:  Thanks, glad to be here.

Jen:  Now I’m on the boards of several not for profits and we tend to do raffles as a way to raise money for our foundation, what have you.

Nicole:  As many do.

Jen:  What do we need to know about raffles?  I’ve heard you give some advice about that.

Nicole:  Well the misconception is that raffles are easy and they’re no big deal.  What a lot of people don’t realize is that actually falls under state gaming regulations which are pretty strict.  So it’s really important that an organization know the state rules and regulations before do raffles.  Sometimes you have to have a license, sometimes there’s a limit to how many times a year you can actually have a raffle and then other jurisdictions actually regulate what’s printed on the raffle ticket itself.  So there’s some very specific rules that you do need to follow to make sure you’re compliant.

Jen:  So just going down to Costco and buying those Keep This Coupon 2 ticket things, it’s a little more complicated than that.

Nicole:  It really is and the violations can be really steep, including jail and fines.  So it’s important to consult an attorney and also the Attorney General’s website.  Especially if you’re in Texas; the Texas Attorney General has some frequently asked questions that you can look into before you go down that road.

Jen:  So really doing your research, making sure that you’ve got an attorney consulted, making sure you’ve got a CPA consulted and then reaching out to the Attorney General’s office to make sure you’ve got everything the way it needs to be is what you would say?

Nicole:  It’s important to have your ducks in a row before you open an organization to liability.

Jen:  That sounds great.  Will you please come back and share some more with us in a future episode?

Nicole:  Absolutely.

Jen:  To learn more about how we can help your nonprofit visit PKFTexas.com/notforprofit.  This has been anther Thought Leader production brought to you by PKF Texas The Entrepreneur’s Playbook.