Here’s a question we received that had a really nice outcome for the nonprofit involved: Can a charitable organization accept a winning lottery ticket as a donation?
The short answer is yes. The amount of the prize involved would ultimately be considered a cash donation to the group. And a lottery prize can be claimed by an organization as opposed to a person.
Here is the background about the particular inquiry we received.
The philanthropy director from a shelter in western Iowa said that a woman came to their location and handed an employee a winning lottery ticket as a donation to the organization. The woman didn’t give her name and said she wanted it to just be a gift.
We congratulated the group on receiving a very fun and creative anonymous donation! We also let them know that businesses and other organizations can and do claim prizes from the Iowa Lottery.
In those cases, the name and tax ID number provided on the prize claim form are those of the organization involved. We do request the ID of the person presenting the winning ticket, but they sign the claim form on behalf of the organization.
About a week after our email exchange, the shelter claimed a $2,000 prize. That’s a great ending, and a really generous gesture by the anonymous donor who started it all!