SCRIP program

[2thfairy]

I'm trying to get the scrip program started in our school but was wondering if anyone had some info as far as who you contacted and what company you used. Also how do you distribute them. Do you just send the money with your kid or is there another way that is better.
Any info would greatly be appreciated...
Thanks
Melinda

 

[travelbug]

Our school has an active Scrip program. We use the Great Lakes Scrip Company. It may be called "Great Lakes" but the program is available anywhere in the country.

Orders are collected on Mondays. The school does allow people to pay by credit card, but most pay by check. Orders are then available to people by Friday. Each family can specify if they want the order sent home with a school child or if they want to pick it up at the office.

The program also keeps a fair amount of stock on hand. They open a "storefront" on Monday mornings, and people can buy anything in stock at that time.

When I'm preparing to travel somewhere, I sometimes buy scrip cards that are only good in those areas. For example, when I go to WDW I sometimes buy Winn Dixie scrip cards to use toward groceries down there. We don't have Winn Dixie in Michigan, so it's not on the regular list the school makes available. I just write it in.

Great Lakes Scrip website is www.glscrip.com

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Our school has had good success with script. We are a private Catholic school. Each of the families are required to either buy so much script in a school year or write a check for the difference. This year we are obligated to buy $3000 worth of script. That gives us a rebate of about $180. Or we can write a check for $250. Most make the goal fairly easily by using script for gas and groceries. I have in the past paid for our Disney trip with script. We have a committee that works very hard to make it all come together! They sell at pick up on Friday and at all the Mass times over the weekend. I know $3000 sounds like a lot but really it works pretty well once you get people thinking "Is this a script item?" We keep pretty many on hand (an expensive start up) and then place orders each week. I thankfully am not in charge! I can try to find out more for you if you have questions.

Edited to add we also use Great Lakes.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

My daughter's jump rope team uses Scrip. It is such an easy way to earn money for the team! I really don't know who they contacted to set it up. They collect orders on the first Monday of every month. Parents send in a check, along with the printout from their order. The cards are ready for pick-up the following Monday. I just love it since they offer so many cards from the places we regularly use. I'm stocking up on Disney cards for our June trip.

 

[ilovediznee]

Can someone tell me what SCRIP is and how it works, etc?

 

[PinkRhombus]

Scrips is a gift card program. You get the cards...sell them to whoever...and the school/church gets a certain percentage (varies depending on what store) of the sales.

Our school has had good success with script. We are a private Catholic school. Each of the families are required to either buy so much script in a school year or write a check for the difference. This year we are obligated to buy $3000 worth of script. That gives us a rebate of about $180. Or we can write a check for $250. Most make the goal fairly easily by using script for gas and groceries. I have in the past paid for our Disney trip with script. We have a committee that works very hard to make it all come together! They sell at pick up on Friday and at all the Mass times over the weekend. I know $3000 sounds like a lot but really it works pretty well once you get people thinking "Is this a script item?" We keep pretty many on hand (an expensive start up) and then place orders each week. I thankfully am not in charge! I can try to find out more for you if you have questions.

Edited to add we also use Great Lakes.

We're a private Catholic school, also, and I don't see how you can "make" people buy a certain amount. But your tuition structure might be different than ours. We used to personally get the % going towards school fees, etc., but due to tax laws, it can no longer benefit any one family. It all goes into a "pot" now and they have a list of certain fees they knock off as the money accumulates. But, from what I understand, the volume has gone down dramatically since this change. Now there are people benefiting by doing nothing this way...oh well.

Anywho...we can buy certain ones from the office whenever. There are other orders every other week. They sell after mass during the holidays.

The thing to emphasize is that some can be used to pay your store credit account (like Kohl's). Kroger's can be reloaded at the store and you get the percentage on reloads, too...so you only need to get one.

People go out to eat. Work on getting them to plan a bit ahead and get some restaurant ones.

Starbucks is popular

Also, you need to plug them for gifts. Holidays and teacher gifts at the end of the year, for example.

Ours offers Disney cards.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

In the past ours was also a direct rebate to our personal tuition account. Those darn tax laws got us too! After the change the amounts dropped off enough that they stopped doing script for a year. Our tuition went up quite a bit and we learned our lesson so to speak. Father offered to bring it back only with the obligated $ amount and we voted to do the program with that restriction. It has worked out fine. People know it is part of the expectation when they come to our school. It has worked well enough we will have no tuition increase this year. God bless the group that runs the program as it is a lot of time and effort!

 

[allison443]

My dd's Catholic elementary school also has a scrip program. Each family must purchase $3500 in scrip per year. We do not get any rebate from it, all profits from that go directly to the school. If you buy more than $3500 I think the profit from the surplus amount goes toward next year's tuition.

