The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind does not endorse, support or receive any funding from a Christmas lottery being run by Queensland's Royal Blind Foundation (RBF).

The lottery flyers are being posted to New Zealanders. The RBF is an Australian charity in Queensland and in no-way connected with the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB).

RNZFB CEO Paula Daye says, "It costs $21m to provide services to our 11,500 blind, deafblind and vision-impaired members, and just one-third of that comes from government sources. We must constantly fundraise and keep our name before the public.

"We want the public to understand that the RBF lottery is of NO benefit to Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind members. We are not happy about this and the confusion that it is causing members and our donors."

The RNZFB does not fundraise in Australia, believing this would be an inappropriate invasion into areas served by Australian blindness organisations.

The RNZFB also stresses that it has not shared donor information with any individuals or organisations.

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For further information ring RNZFB Communications, Jude Cooney on 09 355-6923 or Bill Moore on 0275 508 061.