Case Study: St John Ambulance SA achieves sustainable fundraising growth with The Distillery's secure lottery platform

St John Ambulance SA raises $15m+ with The Distillery

The Distillery partnered with St John Ambulance SA, a charitable organization empowering South Australians with life-saving skills, which sought a sustainable, independent fundraising channel. Their challenge was to launch a secure, scalable, and compliant digital lottery platform capable of handling massive traffic spikes and complex payment workflows while maximizing the funds raised for community programs.

The Distillery implemented a staged, iterative solution, beginning with a WordPress/WooCommerce pilot and scaling into a sophisticated platform with advanced security, load-balancing, and marketing integrations. This allowed St John’s to expand from one pilot to two national lotteries per year, seamlessly manage traffic from TV broadcasts, and operate for five years with zero major outages. The lottery has raised eight-figure funds, enabling continuous reinvestment into life-saving community initiatives across Australia.

St John Ambulance SA