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Q&A
Council Member Farías inquires about fifty-fifty raffle bill implementation and charitable impact
0:53:19
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3 min
Council Member Amanda Farías questions DCWP officials about the implementation and impact of the fifty-fifty raffle bill passed in May 2023. The discussion focuses on the licenses awarded, the amount of money raised, and the distribution of funds to charities.
- DCWP officials report that the Mets and Yankees have received licenses, with net proceeds totaling around $2,800,000.
- Farías expresses concern that the funds may be primarily benefiting the foundations of large sports organizations rather than diverse community charities.
- The council member requests a follow-up with detailed information on the list of charitable organizations benefiting from the raffles and the specific dollar amounts raised.
Amanda Farías
0:53:19
Thank you, Chair.
0:53:20
I have had some of the questions already asked by colleagues, but, a couple that are in our, documents struck me.
0:53:30
I'm a huge sports fan, so I've been to a couple of the arenas and the stadiums throughout the city over the last couple of seasons we've had this year.
0:53:38
And the fifty fifty raffle bill that we passed a couple years ago has always intrigued me.
0:53:43
It we we approved or the mayor signed it into law in May of twenty twenty three, and it allows the sports organizations in the cities to use their venues to hold raffles and other games of chance to raise money on behalf of charities.
0:53:56
Do you folks have how many licenses DCWP awarded for these raffles since the passage of the bill?
Vilda Vera Mayuga
0:54:05
We are actively as soon as we heard you, that that was the topic where we're just checking what those numbers are.
0:54:11
But it's definitely we do know that it's having a positive impact in, making sure that more money also can be raised for the charities that can benefit through this as well.
Amanda Farías
0:54:22
Sure.
0:54:22
And do we know do we have a list of which charities have actually received any of the raised dollars?
0:54:34
And I ask this question only because the couple of stadiums that I've been to, for example, when they're doing their fifty fifty raffles, they're solely doing it for their stadium's foundation and not necessarily for an individualized nonprofit organization or charitable organization.
0:54:51
So I'm just wondering how we're monitoring the licenses that are going out, and how are we monitoring the dollars received?
Vilda Vera Mayuga
0:55:04
I think we want to make sure that we give you as much detail as possible, so I don't want to just throw numbers here.
0:55:11
I can say that the two main organizations are the Mets and the Yankees who got those licenses to do the fiftyfifty raffle.
0:55:20
You're okay with that, I'd love to just give you the details of that as a follow-up to make sure that we are accurate on the numbers and the list of any charities that they may be Yeah, that's fine.
Carlos Ortiz
0:55:30
I would add to that.
0:55:31
I mean, we can get you the list of the charities as well, but in general, the licensees net net proceeds in in total, I think, sums up upwards of $2,800,000, and that's an that's based off of the the legislation that you mentioned that was passed and went into effect.
0:55:46
So I think it's it's had a substantial impact on on, I guess, the activity of the these two organizations, but also what they've been able to contribute back into the community through charities.
0:55:55
So I think Yeah.
0:55:56
I mean,
Amanda Farías
0:55:56
I think that's I'd love to connect offline on it.
0:56:00
It's something that I've been kind of waiting to come back around to just to kinda give folks time to actually do you know, based off of the sports seasons that we have, give each of the folks the ability to go back to it.
0:56:13
My only concern has been any of the games that I've gone to.
0:56:17
It's only gone back to, for those examples, Yankee Foundation or Mets Foundation.
0:56:23
I think even MSG or the Knicks also have a foundation that is doing fifty fifty.
0:56:30
But us ensuring that those dollars are actually a majority of those dollars or a portion of those dollars are not just going back to those already massively revenue generating organizations, and the impact of the bill is actually being seen throughout our communities.
0:56:45
So I'd love to offline hear more about the list of charitable organizations that are partnered with and what dollar amounts that we're seeing in terms of licensing coming back to the city.
0:56:58
Appreciate it.