Charity Hopes to Benefit in Slow Market by Raffling a Historic Home

At least one charity is trying a creative way to reap fund-raising benefits from the depressed housing

market and slowing economy.

San Mar Children’s Home — a Boonesboro, Md., charity that provides housing, education, and foster care for troubled children — was approached last year by a real-estate agent representing a couple who have been unable to sell a historic, renovated four-bedroom farmhouse on 3.2 acres because of the troubled real-estate market. The house has been appraised at $390,000.

The agent proposed that the charity raffle the house, return some of the proceeds to the couple, and keep the rest of the money.

The real-estate agent has donated her time and any fees she might otherwise have earned from selling the house.

Each raffle ticket costs $100, and the charity hopes to sell at least 5,000 tickets, but no more than 7,000 tickets. That helps make the odds attractive to ticket buyers and would raise a minimum of $500,000, enough to reimburse the homeowners and net about $100,000 for the charity after expenses, which include advertising and covering the cost of four other lesser prizes, such as furniture, which were donated or obtained at reduced cost.

The children’s home has sold more than 1,100 tickets to buyers as far away as Japan and Italy. The charity intends to hold the raffle in March, but it has chosen a back-up date in May if it needs time to sell more tickets. If the minimum number of tickets is not sold, an agreement between the charity and the donors stipulates that the house will be returned to the couple, and those who bought tickets will receive a full refund.

Officials at San Mar say they are pleased with the raffle’s progress, and they may try similar raffles elsewhere.

“We’ve had calls from three other homeowners who’d like to do the same thing in other states,” says Dan Day, San Mar’s director of development. “If this one works, we will try to do it again. We’d entertain doing this once a year.”