“‘Tis the season! Someone was feeling the holiday spirit after winning big on an instant lottery ticket on Thursday, December 8,” but instead of keeping the money, they donated the winnings to charity by dropping the ticket into a Salvation Army collection kettle. The kettle was located outside of a Walmart in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The winning ticket was worth $1,000. It was an instant game “Fantastic 10s” ticket – what you and I would call a “scratch off” ticket. According to the PA Lottery website, “Fantastic 10s is a $10 game. So, when any of your numbers match any winning numbers, you can win prize shown under the matching number.”

Major Leslie Walter of the Erie Salvation Army wasn’t sure what to make of it, saying, “I really had a hard time believing it.”

While the company has received smaller tickets before, a ticket of this size is pretty unusual. It’s also much appreciated since donations are down this year by nearly $20,000. The economy may be to blame for this one, but there’s another, more surprising culprit: the weather. “It’s hard,” Walter notes, “to raise money when it’s cold and raining outside since foot traffic is down.” The lack of funds makes it more difficult to provide gift cards for the holiday seasons for over 4,000 families to use to buy groceries.

Walter is, “hoping to make up the difference in the next few days.”

Donations often peak at the end of the year as taxpayers seek to maximize deductions. The tax benefit is a significant reason for making charitable deductions: in 2012, more than two-thirds of high-net-worth donors said they would decrease their charitable giving if they did not receive a corresponding tax deduction.

Interestingly, the donor of the lottery ticket won’t be able to claim a tax deduction for his or her generosity because the taxpayer failed to get a receipt. “Cash donations, regardless of the amount, must be substantiated by a bank record (such as a canceled check or credit card receipt, clearly annotated with the name of the charity) or in writing from the organization,” as according to the PA Lottery website.