FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE AMNESTY WEEKLY LOTTERY

AMNESTY WEEKLY LOTTERY BASICS

How does the Amnesty Weekly Lottery work?

It’s a fun way to support Amnesty International UK. It costs just £1 per entry and 15 winners are electronically picked at random every Friday. You have the chance to win incredible prizes and you’re helping to support our fight for a fairer world for everyone.

What prizes can I win in the Amnesty Weekly Lottery?

Every single week, 15 lucky people will win a cash prize! For 51 weeks of the year, the top prize is £1,000. Once a year, our top prize increases to a fantastic £10,000 in the Superdraw! There are 14 other prizes up for grabs each week, ranging from £100 to £10.

Can I play the Amnesty Weekly Lottery?

You must be 18 or over to enter the Amnesty Weekly Lottery. You also need to be a resident of Great Britain. Unfortunately you can’t enter if you live in Northern Ireland, or on the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. See full terms & conditions.

How do I enter the Amnesty Weekly Lottery?

• Select how many entries you would like each week. Remember the more entries you buy, the more chance you have of winning £1,000 or even £10,000 in our annual Superdraw!
• Choose how you want to pay: monthly Direct Debit or a one-off payment by debit card. A Direct Debit is the easiest way to take part. You’ll never miss a draw, and it reduces our costs and helps as much money as possible fund our human rights campaigns.
• To get started, you just need to fill in this secure online form.
• Confirm your details and complete the payment.
• That’s it! You’ll now be entered into the draw every week (as long as you have credit).

If you prefer to enter by phone, you can call us on 020 7033 1777 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm). You can also contact us if you’d like to enter offline. We will post you a form. You will just need to fill in your details and pay by debit card or cheque.

How will I know if I’ve won the Amnesty Weekly Lottery?

You can check the results of all our recent draws on our winners page. There is no need to claim – if you are a lucky winner, you will receive your winners’ cheque in the post.

What are the odds of winning the Amnesty Weekly Lottery?

With 780 prizes up for grabs in total in 2020, we estimate that approximately 11% of players will win a prize over the course of the year. Each £1 entry has a 1 in 520 chance of winning cash in a regular weekly draw (accurate as of August 2020, please see below for Superdraw odds).

OUR DOOR-TO-DOOR FUNDRAISING

COVID-19 update: Amnesty International UK’s door-to-door fundraising is on pause from 5th November while national restrictions apply in England. We are not currently fundraising anywhere in the UK.

Our general approach to door-to-door fundraising during the pandemic is as follows:

We are following government guidelines to make sure this activity is undertaken safely, with extra measures in place to protect everyone’s health.

We will only fundraise in areas classified by the government as local COVID alert level ‘medium’. We will not fundraise in anywhere classified by the government as local COVID alert level ‘high’ or ‘very high’.

The health and safety of our supporters and fundraisers is our top priority. We have brought in extra measures to protect everyone’s health. We are following government guidelines, the Institute of Fundraising guidelines, and will continue to review our fundraising to make sure it’s safe.

Door-to-door fundraising is a very important and effective part of our fundraising programme. It enables fundraisers to engage with members of the public to raise awareness of the work we do, as well as find new regular donors to play our lottery.

We are using two professional fundraising agencies – SMILE Fundraising and APPCO UK – to help us fundraise. All their fundraisers have been thoroughly trained, and we regularly monitor and review their work to make sure they are delivering the best service.

Following both the government guidelines and guidance set out by the Fundraising Regulator and Institute of Fundraising, we have taken the below steps to ensure our fundraising activity is conducted as safely as possible:

• All fundraisers will be trained in COVID-19 health and safety measures and social distancing before they begin fundraising again.
• All fundraisers will maintain a 2m distance from all members of the public, and we won’t fundraise in areas where a 2m distance can’t be maintained (e.g. narrow pathways).
• Only one fundraiser will approach a door at any time.
• All fundraisers will wear face coverings and will carry and use hand sanitiser.
• Contactless fundraising forms will be prioritised. Where tablets are given to a member of the public, they will be disinfected before and after every use.
• Fundraisers will only leave behind leaflets in some circumstances, when a member of the public wants a physical confirmation of their lottery entry. We will prioritise sending email confirmations.
• If a fundraiser believes or discovers that a member of the public is vulnerable, self-isolating or uncomfortable holding the conversation, the fundraiser will politely move on.
• We will only fundraise in areas classified by the government as local COVID alert level ‘medium’. We will not fundraise in anywhere classified by the government as local COVID alert level ‘high’ or ‘very high’.

What safety measures have you put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic?

All fundraisers will be trained on COVID-19 health and safety measures and social distancing before they begin fundraising again. They will wear face coverings, carry and use hand sanitiser regularly. Fundraisers will maintain a 2m distance from all members of the public, and only one fundraiser will approach a door at any time. In addition, we are prioritising contactless sign up forms, and we’ll only ever leave behind a confirmation card if requested by the supporter.

