The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has officially launched its charity arm, intended to spearhead the authority’s corporate social responsibility as well as sustain its quest to create a shared value that bonds all stakeholders.
The charity arm, which is named the ‘Good Causes Foundation’, has the objective to develop, implement and maintain an integrated action plan based on four main pillars – education, health, youth and sports development, and culture.
The education pillar will focus on awarding educational support to brilliant but needy students, provide infrastructure and logistics support to educational institutions and sponsorship for programmes that meet the objective of the foundation.
In the area of health, the foundation will focus on infrastructure support, training mental health workers, hospitals supplies and medical outreaches.
Youth and supports development will cover capacity building for the youth, providing support for SMEs owned by young people, sports development, and innovation and entrepreneurship development among the youth.
Finally, the Foundation’s cultural pillar will also support projects that seek to safeguard and protect Ghanaian cultural values. It will cover sponsorship for cultural events and educational programmes.
To ensure consistent flow of enough revenue into the GCF coffers to embark on the stipulated objective, the out-dooring ceremony was performed concurrently with a relaunch of the NLA’s Caritas Lottery platform – as the latter will serve as the principal source of funding.
Director-General of NLA, Samuel Awuku, stated that the NLA Caritas Lottery platform was established in 2012 to enable corporate Ghana and well-meaning business institutions or individuals wishing to use elements of lottery or raffle draws in running consumer promotions and other activities to do so in collaboration with the NLA.
“Revenue generated by the NLA from the Caritas Lottery platform as mandated by law is to be used mainly for social responsibility projects to support the less privileged in society. Therefore, all proceeds from the Caritas Lottery will go directly into the GCF with the aim of impacting society.
“While the NLA has positively affected society in the past through support and donations, we are still resolute to provide better care for the needy and support the underprivileged. This objective is what has culminated in the birth of our Good Causes Foundation, which was previously known as Special Projects,” he said.
Board Chairman of NLA, Togbui Francis Albert Nyonyo, in his address at the launch indicated the board of directors believe that in taking the path of investing in visible good causes in society, it will also help de-stigmatise lottery in the minds of average Ghanaians regarding the role lottery plays in our modern-day society.
He implored all and sundry to support the NLA in its quest to give more to the vulnerable in society through the Caritas Lottery platform and Good Causes Foundation.
Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, in her key note address called for corporate contributions to the initiative – emphasising that the NLA, under Act 722, is the only body with the mandate to regulate and conduct lottery in Ghana; and without such a platform it would be illegal for corporate Ghana and individuals to on their own engage in any Raffle Draws or Lotteries.
