.PNG){kind=spacer}
Employers, like residents, are members of communities, and they play vital roles in helping their regions thrive in many ways. Most employers are already using gift cards as employee rewards for their hard work, holiday gifts and customer appreciation. Now they can use Community Gift Cards and “give back” at the same time by keeping local dollars local.
$2M in spending kept local in downtown Detroit
Workingwith Quicken Loans, Bedrock Development and International Bancard in Detroit,Yiftee created The DetroitCard in late 2017. Yiftee had already been serving local businesses, chainsand franchises for five years with its proven digital gift card service. In thenext two years, companies and individuals gave $2M in Detroit Cards that mightotherwise have gone to national brands and online commerce. Instead, all thosefunds were or will be spent in the downtown Detroit area, benefiting local shops,restaurants, services and entertainment. Card holders have choices of more than110 different merchants who accept The Detroit Card. Employers who send thecards can save money through refunds of unspent funds on the cards, making thisa win-win-win for companies, merchants and employees.
Smaller cities too are adopting Community Gift Cards for employee appreciation
InSpartanburg, SC the Chamber of Commerce worked with Yiftee to create the “Spartanbucks”gift card. Employers like the City of Spartanburg and Mary Black Hospital purchasedSpartanbucks as holiday gifts. All year long, employees spent them with localmerchants. Yiftee and its local partners set up other Community Gift Cards acrossthe country from Naples,FL to the LittleItaly Food Hall in San Diego, CA, encompassing main streets, neighborhoods,local malls, food courts and farmers’ markets. For the 2019 holiday season,dozens more Chambers of Commerce, Merchant Associations, Economic DevelopmentOffices, Developers and others joined the Community Gift Card movement.
Companies can save money and track employee rewards easily
Employers are switching from national brands and ecommerce to keep their local dollars local. Yiftee offers an enterprise platform to manage budgets, gift-giver access and reporting. In addition to holiday gifting, Corporations use their Community Gift Cards for customer appreciation, marketing programs, anniversaries and spot bonuses. Using the platform, they save money and give back at the same time. Most employers have either a formal or an informal way that they recognize employees and appreciate customers. Now they can do that and help the local businesses that make their community strong at the same time.