What if someone is self-isolating or doesn’t want to talk?

If someone informs one of our fundraisers that they are self-isolating then the fundraisers will move politely on. If someone is simply uncomfortable having a conversation, then the fundraisers will respect their wishes and move on. We recognise that not everyone wants to engage with us at this time – and our fundraisers will never put pressure on a member of the public to carry on the conversation.

Is it appropriate to be knocking on people’s doors at this time?

As restrictions lift, the decision to restart door-to-door fundraising has been thoroughly evaluated. We have put in place measures to protect everyone’s safety. We will continue to monitor fundraiser and supporter feedback, as well as government guidance. We will make sure that our fundraising does not harm members of the public or put our fundraisers at risk. COVID-19 is a human rights crisis and we must campaign for governments around the world to protect people throughout the pandemic, on top of our ongoing fight for human rights.

Why does Amnesty International UK run door-to-door campaigns?

Door-to-door fundraising is a cost-effective way for us to engage with new supporters, enabling them to give regular financial support to our work. We use our fundraisers to promote our weekly lottery. This is a great way to support human rights and be in with the chance of winning cash prizes.

How do I know if the fundraiser is legitimate?

Our fundraisers will always wear Amnesty International UK branded t-shirts or jackets. They will also carry official identification cards including a photo and unique fundraiser ID number, both of which are required by law. The identification card will also carry the name of the agency they work for – SMILE Fundraising or APPCO UK. All fundraisers will have a larger version of their ID badge (either on a piece of paper, or on their tablet) – so even from a distance of 2m you will be able to check their details.

How do I amend or cancel my direct debit if I sign up and change my mind?

Please email sct@amnesty.org.uk.

How do I make a complaint?

If you’re unhappy about something or wish to give feedback, please email a member of our Supporter Communications Team at sct@amnesty.org.uk.

Please provide as much information as you can so we can investigate all complaints as thoroughly and quickly as possible. A location and description of a fundraiser are useful to any investigation.

AMNESTY SUPERDRAW

What is the Amnesty Superdraw?

It’s a special draw which takes place just once a year, where the top prize is £10,000 instead of £1,000. Amnesty Weekly Lottery players’ regular entries go into the Superdraw automatically. But we offer players and those who don’t usually play the chance to buy up to 50 tickets just for the Superdraw too!

When is the Amnesty Superdraw?

2020’s draw will take place on Friday 25 September.

How do I enter the Amnesty Superdraw?

If you already play the Amnesty Weekly Lottery, your weekly entries will be automatically entered into the Superdraw. But you can buy up to 50 extra tickets to boost your odds of winning the £10,000 top prize. And don’t worry if you don’t already play the Amnesty Weekly Lottery – you can buy up to 50 chances to enter the Superdraw only. Get your tickets now.

What are the odds of winning the Amnesty Superdraw?

With 15 prizes up for grabs, we estimate that every entry will have a 1 in 3,593 chance of winning cash in 2020’s Superdraw.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S HUMAN RIGHTS WORK

Who are Amnesty International?

We are a global movement of ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights. We work to protect women, men and children wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. We investigate and expose human rights abuses. We educate and mobilise the public to campaign for change. And we help transform societies to create a safer, more just world for everyone.

How does my money help?

Without you and other kind supporters, we wouldn’t be able to uncover and expose human rights atrocities around the world. We couldn’t campaign for people who have been unfairly imprisoned to be reunited with their families. And we couldn’t hold governments to account and demand change.

Since 1961, we’ve helped win freedom for over 50,000 wrongly imprisoned people. We’ve helped changed laws and brought perpetrators of human rights violations to justice all over the world. But we can’t stop yet and that’s why we need your support.

You can find out more about our life-changing human rights work on the main Amnesty International UK website.

How much does the Amnesty Weekly Lottery raise for human rights work?

Last year, proceeds from our weekly lottery (including the Superdraw) totalled £353,486! We spent 63% of that on human rights work and raising further funds, 22% on prizes and 16% on running the lottery.

How is Amnesty International UK funded?

We rely on the generosity of our wonderful supporters! Almost all of our funding comes from individuals. Without people like you, we simply couldn’t stand up for fairness and the rights we’re all entitled to.

We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. We don’t seek or accept money from governments or political parties to fund our work campaigning against human rights abuses.

DATA QUERIES & GETTING IN TOUCH

How will my data be used if I sign up?

At Amnesty International UK, we believe you have a right to privacy and we take defending that right very seriously. For more information about how we process your personal data, please see our privacy notice.

How can I contact Amnesty International UK?

If you have any other queries or concerns, please email sct@amnesty.org.uk . Alternatively, you can write to us at: Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA.