When you purchase scrip,
you're purchasing negotiable
gift certificates that are
used just like cash. The
scrip is issued by the
national and local retailers
where many of you already
shop. These merchants want
to support non-profit
organizations, and in return
ask you to support them by
shopping with scrip at their
stores. You can use scrip to
purchase everyday expenses
like food, clothing, and
other essentials, and with
every purchase, they earn
revenue for St. Peter's.
The Great Lakes Scrip
center acts on behalf of
churches, schools and other
non-profit organizations to
purchase large amounts of
scrip from grocery stores,
department stores, and other
retailers. Because the scrip
is purchased with cash up
front, the participating
retailers offer a
substantial discount. Your
organization buys the scrip
from Great Lakes Scrip
Center at a discount, and
re-sells the certificates to
your organization members
for full face value. The
bulk of the discount - from
two to fifteen percent or
more - is retained by your
organization as revenue.
The reason for the
effectiveness of scrip is
simple: families generate
revenue through purchases
they would make anyway.
Groceries, clothing, toys,
gifts, even gasoline can be
purchased with scrip. An
organization of 150 families
easily spends between one
and two million dollars per
year on food, clothing and
other essentials. If these
families use scrip for these
purchases, they can raise as
much as $40,000 to $80,000
per year for their
organization --without
spending an additional
penny.
Families who purchase
scrip certificates actively
support the retailers who
participate in this program.
The reason is simple… they
know that buying from a
scrip participating retailer
provides a steady source of
revenue for their church,
school, or non-profit
organization
