Am I A Jerk For Keeping A 50/50 Raffle Winnings?

If you win a 50/50 raffle at an event are you supposed to donate the winnings back to the organization?

If you've ever gone to a fundraiser the odds say that at one time or another, you've been approached to purchase a 50/50 raffle ticket. 50/50 raffles are one of the most common raffles that organizations do at their events and are simple to play.

How a 50/50 Raffle Works

At most events, there will be a few folks who walk around selling numbered tickets (usually blue or red) telling everyone they have a chance to win some cash. 50/50 raffles work just like they sound, you buy a ticket for a specific price and once all the tickets are sold they will add up all the money collected. Half of the cash collected goes to the organization and the other half is what you can win when they hold the drawing.

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Do You Buy 50/50 Tickets?

I'm a sucker for raffles like this especially after I had the winning ticket at an event two years ago and walked away with two hundred bucks. The win was great but after I was "called out" for not donating the winnings back to the organization. You can read more about that here and wouldn't you know it, lighting can strike twice, and now I'm dealing with a similar situation.

Marist College 50/50

Over the weekend my son Jackson and I went to the Marist men's basketball team's final regular season home game and as we entered the stadium a bunch of students were selling 50/50 tickets so when they asked us we bought $20 worth and made our way to our seats. Fast forward to the second half during a timeout they announced the jackpot was $426 and gave out the winning numbers and you guessed it, I had the winning ticket, AGAIN!....LOL!

When they announced, they said the winner needed to go to the announcer's table to claim their winnings. So my son and I made our way over to collect and when we got to the table and showed them the winning ticket they checked it and handed us the envelope with the cash in it. As we walked away I noticed a few "sideways looks" from a few people and felt they were judging me for not donating the money back to the college.

Am I a jerk for not donating the winnings back to the organization? How would you handle a situation like this? Let us know through our station app above.