Official Rules
DEMONSTRATION ONLY — no tickets are being sold and no payments are accepted. Sample organization, permit, prize, dates, and draw information. Sales stay disabled until the real City of Milford raffle permit, nonprofit, processor approval, and written agreements exist. These rules are a template. The binding, raffle-specific Official Rules are published, versioned, and frozen on each raffle's detail page before its first ticket is sold, and cannot be changed afterwards.
1. Sponsor, operator & merchant of record
Each raffle is sponsored, operated, and conducted by the nonprofit organization named on that raffle's detail page. The nonprofit holds the municipal raffle permit, is the merchant of record for all ticket payments, controls all raffle funds, and conducts the drawing. The Lovely Lemon charges no platform fee. Its technology and marketing services are donated. The Lovely Lemon is a donated technology and marketing partner only; it does not sell tickets, hold raffle funds, or run drawings.
2. Permit
Each raffle is conducted under a municipal raffle permit issued by the City of Milford, Connecticut. The permit class, permit number, and issue date appear on the raffle detail page. No tickets are offered or sold before that permit is issued, verified, and recorded in this application.
3. Eligibility
Tickets may be purchased only by individuals who are physically located in Connecticut and are 18 or older at the time of purchase. A ticket purchase is required to enter. Void where prohibited. Officers, directors, employees, and volunteers of the nonprofit operator and of The Lovely Lemon, and members of their households, are not eligible to win. A ticket purchase is required to enter this raffle; there is no free method of entry.
4. Tickets, batch releases, limits & odds
A maximum number of tickets, stated on each raffle detail page, may be sold for that raffle at the posted price per ticket. An initial release of tickets is made available when sales open. The nonprofit sponsor may release additional tickets in one or more batches, up to the stated maximum, only as authorized under the applicable municipal raffle permit. No more than the stated maximum number of eligible tickets will be included in the drawing. Ticket sales close at the posted date and time, or when the maximum authorized number of tickets has been sold, whichever occurs first. One ticket represents one eligible entry. Final odds depend on the total number of eligible tickets sold; if every authorized ticket is sold, the odds of winning the grand prize with one ticket equal one divided by that maximum, and if fewer tickets are sold the odds are correspondingly better. The purpose of each raffle is to maximize support for the nonprofit sponsor and the specific charitable purpose identified in the municipal raffle permit: after payment of lawful, reasonable, and documented raffle expenses, all net proceeds are used for that purpose. Ticket prices, per-order and per-customer limits are set on each raffle and locked before the draw. All amounts are calculated server-side. Every paid ticket is matched to a numbered physical ticket stub issued by the nonprofit. Tickets are non-refundable except where required by law or if the raffle is cancelled.
5. Drawing procedure
No drawing is conducted online. Every paid ticket is matched to a numbered physical ticket stub. The physical stubs are the entries placed in the drawing container; the digital roster and its SHA-256 hash are a supplementary audit record, not a replacement for stubs. After sales close, the numbered stubs are placed in the drawing container and the winner is drawn in person by the nonprofit operator in the presence of a named witness at the date, time, and location disclosed on the raffle detail page. Results are recorded with evidence and independently approved by an auditor before publication. Need-not-be-present-to-win.
6. Winner notification, claim & taxes
The winner is contacted using the details on the winning order. Before a prize is released, the winner must present government-issued identification, sign an affidavit of eligibility and release, and complete an IRS Form W-9. Before a prize is released, the winner must provide government-issued ID and a completed IRS Form W-9. Where the prize value meets federal reporting thresholds, the nonprofit will issue IRS Form W-2G or Form 1099 and may be required to collect withholding from the winner. Prizes are awarded as described; no cash substitution unless the nonprofit states otherwise. Unclaimed prizes are handled in accordance with the permit terms.
7. Prizes & use of proceeds
Prizes are graded collectible sports cards as described on each raffle. Ticket revenue first pays prize costs and payment-processing fees. 100% of the remaining net proceeds go to the nonprofit. Actual amounts are published after every drawing — no fixed percentage of gross sales is promised. Ticket purchases are not tax-deductible charitable contributions. The nonprofit publishes gross sales, prize costs, processing fees, and net proceeds after each drawing.
8. Payment processing
Ticket sales stay disabled until the nonprofit has written approval from its payment processor to accept raffle payments. All payments are captured by the nonprofit's own processor account on a hosted checkout page; card details never touch this site.
9. Immutability & changes
The raffle-specific Official Rules are frozen at the version shown on each raffle when its first ticket is sold and cannot be modified afterwards. Material terms — price, ticket counts, prizes, dates, drawing location, and use of proceeds — are locked by the database once a paid order exists. A raffle may only be cancelled as permitted by law and the permit, in which case all paid tickets are refunded.
10. The Lovely Lemon LLC
The Lovely Lemon LLC is a Connecticut for-profit social-impact business. It is not a tax-exempt charitable organization. The Lovely Lemon supports community organizations through commercial co-ventures, disclosed donations, sponsorships, products, events, and approved service partnerships. The Lovely Lemon LLC is not the raffle sponsor, permit holder, or owner of raffle proceeds. Any description of The Lovely Lemon as technology provider, event producer, or prize donor should match the real written agreement between The Lovely Lemon LLC and the nonprofit.
11. Charitable sales promotions
During active charitable sales promotions, The Lovely Lemon LLC donates 30% of gross qualifying sales of the identified products or services — excluding sales tax, refunds, raffle tickets, and delivery charges — to the named nonprofit. Each promotion is governed by a written agreement between The Lovely Lemon LLC and the nonprofit, and its start date, end date, qualifying products, and recipient are published here while the promotion runs. These promotions are separate from raffle ticket sales; raffle net proceeds are governed by Section 7 and are not a percentage of gross sales.
For the complete, raffle-specific official rules — including permit class, permit number, and drawing details — view the detail page of the raffle you wish to enter.