

Fundraising with Discount Gift Cards

Are you looking for a new way to raise money for your organization?

Have you recently completed a car wash, bake sale, or other fundraising event with unsatisfactory results?

Have you heard of fundraising with discount gift cards?  Did you know that most people have unused gift cards in their wallet that they may never use?

Well, stop asking for the time, energy, and money of your supporters and run a simple campaign to raise cash quickly and easily through the sale or donation of unused gift cards or merchandise credits.

How does it work?

There are two different types of fundraisers you can run with discount gift cards which are explained below.

Method One:  Sell Gift Cards

Did you know that you can buy gift cards of most common merchants at a discount, then resell them at full value to your supporters and apply the difference for the benefit of your organization or charitable cause?

As an example, you can currently purchase a Home Depot gift card or merchandise credit from various websites for up to 15% off the face value.  So, you can buy a card for $85 then resell the gift card at full $100 value to your supporters.  Your benefit is $15!

Why is this such a good idea for your supporters? Because your charitable supporters get full value for their donation and may still be able to deduct the contribution on their federal income tax return.

The pitch to your supporters: For your $100 donation, your organization will provide the $100 Home Depot card. If one of your supporters is planning a house project or in need of repair and would spend the money at Home Depot anyway – it is a perfect match!

Then, your supporter pays you the $100 contribution in exchange for the gift card. Your cause realizes $15 in the transaction!

This not only works for Home Depot but for many other merchants that your supporters may be frequenting: Meijer, Walmart, Lowes, Target, TJ Maxx, JCPenney, Macy’s, OfficeMax, Michaels and many, many more! Each card may have a different spread between your purchase price and the full card value.

Method Two:  Buy or Donate Gift Cards

Did you know that most people have unused gift cards at home or in their wallet that they will never use?

First, inform your organization’s supporters that you will be running a different kind of campaign this year.  Your organization will be purchasing their unused gift cards at the market rate which is less than face value.

Next, obtain access to our gift card buying and selling portal which will provide the pricing of each potential merchant and guide your organization through each individual buying and selling transaction.

Finally, set up a table or booth and ask the supporters to bring their unused gift cards and buy them for cash.

Your organization will buy the gift cards, then sell them back to us at a mark-up which can be in the double digits depending on market conditions.

As an example, a Home Depot gift card or merchandise credit can be purchased from your supporter for 55% of the face value.  Then, your organization will re-sell the card to us.  We will split the profit difference from the price at which we are able to re-sell the card.  As an example, if we are able to sell the gift card at a 25% profit, we will split it with you and pay your organization 12.5%!

Why is this such a good idea for your organization’s supporters? Because they get cash in their pocket for a card from a merchant that they may never use.

If they decide to donate the card to you directly without payment in cash?  Then that is even better for your organization as it can realize the full value of the current market price of the gift card.  Your supporter may still be able to deduct the contribution on their federal income tax return.

Are you ready to raise money with discount gift cards?