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Gift Card Program – Big Successes, Big Changes

Mission Minute, Opportunities to Serve, The Messenger
The Messenger 2022-02-01

By Van Beall

Glen Mar began the Gift Card Program in March 2007. There were two motives – including shopping as an opportunity to serve (“…serving God and your neighbors in all that you do”) and also as a fundraiser.  Shopping with gift cards became an opportunity to be thankful and purposeful by having some of the money we are going to spend anyway returned to Glen Mar and then directed to ministries, ministry partners and as a way for families to offset mission trip costs.

In December 2021 the program surpassed the $5 million threshold! Sales of all those cards has generated an astounding $225K – for free!  The most popular cards are groceries – Giant ($1.6 million) and Safeway ($430K).  American Express is third ($333K).  Rounding out the top 10 are Walmart ($210K), Home Depot ($210K), Exxon ($170K), Amazon ($140K), Target ($139K), Shell ($133K) and Marriott ($105K). Other popular cards include VISA ($100K), Lowe’s ($90K), Kohl’s ($80K), Dunkin’ ($67K), Starbucks ($53K – that’s a lot of coffee!), Panera ($46K), Red Lobster ($46K), Barnes & Noble ($33K) and Bob Evans ($28K).

In fact, Glen Mar shoppers have purchased cards from over 250 merchants!  Whatever shopping you are going to do, it is likely there is a gift card for that and with rebates up to 20% (the average is 5%), it is definitely worth the effort.

Almost 700 families have used the Gift Card Program, and over 380 of those families established Family Accounts to help offset their mission trip costs.  Family Accounts accumulated over $65K, which helped offset the costs for hundreds of people participating in mission trips.  Profits in the Mission Ministry Fund also provided mission trip scholarships to over 100 people and totaled over $26K! What a blessing!

The biggest change going into 2022 is that Family Accounts are being phased out.  As of January 1, 2022, money can no longer be added to Family Accounts.  Families will be able to use their remaining balances through the 2022 mission trip season or allocate their balances to one of the 13 ministries to which you can now direct the profits from your gift card purchases.  Please stop at the gift card table to get the list of ministries.

While Glen Mar Church remains the biggest gift card user (over $475K, which saved those ministries over $25K!), by far the biggest single beneficiary of the gift card profits has been the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which received an extra $36K for disaster and humanitarian relief – just by shopping with gift cards.  UMCOR is one of the 13 ministries to which the gift card profits from your purchases can be directed.

If you have questions about the changes or your Family Account balance, please email the Fundraising Team. And keep shopping with gift cards – it is worth the effort!

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