The 50/50 Hospital Lottery for Guelph General Hospital sold $74,390 in tickets to its first-ever monthly draw
August 14, 2020 – The first ever 50/50 Hospital Lottery for Guelph General Hospital monthly draw took place on July 31st at 11am. The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital awarded the winner with a cheque for $37,195 this week.
“It was a bit of a leap of faith to guarantee a minimum prize of $9,999 and trust that our community would want to support the hospital in this new way,” said Elizabeth Stewart, a staff member of the Foundation. “We really couldn’t be more pleased with the community support that we received in the first month of our lottery, as well as the high volume of positive feedback. People are really excited that we’re offering a fundraising lottery.”
The 50/50 Hospital Lottery will offer monthly draws with proceeds directly funding equipment essential in the delivery of the highest quality patient care at Guelph General Hospital.
Managed electronically, each monthly draw will start with a guaranteed prize of $9,999. The jackpot will start to increase as soon as gross sales hit $19,998.
August ticket sales have already exceeded $25,000 and the jackpot will continue to grow until 9pm August 30th when ticket sales close. The winner will be drawn at 11am on August 31st and will win half of gross ticket sales.
The Foundation attributes much of their early success to their promotional partners for helping to spread the word. Promotional partners include traditional media including 1460 CJOY and Magic 106.1, Guelph Mercury Tribune, GuelphToday.com, and Snapd Guelph. For the months of July and August, the Foundation has also partnered with the Guelph Storm Hockey Club who is helping to promote the lottery to their email subscribers and social media following.
Matt Newby, Vice President, Business Operations of the Guelph Storm remarked, “The Guelph Storm Hockey Club is so proud to have the opportunity to partner with Guelph General Hospital and their 50/50 Hospital Lottery. As we head into our 30th season in Guelph, we have always been honoured to help local organizations and today as our region comes together to respond to COVID-19, community caring has never been more important to us.”
“We track ticket sales closely against our promotional efforts and we saw a huge lift in ticket sales on the three occasions that the Storm sent an email to all their fans, so we’re as equally thankful to all the Storm fans for their enthusiasm in supporting the 50/50 Hospital Lottery,” said Sarah Zinger, lead Foundation staff for 50/50 Hospital Lottery.
For the month of August, the Guelph Storm has also offered an early-bird prize including a suite for a Guelph Storm game for up to 16 people plus $200 for food and non-alcoholic beverage, a prize valued at $1,200 plus HST. All tickets purchased at or before 11:59pm this upcoming Monday August 17, will be entered into the early bird prize draw in addition to the main jackpot at the end of the month.
The Foundation is seeking promotional partners for subsequent months who can offer early-bird prizes and help promote the event through their customer and staff email lists. Local businesses and organizations that are interested in this opportunity should contact Elizabeth Stewart by email [email protected]. The Foundation is also seeking a presenting sponsor to partner with.
At this time due to COVID-19, tickets can only be purchased online at www.ggh5050.ca. The lottery is licensed through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, lottery license #12011.
For more information:
Elizabeth Stewart, Manager, Annual Giving, Marketing & Communications
The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital; 519-837-6440 x2296
