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When Franklin County, Kentucky set out to address rising concerns around youth substance use and disconnectedness, local leaders knew they needed a new approach. Families were struggling to afford enrichment activities, after-school hours were going unstructured, and too many students lacked access to supportive, supervised spaces.
County officials began looking for a model that had proven success elsewhere; something they could tailor to their own community’s needs. They found that Reykjavik, Iceland’s Leisure Card program gave young people financial access to organized sports, music, arts, and other extracurricular activities.
That inspiration became the YES Card, a $400/year enrichment card for middle and high school students to use at local, approved businesses offering extracurricular activities. But to turn that vision into a functioning, sustainable program, Franklin County needed a platform that could do more than just deliver funds.
They needed something secure, scalable, and built for local impact. They chose Yiftee.
“Since we started Just Say Yes, we have seen improvements in measures of connectedness as well as mental health and substance use,” said Just Say Yes Director Amelia Berry. “The Yes Card impacted out-of-school participation, which encouraged us to continue expanding the Yes Cards and making sure the program continues.”
The YES Card may have started as a modest local pilot, but it has since turned into a nationally recognized model for youth empowerment, health promotion, and economic resilience. Yiftee's platform provided a turnkey solution that matched exactly what the county envisioned.
With these features in place, Franklin County was able to roll out the YES Card quickly, without administrative headaches or vendor resistance. And the results followed.
At launch, just seven local vendors were participating. Today, that number has grown to 38 local businesses and organizations offering classes, programs, and training for students in areas like dance, sports, martial arts, music, and theater. See a full list here.
These vendors aren’t just accepting payments—they’re becoming mentors, role models, and trusted community partners in the development of local youth. Youth who grow up and develop in an environment where they are well-supported by their parents/caregivers and family, have friends to spend time with that are not engaging in substance use, enjoy going to school where they are supported and nurtured and have opportunities to participate in positive, character-building and prosocial leisure time activities are much less likely to engage in substance use early in their lives.
This philosophy is central to the YES Card, and it’s showing up in the data.
The YES Card is achieving its mission: to increase youth engagement in structured, positive activities through equitable access.
The odds of participation in activities such as arts, music, dance, and organized sports doubled in 2021 when receiving the YES Card intervention compared to students who did not receive the YES Card.
Girls and students who didn’t identify with a gender were 3x more likely to participate in non-sport out-of-school activities.
Notably, students who self-identify as Black/African American and students who perceived their financial status as worse off than others were more likely to participate in organized sports.
The behavioral outcomes are especially promising. Recipients are more than three times less likely to get drunk, more than twice as less likely to vape, and twice less likely to use cannabis.
These kinds of results don’t just happen. They’re the product of intentional investment in programs, in students, and in a system that makes it all possible.
In the first year of the program, just a fraction of students with the YES Card reported participating in organized, out-of-school activities. But by the next year, that number had nearly doubled. That means that the number of students taking advantage of the YES Card multiplied in a year after seeing their friends try out new activities and mentors encourage exploration. This ripple effect—peers encouraging peers—is one of the best signs a program is working. And it’s a reminder that when opportunities are made visible and accessible, families respond.
Beyond student impact, the YES Card has become a quiet engine of local economic development. Over the last five years, $1 million has been distributed to Franklin County students and redeemed at participating local businesses. That’s $1 million in after-school programs, lessons, leagues, and classes. That’s $1 million kept in the local economy, helping small businesses grow right alongside their future customers.
Because Yiftee’s platform is closed-loop, those funds don’t leave the community—they build it.
The YES Card has been a success in Franklin County. But it’s also just one example of what’s possible with the right tools and local leadership.
At Yiftee, we support programs across the country for:
Our goal is to make it easier for local governments and community leaders to support their residents—and to keep public dollars working locally.
Want to explore how Yiftee can power your next local initiative? Schedule a demo with our team at Yiftee today!
Because every community deserves a YES.
Photos courtesy of justsayyesky.org