TERMS & CONDITIONS

Thank you for supporting the St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) Safe & Secure Raffle.  Your purchase of one or more ticket(s) signifies your full and unconditional agreement to the following Terms & Conditions. In the event of any dispute, a reasonable interpretation or determination by STA regarding the application of these Terms & Conditions is final and binding in all matters related to the Raffle.

Eligibility

• Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all eligibility requirements set forth herein through the raffle drawing. STA reserves the right to verify the eligibility of winners.

• To be eligible to purchase a ticket and win any prize, you must be at least 18 years old or the age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence, whichever is older as of the date of entry, and a living resident of the United States. 

• Parish staff members, clergy, and their immediate family members are not eligible to purchase a raffle ticket. “Immediate family members” includes the spouses, parents of either spouse, siblings of either spouse, and children.  STA school staff may participate in the raffle.

• A ticket purchased by an ineligible person is void and cannot be a winning ticket. No refunds will be made to ineligible purchasers, except at Pastor’s sole and absolute discretion.

• Non-Arizona residents may participate, however sales of raffle tickets are restricted to within the State of Arizona.  

Tickets

• Tickets may be purchased for $350 each.  Raffle participants may purchase 4 tickets in a single purchase and get a 5th ticket free.  4 separate ticket purchases do not earn a 5th ticket.

• There is no limit to the number of tickets an individual may purchase.

• A ticket represents one chance to win one of the stated prizes. All sales of tickets are final, and no refunds will be paid.  

• Tickets, prizes, receipts, and any winner’s rights are not transferable.

• STA reserves the right to reject any ticket purchased with payment that does not constitute “good funds.” A ticket issued in exchange for a check returned for “insufficient funds,” or for a credit card charge that was declined, invalid, stolen or unauthorized is void and cannot be a winning ticket.

• The IRS has determined that the purchase of a raffle ticket from a charitable organization is not tax deductible.

• All ticket purchases must be made by the indicated deadline. 

The Drawing

A minimum of 1,000 tickets must be sold or the drawing will be postponed until the minimum is met.  If the minimum is not met by August 31st, 2026, the raffle will be cancelled, and ticket sales will be returned.  In the event of cancellation, refunds will only be given to those who turn in a valid ticket.

Requests for refunds in the event that the minimum number of sold tickets is not met must be made in person with the actual ticket being returned within 60 days of the official notification that the raffle did not meet the minimum amount of sold tickets.  Any requests for refunds after the 60-day period after cancellation of the raffle will not be honored.

Refunds will be made only in the form of payment in which they were purchased to the person named on the ticket.  All tickets are subject to verification for authenticity.  Refunds will be processed within 30 days of the return of the ticket.

The winning ticket for each prize will be selected by a random drawing on the date of the raffle drawing. The date of the raffle drawing is subject to all laws, regulations and Acts of God that would render the drawing illegal, unreasonable or impractical. STA will select the name of potential winners of the prizes in a random drawing from all eligible raffle tickets. All tickets have an equal chance to win. Ticket purchasers need not be present to win.

Winners

• The odds of winning any prize are based on the number of tickets sold.  A winning ticket for any given prize is returned to the pool of tickets and is eligible to win another prize, including the grand prizes.

• Each prize will be awarded to only one (1) winner.

• STA will notify each winner by calling the telephone number provided by the ticket purchaser.

• Attempts to contact prize winners will be made for up to 14 days.  If a winner cannot be contacted after 14 days, the prize is forfeited and no substitute or alternative prize will be provided.

• Winners have up to 30 days from the date of being contacted to claim their prize.  Each winner must accept the prize by signing a Winner Notification Agreement (WNA).  The WNA may be signed at the parish registration desk when claiming the prize.  If 30 days elapse from the date a winner is notified without claiming their prize, the prize is forfeited and no substitute or alternative prize will be provided.

• If a prize includes travel and the winner (or his/her companion) are unavailable to travel within any time period specified by STA, the prize is forfeited and no substitute or alternative prize will be provided.

• Prizes forfeited for any of the three reasons above, will be awarded to an alternate winner selected by subsequent random drawing.  The alternate drawing will be conducted no later than 60 days from the Grand Prize Drawing date.  In the event an alternate drawing becomes necessary, the details of the drawing date/time will be posted on the parish’s raffle website.

• The winner of each prize shall have no rights in or to the prize itself until the winner has been verified as eligible by STA, has timely executed the WNA and returned it to STA, and until delivery of the prize to the winner has been completed. Until that time, as between STA and the winner, each prize remains the sole property of STA.

• In the event of a lost ticket by a winner, providing a valid driver’s license which matches the information available to the parish when the ticket was purchased, will be deemed sufficient.

• Verification of Potential Winners: ALL POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY STA, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE RAFFLE. AN ENTRANT IS NOT A WINNER OF ANY PRIZE UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANT’S ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND ENTRANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE.

Taxes/Prize Restrictions

• Any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes and all fees and expenses related to acceptance and use of prize not specifically stated herein, including but not limited to, financing charges, change of air travel fees, ground transportation, automobile insurance, meals, incidentals, passenger tariffs or duties, surcharges, service charges or facility charges, personal charges at lodging, security fees and/or other expenses, are the responsibility solely of winner. 

• Prize cannot be substituted, assigned, or transferred.  Only the prizes stated in these Terms and Conditions are available to be won in the Raffle.

• The value of each prize is includible in the winner’s gross income and may be subject to reporting by STA to the Internal Revenue Service. 

• Each winner is solely responsible for payment of all federal, state, and/or local income, sales, or use taxes due on account of his or her acceptance of the prize.  If the prize is a car, the winner assumes all fees, local, state and federal taxes (including but not limited to income taxes based on the value of the car).  At the winner’s discretion, they may opt to take a “cash equivalent” for the car rather than accept the car.    The cash equivalent is equal to the purchase price STA paid for the car.

• With respect to any prize with a value of more than $5,000 (less the cost of the ticket), the Internal Revenue Service requires STA to withhold federal income tax at the rate of 25%  and the winner must pay the amount of tax to be withheld to STA as a condition of accepting the prize. For cash prizes, tax will be withheld from the prize money.  For the car, the winner must pay applicable IRS withholding tax as a condition of accepting the car.  

• STA takes no responsibility for any tax liabilities. Winners should consult a tax professional.

Release and Limitation of Liability

Each winner hereby releases and holds STA harmless with respect to any claims related to the Raffle. A raffle entrant’s sole and exclusive remedy for any breach of duty or conduct related to the Raffle shall be limited to the return of the purchase price paid for his or her raffle tickets. In no event shall STA be liable to any person for any loss or injuries to earnings, profits or goodwill, or for any incidental, special, punitive or, consequential, or other damages of any person or entity whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, arising out of the Raffle, use or ownership of the prizes.

General Conditions

If, for any reason, the Raffle is subjected to infection by computer virus or bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or suspected fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which call into question the fairness or legality of this Raffle, STA may, in its sole discretion, void any suspect entries and (a) cancel or terminate the Raffle (or any portion thereof); (b) modify the Raffle or suspend the Raffle and then resume the Raffle in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Terms and Conditions; and/or (c) award the prize from among the eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of impairment, and all eligible entries received.