Dickinson Education Foundation Case Study

Dickinson Independent School District partners with School Spirit Pays to bring in regular revenue from local merchants, at no additional cost!

Background
Like so many school districts around the country, Dickinson Independent School District (ISD) was facing federal and state funding cuts. To ensure that critical STEM, athletic programs, and other valuable extracurricular resources for kids are not eliminated, Dickinson needed a way to bring in additional funding.

Enter School Spirit Pays, a creative new program to help schools bring in extra funding at no extra cost.

Why Partner with School Spirit Pays
“It was so easy”, said Jeannie Thielemann, Executive Director for Dickinson ISD Education Foundation. “Unlike other programs, School Spirit Pays doesn’t require the schools or the local merchants to do anything different. All we have to do is sign up, and SSP pretty much takes care of the rest.”

Here’s how it works: Dickinson ISD introduces School Spirit Pays (SSP) to key supporters and local community business leaders. Then SSP shows these businesses the innovative way they can provide monthly recurring donations to the schools in their district, at absolutely no additional cost or hassle to their business.

In fact, by being part of SSP, the businesses end up getting more sales as they show commitment to do good for the local schools. At its core, School Spirit Pays is a credit card processing company with a unique twist: once a business is enrolled and SSP becomes its credit card processing service, 25% of the business’s proceeds go back to Dickinson ISD. SSP handles all the work on the backend – i.e. migrating the business’s processing system, whether it’s through a terminal, point of sale system, web gateway or mobile application.

With every credit or debit transaction it accepts, every participating business is now creating new revenue for Dickinson ISD. Every card transaction automatically creates a donation, month after month. It’s that easy.

Success to Date
In six months, Dickinson ISD has seen its merchant enrollment rise to a point where it is now generating thousands of dollars a year for the schools. That number will continue to grow as new businesses join the program.

“It was so easy to sign up. My business is now doing something good for the kids in the community.” Said Diane Mackey, proprietor of Mackey Mechanical Services, “Every month, School Spirit Pays sends me a report showing the amount of money from my business that has gone to the Dickinson Foundation.

We are doing our part. Also, this gives us a new way to market to the parents. Come shop here and part of the proceeds will go back towards your kids’ schools.”

“It didn’t cost me anything. SSP said they would take care of everything, and they did! I even got a sticker for participation which I proudly display at my business.” said Dr. Laura Koehler, owner of Signature Eye Center, “I am now acknowledged as someone who donates to the local schools, as someone who cares about our kids and our future.”

“This program has exceeded our expectations. We are now getting regular income every month from the local merchants, and we want more.” Said Jeannie Thielemann.

It’s fast and easy to sign up. You can do it TODAY! Contact School Spirit Pays by calling 1-800-799-2390 or sending email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mammoth Schools NOW Case Study

Mammoth Schools NOW Education Foundation
creates a win-win with local merchants to deliver
recurring revenue to its schools.

Background
Like so many school districts around the country, Mammoth Lakes has had to rely on regular fundraisers to make up the dollar shortage created by budget cuts. Those fundraisers require a lot of work, and they end up being the same events targeting the same donors, over
and over again.

Then Mammoth learned about School Spirit Pays (SSP), a credit-card processing company with a unique twist. When merchants switch over to the SSP system, a portion of the transaction fees gets automatically donated to the local school district. There is no setup cost to the schools or the merchants, and no labor is required like with fundraisers. Every month, it’s just recurring revenue. Everybody wins.

Benefits of working with School Spirit Pays
First & foremost, the Mammoth Schools NOW Education Foundation was impressed by School Spirit Pays’ passion for helping the schools. With such shared values, it was easy for the two organizations to partner up.

How easy was it to enroll local merchants?

“Mammoth is a small town, so the conversation was easy. We told the merchants that switching to the SSP system would cost them nothing, and it will actually donate funds directly to the schools,” said Kristy Williams, lead volunteer for the Foundation.

“On top of fundraisers, now there is another source of funding - from local businesses. There is nothing to lose with SSP. No minimum requirements for anyone, just recurring revenues to our schools.”

Success to Date
Mammoth Schools NOW has seen its monthly donation from School Spirit Pays skyrocket in just a few months: while the first month was less than $100, they are on target for their eight month to see in excess of $1000 per month. And it will only continue to grow as Mammoth Schools NOW continues to
recruit new business sponsors to the program.

“As a business owner, I get approached several times a week by companies wanting to save us money on our merchant processing. I was skeptical when School Spirit Pays came along. They turned out to be the real deal. SSP matched our fees to the penny.

They made the switch painless, and 25% of their proceeds go toward Mammoth Schools Foundation. I am helping our schools here with NO cost to my business or to my customers. It is that easy.” said

John Mueller, the owner of John’s Pizza Works, How is School Spirit Pays able to do this?

All credit card processing companies have sales agents who are paid monthly commissions for the businesses they sign up for credit card processing. Instead of sales agents, School Spirit Pays works with non-profit organizations like Mammoth Schools NOW Foundation for introductions into their supporters and their community. Our local account manager in each community we serve then calls on the referral to discuss the program and supporting your foundation.

Once the business joins the program, you receive a monthly donation in their name, along with complete reporting on all your supporters. And of course, a monthly check!

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