Legal issue snags Holiday outreach plan - WISH TV 8

HOPE, Ind. (AP) - A program designed to help struggling families during Christmas won't be able to provide gifts for needy children this year after organizers ran afoul of the state's charity raffle laws.

Reserve police officers in Hope, about 40 miles southeast of Indianapolis, recently tried to raffle a shotgun as a fundraiser for Christmas outreach efforts. The proceeds would have helped officers take underprivileged children shopping and provide holiday food baskets for struggling families.

But the raffle was canceled after members of the Hope Town Council questioned whether the event was legal, The Republic reported (http://bit.ly/uzcwph ).

Indiana law requires organizations hosting a charity raffle to register as a tax-exempt charity and be licensed by the Indiana Gaming Commission, said Larry DeLaney of the gaming panel.

Greg Potts, a senior reserve officer for Hope police who oversees the group's fundraising efforts, said he hadn't been aware of the requirements when the tickets were sold. The officers had done the holiday outreach for at least seven years. Last year, they took about 10 children shopping for Christmas gifts, spending $30 to $40 on each of them.

Potts said there isn't enough time between now and Christmas to complete the process to conduct the raffle legally.

All ticket buyers were refunded their money, he said.

Potts said he expects the reserve officers to get the necessary approvals before next year so they can resume the holiday raffle.

He said there was no issue with the raffle prize being a shotgun.

"We could have been raffling off potholders; it's just the fact that Indiana state statute says you have to have a license, and we didn't have that," he said.

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Information from: The Republic, http://www.therepublic.com/

Source: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/south_central/holiday-outreach-canceled-over-raffles-legality

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