We have a school of between 500 and 600 families. A large amount of scrip is kept "in stock" meaning they have it right there and you can go and buy it. Everything from five different grocery stores, gas stations, dunkin donuts, Macys, TGIF, Applebees, Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, local pizza restarants, etc. is all in stock. (well, technically...sometimes they run out.) There are also other places you can order by Tuesday and it is delivered I think a week later.

The in stock scrip can be purchased Monday to Friday, from 9-4 at the parish rectory, and then from 4-8 pm at the school auditorium/gym where activities are going on every weeknight (sports practices, meetings, etc.) I think they realized that if they expect everyone to buy $3500 worth they have to make it relatively convenient to purchase.
Example, our washing machine broke over the weekend, I bought $500 in scrip on Monday and bought a replacement at Lowes.

Our school doesn't accept credit cards for scrip and I know some people have requested that. I think they are working on it.

It has worked out well for the school. There was resistance at first like there is with anything new, but once you get used to the idea of it it's not bad at all. You are not spending anything extra, yet the school is making money.

Edited to add, they also allow other people to purchase scrip and have the amount credited to you. So if my parents, sister or neighbor bought scrip, they could indicate my dd's name on the order form and the amount of their purchase would be credited to my account.

 

[taymaesmom]

Our school also does Scrip through Great Lakes Scrip. We have used them for years and its a great fundraiser. However we only sell in Nov and Dec for the holidays, we are a very small school and it hasnt been worth the effort to continue throughout the whole year.

 

[mom2d&b]

I woudl reccomend you check out the forums on PTOTODAY.COM You do not need to be a PTO or a member. There are lots of great resources who can provde all the details of a script program. Lots on the site recomend Great Lakes, they also identify the companys that have not been so good to work with.
Good Luck, I wish our school had a script program. I actually considered running one but the BOX TOP FOR EDUCATION program keeps me busy.

 

[AmandaLee]

My son's school (small Catholic) uses Scrip as well. I was resist at first (I was not organized enough to remember half the time ) I started using it for holiday gift giving, and now I am placing orders regularly. We save up for our trips (Grocery/Dining costs, Disney Gift cards, Rental Car gift cards) and use them to pay off my husbands Lay-A-Way at a local Sporting Goods store. The program allows local businesses to participate as well, so they aren't favoring "big box" stores.

I place my order online on Sunday night, and when I drop off Gregory at school on Monday I drop off my check. They also allow online payment (for a small processing fee) and credit card/debit card payments they keep on file at school.

The money raised is given to a general fund at the school and then you get a percentage of that money (based on the amount of scrip you purchase) back towards next years tuition. It isn't mandatory, and they average a few $$$ per week, making it more profitable than any candy/mag/wrapping paper fundraiser-

We use gtlakescript too..

 

[kimntrent]

Can you got a script for one school and use it in another state?

 

[AmandaLee]

Can you got a script for one school and use it in another state?

as far as the gift cards? yes..

as far as ordering the cards from another state...I think you may be able to, you would just have to contact whomever is coordinating the program, and arrange payment/shipping of gift cards. My SIL in TX will order a card occasionally from my son, we just pick it up and pop it in the mail to her. I'm sure if she wanted to do it as a regular thing, they would probably mail her the cards as she ordered them..

 

[mommy2twingles]

I am the coordinator with our school. We also use Great Lake Scrips. We just started the end of October so it is fairly new to us, but I have had no problems. We do not stock any cards since we don't want have the ability for parents to come in and just purchase.

feel free to pm me if you need any help.

 

[2thfairy]

Thank you so much for all the replies. great lakes was the one we were looking at and it sounds like that is the one most used.
I think if we can change the way people think and they buy the cards first then it will be a great fundraiser.
As we get started I may PM a few of you with questions if that is ok
Melinda

 

[travelbug]

Can you got a script for one school and use it in another state?

Yes you can. Scrip (there's no t on the end) is just a word for gift cards. I've used cards I've gotten from the scrip program all over the country as I travel.

 

[allison443]

Yes you can. Scrip (there's no t on the end) is just a word for gift cards. I've used cards I've gotten from the scrip program all over the country as I travel.

Just want to add that the gift cards we buy as scrip are identical to the gift cards you would purchase in the store itself. They don't have the little cardboard folder attached, though, but otherwise they are exactly the same.

 

[2thfairy]

thanks again everyone. I will run this by the parent organization and see what they think. Sounds like it will be great but maybe a little time consuming. Hopefully there will be a few parents to help share the job and it will be good.