Just imagine winning the lottery. Now, more than ever, charity lotteries are selling that dream. It seems like the prizes just keep getting bigger and bigger every year. But, charity lotteries are not just about prizes - they are also about raising money for a good cause. And there is certainly no end to good causes - it's estimated that Canadians gave $750-million to charity lotteries in just one year. Three-quarters of a billion dollars - but just how much of all that cash actually makes it to charity?

That's what Kate Bahen at Charity Intelligence (Ci) wanted to find out. The Toronto-based organization analyzes information about charities to help donors determine where their dollars can have the most impact. Bahen's team of financial analysts reviewed the most recent three years of audited financial statements of the 30 largest charity lotteries in Canada.And what did they find? On average, only 27% of all that money actually goes to charity. Why so little? For starters, Ci's analysis found huge operating costs.

"There is marketing: newspaper, radio and television. There's also the direct mail that pretty much every household receives – the flyers about these charity lotteries. And at the same time, they also run 24/7 call centres." said Bahen. The other big cost is a little known fact - those luxurious prizes? Charities buy them.