Sign up as a good cause on the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery website.
We're creating a community lottery that will put money towards good causes and community funding.
The North West Leicestershire Community Lottery will launch in summer 2024. Operating like any other lottery, customers will be able to buy tickets and be in with a chance of winning cash prizes.
The difference with this lottery is that customers will be able to select a good cause to support when they buy their lottery ticket.
From each £1 ticket, 60p will be given to a local ‘good causes’ – split between a local voluntary or community group for their projects and initiatives (40p), and NWLDC for a community grants programme (20p).
Similar schemes are run in around 140 councils nationwide, including several in Leicestershire, with the aim of helping good causes raise money within their local community.
We're currently in the process of setting up our community lottery, getting the appropriate licenses from the Gambling Commission and encouraging community organisations to sign up to the scheme.
Join the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery as a good cause
Charities, voluntary groups and non-for-profit organisations can now join the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery.
There is no application fee to join the lottery as a good cause and 40p of each £1 ticket sale from North West Leicestershire Community Lotterywill go towards charities, voluntary organisations and other not-for-profit groups, with the remainder being put towards an NWLDC community fund, prizes, operating costs and VAT.
Follow the link to the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery website.
Good cause session recording
If you're a good cause in North West Leicestershire but missed the presentation, you can re-watch it below:
Frequently asked questions
Can we use the funds raised as match funding?
Yes absolutely, you are also able to download a report that can be shared with funders on the funds you have raised via the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery.
How will the central fund (20p) be distributed?
As agreed by Cabinet, the initial funds received by the Council from the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery will be used to cover the initial project set up costs incurred. These include website development, licences, the launch, marketing and promotions. Once these costs have been recovered, any further funds generated will be ring fenced and will be reinvested back into the voluntary and community sector. How these funds will be allocated and/or distributed it yet to be determined.
If businesses want to contribute a large amount (say £250) and you want them to pay for tickets, can this be done?
Yes, would consider going down the syndicate route. Any issues or questions the support team can help.
What is the criteria for applying?
Please see the terms and conditions good cause page here.
Are the ticket sales limited to people in the UK?
Yes
Is there a minimum time commitment to sign up by or a notice period required if you wanted to leave as a Good Cause?
You can join at any point, there is no length of time you have to stay on the website and no notice period to leave either.
Who recruits the players / supporters?
The district council will be promoting the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery scheme as a whole but it is up to you as a 'good cause' to encourage players/supporters.
Can you pick more than one good cause to support?
Yes but they would need to re-register as another supporter so that the additional good cause take their percentage of a separate £1 ticket. Gatherwell Ltd are looking into how this can be made easier for supporters to support more good causes and will notify groups of any changes.
Is there ever an instance where a group has received no support and have sold no tickets?
Where ticket sales are low, it is down to the organisation to encourage supporters. However there is a project manager from Gatherwell that can help. Tips from good causes can be shared. The District Council also can support the organisations in ways to encourage more ticket sales.
Can schools apply or do they need to use school lottery only?
No, schools cannot apply but PTAs of schools/academics can. Please see the criteria here.
What if you are an organisation outside of the district but support North West Leicestershire residents?
Any funding raised via the NWL Community Lottery needs to benefit local residents only.
Can you link from your website or promotional material so it goes automatically to our own Good Cause page and not to the wider list?
Yes through the material and the links you will receive for your page you can direct people/supporters directly to you page to purchase a ticket.
What additional information is required in order to be approved as a good cause?
Your organisation will need to provide: a constitution or formal set of rules appropriate to the legal status of the organisation, an equalities policy or statement in place, a bank account in the name of the organisation, if working with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults then we will need a copy of a safeguarding policy. All information can be submitted to grants@nwleicestershire.gov.uk.
Can good causes use the money raised through the NWL Community Lottery as match funding?
Yes absolutely, good causes are also able to download a report that can be shared with supporters that summarises the money raised.
How will the central fund (20p) be distributed?
As agreed by Cabinet, the initial funds received by the Council from the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery will be used to cover the project set up costs. These include website development, licences, the launch and marketing. Once these costs have been recovered, any further funds generated will be ring fenced and will be reinvested back into the voluntary and community sector. How these funds will be allocated and/or distributed it yet to be determined.
If businesses or other sponsors want to contribute a large amount (say £250) through the lottery, what is the best way for them to do this?
In this scenario, they could consider setting up as syndicate. A guide to doing this is here
What are the criteria for applying?
Please see the terms and conditions on the good cause page.
Are the ticket sales limited to people in the UK?
NWL Community Lottery is open to anyone over 18 and any resident in Great Britain (not UK).
Is there a deadline for signing up or a notice period required if an organisation wanted to leave as a good cause?
Organisations can join at any point, there is no minimum length of time they must stay as part of the lottery and no notice period to leave either.
Who recruits the players / supporters?
