The Cook Islands Niue Community and Friends (CINCF) monster raffle fundraiser raised $325,000.

The goal of the raffle was to raise $500,000 to build a community hostel. However, tickets sent overseas, particularly to Australia and New Zealand, were returned due to concerns about it being a scam.

A raffle ticket cost $50 and offered a top prize of $30,000. Second, third, and fourth place winners each received $10,000. In total, $86,400 was up for grabs in prize money.

Meleaone Tumi’i, president of the CINCF, said: “We encountered some issues from people overseas who did not believe that our raffle was genuine. So they sent their unsold raffles back to us here in Rarotonga.”

Twelve thousand (12,000) tickets were printed for the monster raffle and were distributed to Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.

Tumi’i said the tickets in the Pa Enua were all sold as well as those in Rarotonga.

“We would like to thank every one who supported us in our raffle, we appreciate you all very much,” she said.

Over 200 Niuean’s live on Rarotonga, and funds raised from this event will be steered towards their proposed new two storey 400sqm Fale Niue project.

The fale will be built in Tupapa on land gifted by Tumi’i (nee Tangi) and her late brother John Tangi.

They gifted a piece of land for the proposed hostel in 2018.

“He (John) wanted to give a piece of land for the Niue community to build a hostel. “My brother died in August 2018, he did what he had wanted to do for Niue,” Tumi’i earlier told Cook Islands News.

The site where the hostel will be built is located near the main road in Tupapa – opposite the Te Marae Ora administration building. It is close to the National Auditorium and to town.