NEW YORK - (Business Wire) Squeezed by an economy in turmoil, small nonprofits have discovered that a new twist on the old affinity credit card model can help them raise cash by making their size irrelevant.
Affinity credit cards pay nonprofits a fee for each new account, plus an ongoing portion of monthly charge volume. But expensive marketing costs often keep these programs out of reach for all but the largest groups.
Now a company called CardPartner (www.cardpartner.com) is offering a free Visa affinity credit card program to nonprofits of nearly any size. The company shaves expenses by eliminating direct mail, giving groups their own marketing tools, and operating in the virtual environment. Groups earn $50 for every new active account, plus a portion of the monthly charge volume. CardPartner says it is also paying a $150 bonus to any nonprofit that launches an affinity card program before the 2008 holidays.
CardPartner Senior Director of Sales and Marketing, Doug Davis says, “People who support nonprofits will be charging millions on their credit cards this holiday season. If nonprofits make it easy for them to share some of that spending, they will. A CardPartner affinity credit card program is a win-win way for nonprofits to tap in to that holiday spending.”
CardPartner says nearly 100 small and mid-sized nonprofits, representing an aggregate of more than 500,000 people with interests as diverse as human services, animal welfare, and the arts have turned to the company in the last nine months to launch affinity card programs to help fund their operations. “We see a trend,” Davis says.
Groups that have recently launched a CardPartner affinity credit card programs include Breakthrough TV, The American Association of Grants Professionals, Munich American High School, The American Dance Guild, The Delaware Theatre Company, the Northwood Humane Society, CinemArts, The Bluegrass Railroad Museum, The Old Spanish Trail Association, and The Elizabeth City State University Foundation.
“Nonprofits struggle with fundraising even in the good times,” says Walter Chalkley, Executive Director of CinemArts, a nonprofit that screens art films, foreign films, documentaries, and underscreened gems in Frederick, MD. “In today’s environment, nonprofits need every tool they can get. CardPartner helps us tap in to our supporters’ spending power and promote our brand at the same time. I call that a no-brainer.”
About CardPartner
CardPartner, Inc. (www.cardpartner.com) is an online company that specializes in helping smaller U.S.-based membership organizations and charities create custom Visa credit card programs. CardPartner is a unit of the privately held Serverside Group, a technology provider to many of the world’s leading banks. Visa credit cards offered through CardPartner are issued by UMB Bank, n.a., headquartered in Kansas City, MO. UMB Bank approves credit decisions, grants credit, and manages the administration and cardholder service for card programs offered by CardPartner.
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