# I won the greatest raffle prize I could ever want! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181 "2014-09-11T14:12:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/1 "2014-09-11T14:12:55Z")
I put in about 80 bucks in raffle tickets for it over the span of a month (the money went to the United Way anyway) They also did raffles Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday. So I went to check in on how many tickets were in there and a girl was in front of me, she spend 100 bucks on tickets and put each and every one of them in the bag. My hopes were dashed. I tried so hard, I strategized, I thought I would win, and she’s going to ruin it. It’s today. The closing ceremony to our company-wide campaign where they are announcing the raffles. They get to my prize and they call… …my name!!! What did I put in for? What did I win? 2 tickets to the Carolina Panthers AT my Green Bay Packers in Lambeu Field. Tickets AND airfare included!!! This is going to be so much fun, and even better, I get to take my girlfriend who is having a hard time at a new job, and it will be such a fun mini vacation/weekend for us :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/2 "2014-09-11T14:29:31Z")
will you take a cheesehead photo in front of the stadium? ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/3 "2014-09-11T15:14:07Z")
Congrats on the win! That’ll be an awesome trip! A bit of an aside regarding the United Way of America, the following is taken directly from their [consolidated financial statement for 2013](https://secure.unitedway.org/page/-/Financial/United_Way_Worldwide_Consolidated_Financials_2013_FINAL.pdf): **Expenses** Investor Relations 6,551,805 Learning, Conferencing and Talent Management 4,475,568 Brand Strategy and Marketing 6,928,662 Campaign and Public Relations 5,738,962 Promotional Material Sales 579,459 General and administrative 5,790,531 Fundraising 2,391,695 I know they raise billions of dollars, but I wonder about the efficiency. /hijack ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/4 "2014-09-11T15:21:16Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > Congrats on the win! That’ll be an awesome trip! > A bit of an aside regarding the United Way of America, the following is taken directly from their [consolidated financial statement for 2013](https://secure.unitedway.org/page/-/Financial/United_Way_Worldwide_Consolidated_Financials_2013_FINAL.pdf): > > **Expenses** > Investor Relations 6,551,805 > Learning, Conferencing and Talent Management 4,475,568 > Brand Strategy and Marketing 6,928,662 > Campaign and Public Relations 5,738,962 > Promotional Material Sales 579,459 > General and administrative 5,790,531 > Fundraising 2,391,695 > I know they raise billions of dollars, but I wonder about the efficiency. > > /hijack If they actually raise billions of dollars, and they only spend the $30 million or so you’ve listed above as expenses, they have to be one of the most efficient charities of all time, no? That’s like a 3% expense ratio, even if “billions” is only a single billion. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/5 "2014-09-11T15:42:08Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > will you take a cheesehead photo in front of the stadium? I do have a cheesehead now that I think of it. I need to make sure I remember to pack it! I’ll make sure someone takes a picture of us in front of the Vince statue ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/6 "2014-09-11T16:02:53Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > If they actually raise billions of dollars, and they only spend the $30 million or so you’ve listed above as expenses, they have to be one of the most efficient charities of all time, no? That’s like a 3% expense ratio, even if “billions” is only a single billion. That would be awesome if that was the case! I only chose the more weirdly-titled expenses ($6.7 mil for “Investor relations” and $5.7 mil for “Public relations”?), their actual total expenses are $89.9 mil, and the percentage spent on expenses is [approximately 17%](http://charity.lovetoknow.com/Where_Does_My_United_Way_Money_Go) I hereby cease my contributions to this hijack! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/7 "2014-09-11T16:08:04Z")
I enter a raffle every year. Haven’t won yet. If I do, there’ll be no talking to me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/8 "2014-09-11T17:49:29Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > If they actually raise billions of dollars, and they only spend the $30 million or so you’ve listed above as expenses, they have to be one of the most efficient charities of all time, no? That’s like a 3% expense ratio, even if “billions” is only a single billion. As I understand how United Way works, they don’t actually do any charitable work themselves. Instead they hand out the money to local or national organizations. So it’s a little weird to talk about an expense ratio for them. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/9 "2014-09-11T18:10:45Z")
Damn, that’s cool. Congrats. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/10 "2014-09-11T18:13:55Z")
I’ll be at the Bears-Packers game at Lambeau on 11/9. Maybe you should leave a secret Doper sign somewhere for me to find. I’ll look under all of the beer. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/11 "2014-09-11T18:43:51Z")
Congrats! I hope you both have a BLAST! ---
**Author:** ![Maeganspop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Maeganspop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeganspop)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/12 "2014-09-11T19:06:42Z")
Yes, United way gives their money to other local charitable organizations. They spread the wealth as it were. My wife works for Boys and Girls Club of America. They get a tremendous amount of funding from United Way. I don’t know about everyone’s local UW, but ours is terrific. Also, have to work the Dachsund race soon, Damn! ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/13 "2014-09-11T19:34:22Z")
My work has a rolling 50-50 draw where if your name is picked you draw from a deck of cards and if you get an ace you win the pot, if not the pot continues to grow next week. We went through a great many weeks where nobody got the pot. It was up to just over 30 grand when it was finally won. They had to change the rules after that as over a certain amount you need a special license. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/14 "2014-09-11T20:22:07Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I’ll be at the Bears-Packers game at Lambeau on 11/9. Maybe you should leave a secret Doper sign somewhere for me to find. I’ll look under all of the beer. ^^ Interesting username/post combo there. ---
**Author:** ![Tremblay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tremblay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremblay)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/15 "2014-09-12T01:22:14Z")
Awesome!!! Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/16 "2014-09-12T02:36:12Z")
Have fun! There’s something oddly pleasing about winning a lucky draw. It makes you feel … lucky. I won a Nike sports bag in a raffle once. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/17 "2014-09-12T02:49:47Z")
Congrats! I need to get up to Green Bay one day - I have a line on tickets if I’m in town. I won a raffle once, in elementary school. Grand prize was a bike - screw that. I won a 5lb bar of chocolate! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/18 "2014-09-12T11:48:57Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > If they actually raise billions of dollars, and they only spend the $30 million or so you’ve listed above as expenses, they have to be one of the most efficient charities of all time, no? That’s like a 3% expense ratio, even if “billions” is only a single billion. That’s because he linked to the national headquarters financials, which isn’t at all representative of any single local UW chapter, which are individual and independent non-profits. When someone says “I donated to the United Way” and some other poster responds with “they’re awful, look at their expenses!1!!!”, how the hell is that second poster supposed to know _which_ UW the first poster was talking about? It’s one of this board’s blindspots - seems very few understand how this all (non-profits, UW specifically) works. Sir T-Cups - that’s awesome! Am I correct in guessing you live in North Carolina? That’s a pretty sweet trip, especially if you’re a Packers fan. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/19 "2014-09-12T12:27:25Z")
Upon telling select people (read: everyone I’ve ever met) I found this out… My Indiana-living parents are going to be in our family condo in door county (about 40 min north of Green Bay) that same weekend, AND my girlfriend whose mom lives in Milwaukee and whose dad took a job in Connecticut will also BOTH be in Wisconsin that weekend! So depending on flights and stuff we might each be able to see our respective parents because, by pure happenstance, they’re all gonna be there. The prize keeps getting better and better ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-the-greatest-raffle-prize-i-could-ever-want/698181/20 "2014-09-12T14:06:41Z")
Congratulations. I hope you’ll return to the thread to let us know how the weekend went,