The district council will be promoting the North West Leicestershire Community Lottery scheme as a whole, but it is up to 'good causes' to encourage players/supporters to sign up
Can players pick more than one good cause to support?
Yes, but they would need to register again as a supporter for the additional good cause(s) and purchase tickets for those good causes. It is not currently possible to split the proceeds of a single ticket between multiple good causes. Gatherwell Ltd are looking into how it can be made easier for players to support more good causes and will in turn notify groups and supporters of any changes as and when they are implemented.
Has there ever been an instance where a group has received no support and have sold no tickets initially and if so, how is this resolved?
Yes, there have been instances where groups have signed up to the lottery and have not recruited any supporters but this is rare.
Good causes have access to marketing material created by Gatherwell, it is worth accessing that. The district council could look into other good causes and provide some examples of how they have promoted themselves to share best practices.
Can schools apply or do they need to use school lottery only?
No, schools cannot apply but PTAs of schools/academics can. Please see the criteria here.
What if an organisation is based outside of the district but supports North West Leicestershire residents? Can they still join the lottery as a good cause?
Any funding raised via the lottery needs to benefit local residents and we will ask for details about how any funds raised will be ringfenced for use in the district only. Providing that assurance is given, groups based outside of NWL will be able to join.
Will good causes be provided with links via the website or promotional material that take players directly to the good cause page and not to the wider list of good causes?
Yes, through the material and the links good causes will receive for their pages, they can direct people/supporters straight to their page to purchase a ticket.
What additional information is required in order to be approved as a good cause?
Organisations will need to provide: a constitution or formal set of rules appropriate to the legal status of the organisation, an equalities policy or statement, a bank account in the name of the organisation and if working with children, young people and/or vulnerable adults then they will need to provide a copy of a safeguarding policy. All information can be submitted to grants@nwleicestershire.gov.uk.
Additional questions
How can people support a good cause if they do not have the internet?
People can support a Good Cause via the NWL Community Lottery by calling the support number 01530 652653 who will take their details over the phone.
If you don't have an email address, Gatherwell will create an account with the prefix "support+" and the domain name "@www.nwlcommunitylottery.co.uk". So, for example, if you phoned in to buy tickets but didn't have an email address, Gatherwell create an account with the address support+smith@www.nwlcommunitylottery.co.uk
You would then receive confirmation of your purchase in the post, along with the direct debit guarantee. If you win anything, the prize email will come to Gatherwell support inbox and Gatherwell can contact you by phone.
How does a good cause increase their target funding?
The figure on the good cause page is the target for the year. Once good causes start selling tickets, the amount will increase to indicate a projected amount for the year.
Good Causes can increase the target at any time and there is no limit. To increase a Good Cause target:
- Log into the site and click on 'Administer this lottery' or 'Your Account' then 'Dashboard' to go to the Dashboard.
- Once in the Dashboard, click 'Edit page' by your organisation's name
- Then click on 'Cause details'
- Once you have made your changes, we will then approve them within 1-2 days.
Whats the minimum number of tickets that can be purchased?
The minimum number is 5 tickets to be entered into 5 draws for £5.
Where does the £25,000 jackpot come from?
The jackpot draw is done weekly. Various prizes which can be won: https://www.nwlcommunitylottery.co.uk/home/howitworks
Gatherwell Ltd pays out the prizes won regardless of how much the lottery has made. So, if there are three jackpot winners in the same week this is covered by Gatherwell not the District Council.
The North West Leicestershire Community Lottery will not do rollovers if there is no jackpot winner that week.
Are the tickets physical or electronic?
Tickets are normally purchased online by debit card or direct debit and are electronic
Anyone who does not or cannot use the internet, can purchase tickets over the phone by direct debit only; the number is 01530 652653. You would then receive confirmation of your purchase in the post, along with the direct debit guarantee. If you win anything, the prize email will come to Gatherwell support inbox and Gatherwell can contact you by phone.
There is also a syndicate option if you have supporters who do not want to use these methods. https://www.nwlcommunitylottery.co.uk/syndicates.
How are the payments for the 40% ticket share made to the Good Causes?
The 40% from ticket sales is processed and paid into the good causes’ bank accounts every month, usually from the first Monday of the month, once payments have been approved by the operator (NWLDC). If any supporters win a cash prize and choose to donate this to a good cause, this payment will be made roughly 10 working days after their request is received.
Who can purchase a ticket for the NWL Community Lottery?
As good causes you really want to encourage your known supporters but also anyone else that might engage with or love what you are going in the community to support your organisation through the lottery.
But it should be noted that the NWL Community Lottery is open to anyone over 18 and any resident in Great Britain (not UK) so they are eligible for all prizes.
When do tickets need to be purchased in order to be entered into the prize draws?
Anyone who wishes to support a cause and have the potential to win a prize or the jackpot, needs to purchase a ticket by midnight on a Friday. The draw will happen at 8pm on Saturday evenings.
Last updated: Wed 4 September, 2024 @ 16:26