By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Diocesan schools raise funds with plastic scrip
SUPERIOR --For years, many schools in the diocese have been using scrip as an easy fund-raiser. Instead of asking people to buy things they don't really want or need, scrip allows schools to raise funds through the money people are already spending. Now some schools are discovering a new twist on an old idea: plastic scrip.
When people purchase paper scrip, they buy a gift certificate for a certain store, restaurant or service, and a percentage of the cost is returned to their school or nonprofit organization. The credit card works in the same way and eliminates the need to pre-buy certificates, making the fund raising process a step easier.
The National Scrip Center, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Rosa, Calif., introduced the MBNA scrip MasterCard two years ago as an extension of its traditional scrip program and now has over 9,000 cardholders. The card has no annual fee, a competitive interest rate and can be used like a regular MasterCard.
Over 50 establishments nationwide, which MBNA calls bonus merchants, donate anywhere from 2 to 15 percent of purchases made on scrip credit cards to the school or nonprofit. For instance, Applebees donates 8 percent, Barnes and Noble 8 percent, Bath and Body Works 13 percent and Best Buy 2 percent. One percent of all other purchases, those not made at bonus merchants, are also returned to the user's organization.
Theresa Levenhagen, the secretary at St. Joseph School in Rice Lake, is in charge of selling scrip at the school. According to her, many people do not buy paper scrip because it is inconvenient. When using traditional scrip, people need to plan ahead and order the certificates a week before they plan on using them. Credit cards, on the other hand, can be used at any time.
"It's an excellent fund-raising opportunity for doing virtually nothing," said Jackie Ogilvie, coordinator of the scrip program at St. Louis School, Washburn. "The card costs nothing, and it's money people are spending anyway. Why not donate some of it to the school?"
While some schools now promote the credit card, school officials are reluctant to replace traditional scrip. Paul Uhren, principal at Cathedral School in Superior, said the school has found the traditional scrip program to be highly successful over the past 10 years. There are a few people who also use the MasterCard, however, Uhren said the sum raised through credit is small compared to the overall amount earned through scrip. While the school tries to promote the card, Uhren said he is reluctant to "push it on people who already have credit cards and don't want to deal with one more."
St. Anne School, Somerset, also finds the scrip program to be a successful fund-raiser. Dick Folkerth, the bookkeeper at St. Anne, said credit is easier to use; however it brings in less than one sixth of the total amount raised through scrip. "People are reluctant to use the card," he said, because "everyone has their own credit card deal already" and it is hard to compete with other credit cards that offer airline miles or other special benefits.
Barbara Bugar, principal at Holy Rosary School, Medford, said the school board made a decision not to promote the MBNA MasterCard. First of all, she said, they didn't want to promote debt by encouraging people to take out additional credit cards. She has also observed that many people would rather deal with cash than credit. Also, Bugar said, there are many local businesses that donate generous percentages of their profit to the school through the traditional scrip program. However, these businesses are not on the list of bonus merchants for the MasterCard, and the school would lose money if people switched to the credit card.
St. Mary School in Tomahawk faces a similar situation. Though the school is not currently using scrip, principal Mary Cherf said the school board is looking into the possibility of starting a scrip program. They, too, are reluctant to promote the credit card option. She said many of the national bonus merchants are chain businesses located outside of Tomahawk. The school would rather set up a scrip program with the local and privately owned businesses in the area; that way both the school and the community will benefit from the program.
Likewise, Levenhagen said that Rice Lake doesn't have all the stores on the bonus merchant list. However, many local businesses are generous when it comes to regular scrip; thus it is worth taking the time to pre-order scrip. Still, she believes the MasterCard could be a valuable supplement to regular scrip, especially if more people make an effort to use that credit card when they decide to charge a purchase.
Ogilvie said the plastic scrip program is still evolving, and "we still haven't ironed out all the bugs." Yet, she remains confident that the scrip credit card has the potential to be a valuable fund-raiser alongside of traditional scrip. Though one percent of an individual's credit card purchases may not seem like much, "it really adds up if everyone gets involved," she said
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002