ECA SCRIP

2007 - 2008 Family Handout

How Does SCRIP Work?
The best way to understand how SCRIP works is to see a step-by-step description, which highlights the benefits for all (i.e., the vendors, our SCRIP supplier, ECA, and our families.)

1. Our SCRIP supplier, Great Lakes SCRIP Center (GLSC), begins the whole process by working with hundreds of the most popular vendors across the country.
2. The companies that choose to participate offer a percentage discount for using their goods or services. In essence, these companies sell their SCRIP cards to GLSC at a discount. This is good for business as it helps the participating communities and hopefully increases sales (and profit.)
3. GLSC purchases large amounts of the participating vendor's SCRIP (a.k.a., gift cards or paper certificates) at an agreed-upon discount and keeps an inventory for immediate shipment to non-profit organizations that place an order for a given vendor's SCRIP.
4. GLSC offers the available vendors' SCRIP - at a reduced discount - to all participating non-profit organizations. Note: reducing the discount is how the SCRIP supplier earns profit.
5. ECA communicates the availability of SCRIP to our ECA families and friends. This is where you come in…
6.

You purchase SCRIP for the vendors you are already frequenting. As an example, you may place a $100 SCRIP order for vendor ABC.
7. You submit your order and include a check (or cash) for $100.
8. The ECA SCRIP team compiles your (and everyone else's) order and submits them to GLSC.
9. GLSC assembles ECA's order and express ships the order back to us.
10. GLSC bills ECA for the discounted SCRIP plus a $12 shipping fee. This is where ECA (and you) "earn" money. In our example, ECA paid GLSC $94 (plus a nominal shipping fee) for your $100 worth of SCRIP. ECA received $100 worth of SCRIP for approximately $94. Your SCRIP account would be credited $3 (i.e., 50% of $100 minus $94.) ECA would keep the remainder. This is a win-win-win proposition.
11. The ECA SCRIP team assembles all individual orders and distributes them to our ordering families.
12. Net-net: each family frequents the same stores as always, but now uses pre-paid (and discounted) SCRIP to pay for their purchases. Note: coupons can continue to be used and all frequent shopper cards accrue points just like before. Again, everyone wins.

What are the Benefits of Using SCRIP?

1. For every dollar of SCRIP you use to pay for items you're already purchasing, ECA and you "earn" money. It may seem like relatively small amounts of money, but these really add up fast! For example, ECA has one family who has earned over $130 in less than three months. At this rate, this family will reduce their tuition by over $500!!!
2. By encouraging family and friends to utilize SCRIP, you can exponentially increase your monthly earnings. Here's a way that Grandma and Grandpa can help out with tuition without any additional out-of-pocket expenses (and not participating in any fundraisers.)
3. Using SCRIP is an excellent way to budget certain types of expenses. For discretionary expenses such as buying clothes or eating at a restaurant, using SCRIP is an excellent way to ensure these expenses do not go over-budget. When the SCRIP is gone, you're done purchasing clothes or eating out for that paycheck cycle.
4. If you track your expenses in Quicken or Microsoft Money, using SCRIP simplifies the entry of certain types of expenses. For example, when purchasing $100 in gas cards for a given week, immediately enter these as gas purchases. After using SCRIP to fill up your car, throw the used SCRIP card away and know this gas purchase has already been accounted for this month.
5. SCRIP is a very convenient way to give gifts to family and friends. Everyone has friends and family who are sent $5, $10, or $25 checks for birthdays or Christmas. The person receiving the check has to go to the bank, cash it, and then use the funds on "whatever." By giving a SCRIP card, the person receiving the gift can go straight to the store, and you can know that the money is being spent at a vendor of your choosing. Oh, and don't forget that you (and ECA) get to keep anywhere from 1.5% to 25% of the face value of the gift, depending on which SCRIP you choose.

Hopefully, this write-up has helped you understand what SCRIP is and why it is a good deal to participate. Bottom line: Get involved. Begin now. Don't wait. Get in the habit of using SCRIP for as many of your day-to-day purchases as possible. It's money your already spending. The SCRIP team's goal is to help our families afford the quality education our children are receiving. This is our heart and our passion. But we can't help you without your participation. So, get involved and allow us to help you and your family.

Sincerely,
The SCRIP Team
Traci Aragon, Jennifer Gaines, Julie Branch, Patti McFarland, Tina Terry, Kay Wrigley