When the Shoals area chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police began brainstorming ideas for a new fundraiser this year, rifles, shotguns and pistols came to mind.

The Tri Cities FOP Lodge in Sheffield will give away 30 guns in 30 days -- one for each day in August. The Lodge members are selling raffle tickets for $30 and will send profits to local charitable organizations and nonprofits.

"We were looking for something new, something different," said Tuscumbia police Capt. George Sharp, president of the local FOP Lodge. "We've done Boston Butt sales, and the one-gun raffle has been around for a long time. We thought we would venture outside the box and try something a little different."

The lodge is selling only 1,000 tickets to increase the chances of winning for those who purchase raffles. If all tickets are sold, Sharp said a little less than $10,000 will be donated to local charities, like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and United Cerebral Palsy of North Alabama.

"We are real big on helping children," Sharp said.

Alison Isbell, executive director of the Shoals United Cerebral Palsy organization said the FOP lodge typically donates $750 per year.

"They don't usually tell us what kind of fundraisers they do," Isbell said. "But they have been so good to us. I've been here 22 years and they have given to us every year. A gun raffle is the perfect fundraiser in the south."

How does the raffle work?

Anyone who wants to purchase a ticket can contact a Tri Cities FOP member or call any sheriff's office or police department in Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties.

"Time is running out," Sharp said. Sales end July 28, and 100 tickets or fewer remain available for purchase.

Anyone who wins a gun will have to submit to the same background check required for anyone purchasing a firearm at Shoals Outdoor Sports in Tuscumbia. Tri Cities FOP is spending about $20,000 to buy the guns from Shoals Outdoor Sports.

"It's the same exact thing as if someone came in off the street to buy one," said Gentry Davenport, sporting goods manager at Shoals Outdoor Sports. "You still have to have the proper identification and fill out all of the required paperwork. And we still have to run the background checks."

Sharp said if someone wins a gun and can't pass the background check, he or she will be given in-store credit for the value of the gun to purchase other outdoor gear.

"If your name is drawn, it goes back in with the other raffles," Sharp said. "So, if your name is drawn the first day, you get 29 more chances to win again, if you're really lucky."

The list of guns to be given away includes pistols, shotguns and rifles.