Church Raffle of House in California
In the Penal Code Section 320.5 it states that at least 90 % of the gross receipts generated from the sale of raffle tickets are to be used by the eligible organization conducting the raffle to benefit or provide support for beneficial or charitable purposes....... We are a church and are not required to register or to report as stated in this code. My question is - Can any of that money along with the 10% be used to actually purchase the house for the raffle?
Re: Church Raffle of House in California
You're already wrong in some stated assumptions. If you are trying to hold a raffle [a highly regulated activity] for high value items like a house, you'd better immediately obtain expert legal counsel on the rules and requirements of what you're doing. The church and leaders face civil and criminal penalties for violating the laws. Any answer you may get here does NOT constitute legal advice on which you can rely, and no one here should be giving specific advice like you seek, only general guidance towards a source of help; you are not in an Attorney/Client relationship. Contact the local Bar Association or Lawyers Referral Service for names of attorneys that can help you, if you can't find someone by asking other churches or charitable organizations in your area that may have done similar raffles.
