Chuck, the prizes come from wherever you can find them. The members, asking local stores for donations, etc. Since you are just starting out, and you Becki & Mike are the only members, I will donate to you a Harbour Lights Navesink (from my own collection) to help get things started. Please, email your address to me so I can send it to you. It is signed by Bill Younger.

I think that a good price for tickets at raffles is $1/each or 6 tickets for $5.

You should post your raffle here on the forums in order to sell tickets. I think that it would be great if each Harbour Lights Collector Club were to help you get started by either buying some tickets or by donating something for you to raffle.

I don't believe the Gov. will mess with you, as long as you are donating all of the proceeds to Matagorda Light. It would help if you were to become non-profit. NELL became a non-profit chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation of Wells, ME and the Long Island Chapter of the USLHS is a chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society out of California.

I hope this answers some of your questions and I look forward to hearing from you concerning an address to send the Navesink.

Ron
(CT Keeper)