Omaze Sweepstakes: Win Prizes While Helping Charities

Have you heard about Omaze’s online sweepstakes and are wondering what the deal is? Is Omaze legit? Can you enter without donating to charity? Why do they collect money if they're giving away prizes, and where does that money go? Do people really win? Find the answers to these and other questions here.

What Is Omaze?

The principle behind Omaze is that you can get chances to win a major prize or have a once-in-a-lifetime experience — all while helping a worthy cause.

According to its About Us page, Omaze was founded to challenge the idea that charities shouldn’t market themselves in the same way that for-profit businesses do. Instead of using typical marketing methods, many charities rely instead on fundraising schemes like galas, which are both exclusive and expensive to run.

Instead, Omaze incentivizes donations by giving people chances to win prizes. By doing this, they open the doors to many more people, increasing the number of people who can donate while offering them an attractive reason to do so.

Founders Ryan Cummins and Matthew Pohlson wanted to take once-in-a-lifetime prizes that, in a typical celebrity auction fundraiser, only the rich could afford, and make them attainable by almost anyone — while simultaneously raising more money for worthy causes.

So How Does It Work?

Omaze works with celebrities and other organizations to come up with prizes that are truly exceptional. Omaze doesn’t offer run-of-the-mill prizes. Instead, you’ll have chances to win unique experiences with celebrities, massive amounts of cash, or other big prizes like homes, cars, and more.

For example, past prizes have included the chance to attend a Batman movie premiere with Robert Pattinson, two seats on a Virgin Galactic trip to space, the chance to attend O Magazine's 20th-anniversary bash and meet Oprah Winfrey & Gayle King, and much more

You can enter to win those prizes by making a donation to the charity that the specific giveaway is supporting. However, as you know, it's not legal in the United States to require that entrants pay money to enter to win a giveaway. Therefore, you can also enter by using the alternate entry method, which is free.

Entering through the AMOE gives you the same chance of winning as you'd have by making a donation. It's a legitimate way to win these amazing prizes.

How Much of Your Donation Goes to Omaze’s Charities?

Omaze is a "for profit" charity — which means that fundraising with them comes with high overhead costs. For prize-based giveaways with chances to win a car or a house, only about 15% of each donation goes to charity. 

However, Omaze claims that the higher level of donations makes up for this shortcoming. After all, 10% of a million dollars is significantly more than 60% of $100,000.

While the overhead is high, keep in mind that charities don’t have to pitch in any money for the fundraiser; the giveaways are self-funded. That means that part of every donation goes toward the giveaway’s costs, including prize acquisition and advertising. So while the whole donation doesn’t go to the charity, the charity doesn’t have to spend money out of pocket, either.

How Do You Enter Omaze’s Sweepstakes?

The classic way to enter Omaze’s giveaways is by making a donation. Every $10 in donations made through the Omaze entry form will give you one entry. Donations are rounded up, so a $20 donation will give you two entries while a $22 donation will give you three.

Of course, you don't have to make a donation to enter; each giveaway also has a non-purchase entry method. To use it, scroll down the sweepstakes page until you see the “Free Alternate Method of Entry” link. Click on the link and follow the instructions for your free entry.

When it comes to who can enter and how, Omaze has a set of rules for all of their giveaways, but individual sweepstakes can have exceptions or expansions to those rules listed on their pages.

For example, Omaze giveaways are usually open to residents of most countries, with the exception being countries that are embargoed by the United States. If more regions are restricted from entering, that information will be listed on the sweepstakes page.

Is Omaze for Real?

Omaze is not a scam — it's a legitimate company that really does raise money for charity while giving away awe-inspiring prizes. And the funds they raise are impressive. For example, as of February of 2022, Omaze has raised over $150 million for various charities.

There are, however, some important things to keep in mind. Omaze helps charities, but it is not a charity itself — it's a for-profit company. It keeps about $1.50 of every $10 donation as income and spends another part of each donation on marketing and other expenses. Plus, they also deduct the cost of the prizes from their donations.

Furthermore, Omaze’s documentation says that it is unclear whether you can deduct your donations from your taxes. Some regions won’t let you deduct a donation that you make in return for consideration, and a grand prize counts as consideration.

If you’d rather get a sure-fire deduction than a chance at a dream prize, donate directly to the charity you'd like to support.

On the other hand, if you like the thought that your good deed could also win you a prize like a Porsche with a trunk full of cash, Omaze is the way to go.

Do People Really Win Omaze’s Sweepstakes?

If you’re wondering whether Omaze’s sweepstakes are legit, rest assured those prizes really are awarded. And remember, although donations help good causes, they aren’t required to enter.

If you’d like to know more about the people who have been lucky enough to win Omaze’s fun prizes, check out their winners’ page. It not only includes the winners’ names but also photographs and descriptions of their experiences.

Current Omaze Sweepstakes to Enter

If you’d like to try your hand at being an Omaze winner, you can visit the Omaze Experiences page and see all of their current campaigns. Good luck!