Frequently asked questions

The Donkey Sanctuary Weekly Lottery is a fun and exciting way for new and existing supporters to get involved in raising funds and helping more donkeys.

The Donkey Sanctuary is totally reliant on the generosity of supporters to help donkeys in need worldwide. It’s vital that we offer new ways to support the charity, recognising that supporters value choice and a variety of giving opportunities to help the charitable cause they love. The Donkey Sanctuary already has a successful television advertising programme and generates new support and income for the charity by reaching new, wider audiences. We expect our lottery advert to benefit the donkeys we help in the same way: to deliver a wide net of new supporters and raise reliable, ongoing funds to continue and safeguard our current and future work.

Twice a year in January and September, we run an extra big lottery draw called the Superdraw. The Superdraw replaces the usual prize fund for one week only and offers bigger cash prizes and even more chances to win.

There are over 200 prizes to be won in the Superdraw, as follows:

• 1st prize = £5,000
• 2nd prize = £500
• 3rd prize = £250
• 4th prize = £5 x 200

Every week, all our lottery players have the chance to win 1 of 33 cash prizes:

• 1st prize: £1,000
• 2nd prize: £250
• 3rd prize: £100
• 4th prize: £5 (x30 to be won)

Results for our lottery are drawn every Friday using a random number generator, allocating one prize for each lucky number drawn. Winners cheques are sent out after each draw.

Whilst the odds of winning a prize fluctuate depending on the number of players in our draw, for the draw dated 20/01/2023 players had a 1 in 469 chance of winning a prize in the weekly lottery draw.

The minimum age to enter The Donkey Sanctuary Weekly Lottery is 18.

The lottery terms and conditions are a list of Rules we adhere to, to ensure you are completely clear about the terms of your entry into our lottery. You can also telephone us on 0330 123 9820.

No. Your unique lottery game numbers are chosen randomly and will be your numbers for the duration of your membership of our lottery. When you enter the lottery, you will be sent confirmation of your unique lottery game numbers in your welcome letter.

After the draw has taken place every Friday we will list the lucky winners on our winners page.

We will contact you automatically if you’ve been a lucky winner! If you do not wish to claim your prize you can just let us know by contacting the lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820 or thedonkeysanctuary@thecharitylottery.co.uk.

The draw is held on Good Friday.

If the Friday falls on any other bank holiday, the draw will take place on the Thursday before or the next most convenient working day.

If you've lost your lottery game number(s), then do not worry. You can call our friendly lottery team on 0330 123 9820 or if you would prefer to email, you can email us at thedonkeysanctuary@thecharitylottery.co.uk

The maximum number of entries you can purchase is 10.

The minimum amount for payment by Debit Card is £13 or you can set up a Direct Debit paying £4/5 per month.

The minimum amount is set at this to cover the costs of processing the payment and to ensure as much of your money goes towards helping donkeys.

If you want to increase your amount of chances, please call our lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820 or email thedonkeysanctuary@thecharitylottery.co.uk.

The maximum number of chances you can have is 10.

As you are setting up a Direct Debit to pay for your entries, we are legally required to provide you with a 10 day cooling off period to allow you to change your mind if you wish.

Once this 10 day period has passed, your Direct Debit will be deducted at the earliest date possible – this date will be outlined in your welcome letter.

When there are 53 Fridays in a calendar year, your payment will be charged at £53 (this will be communicated in your Direct Debit letter) so that you will be included into all 53 weekly draws that year.

Yes, you can pay for entries via multiple methods. You can have a number of entries, all paid by a different method if you wish.

No there won’t be a rollover, there are guaranteed winners every week.

No, unfortunately we cannot claim Gift Aid on funds raised through lottery entries.

You will only be officially signed up if you reach the 'Thank You’ page and receive the confirmation email.

If you have connection issues and do not receive the confirmation email within a few days of sign up, it is likely you have not been successful. Please sign up online again or call our lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820 where we will be able to help you and confirm if you are a member of the lottery.

Across the five draws in November 2024 The Donkey Sanctuary received £107,241 in lottery sales. After paying out prize money and running costs, The Donkey Sanctuary received £89,004.62 (82.99%) in every £1 ticket in our lottery, 6.99% was spent on prizes and 10.02% on expenses.

The amount which goes to donkeys will continue to grow over time as it depends on how many people play our lottery. The more people who play, the more will go to donkeys, so we hope you’ll join in.

Please call our lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820 or email thedonkeysanctuary@thecharitylottery.co.uk.

A lottery has to be run by an official External Lottery Management Company to meet stringent laws and regulations. Sterling is our supplier and is regulated by the Gambling Commission. Sterling is located in Cumbria as the address states.

If your question has not been covered here and is lottery related please call our lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820 or email thedonkeysanctuary@thecharitylottery.co.uk.

If you need to contact The Donkey Sanctuary direct, please call 01395 578222.

No, this is not possible you will need to set up another Direct Debit for lottery payments.

(This means that if you want to cancel the lottery at any time this does not affect your current Direct Debit with The Donkey Sanctuary).

As lottery Direct Debits and donation Direct Debits are separate you can cancel or amend each individually.

You can cancel the lottery Direct Debit by contacting the lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820.

And the donations Direct Debit can be cancelled by calling The Donkey Sanctuary on 01395 578222.

Yes. To do this you must sign up to additional lines at different times. At the point of each sign up you are only able to provide one set of bank details. If you wish to have more entries using different bank details, then you will need to sign up to the additional entries on a new transaction.

To make any changes to your Direct Debit - for lottery please call the lottery helpline on 0330 123 9820.

For donations call The Donkey Sanctuary on 01395 578222.

No, unfortunately lottery Direct Debits are specifically for the lottery only.

Donations are very welcome but would need to be made separately via our main website or by calling 01395 578222.

The Donkey Sanctuary use the services of an experienced External Lottery Manager to run key elements of our weekly lottery. As well as compliantly running our draw they handle all of our payments for us via their fully-compliant, audited and approved systems.

You may receive a notification via text message or other means which says a Direct Debit has been set up by Sterling Management Centre Ltd or you may see their name on your card statement while the payment is pending.

Once payments are approved and settled they will show as "Lottery TDS 123456" for Direct Debits and “Lottery Donkey Sanctuary” for card payments on your statement.