By Ashley Kasprzak
JVA Senior Consultant

For decades, many people fortunate enough to have disposable income have been patriotic by purchasing whatever, whenever they wanted. Supporting the commercial market is encouraged and celebrated by the media and government. People talk about, and some even brag about, shopping—an ingrained American pastime. No matter tradition, it seems that everyone is putting greater thought into his/her expenditures this year. I know that my family and I are.

Today’s economy, paired with the fact that my 8-year-old son’s competitive baseball is expensive, has me thinking of creative fundraising. His team sells discount cards for Subway and Papa Murphy’s.

We are about to sell King Soopers gift cards, too. This grocery store has a Neighborhood Reward Program with a return of 3 to 5 percent for all expenditures of groceries and gas. Since my husband and I make most of our grocery and gas purchases at this store, nearly $400 a year will go directly to my son’s baseball team! It takes some preplanning before diving right in to shop, yet it still seems worth it. To set it up in Colorado, call Hazel, a King Soopers gift card representative, at 303.698.3403. Provide her with your organization name, phone number and the contact person who will be responsible. Indicate how many reloadable gift cards and the number that you want to start. Gift cards can be from $2.50 to $500 and they can be reloaded for years to come. The card will be linked to your nonprofit organization.

Every four-week period, King Soopers will review the nonprofit’s account and at whatever point that $5,000 of sales has been reached, the corporation will send a check to the nonprofit. A drawback is that patrons must load their cards at the customer service desk each time the card needs more money. Plus, the patron must pay with a check or cash. Debit seems easiest to me, but I am reminded of JVA’s adage, “S/he who has the gold makes the rules.”

Also through King Soopers, you may be interested in the Upromise program, which includes numerous brand-name companies. You purchase their products and a small portion of the price goes into a college savings account in your child’s name. No doubt it’s more complicated than that, but it sounds pretty good.

Several large corporations feature items where a portion of the gift goes to a charity. Target has over 50 “products for a cause,” such as a red can opener, blender or coffeemaker to support the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement; white radio for the Amercian Red Cross; or yellow ceramic mugs and tea pots for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. In some cases, over 50 percent of the purchase price goes back to the nonprofit.

On a local level, Partners Mentoring Youth of Larimer County is encouraging its supporters to buy gift cards through ServeNation. By purchasing gift cards to real stores like Chipotle, or virtual stores like iTtunes, you can support at-risk youth.

Perhaps even more rewarding is attending an alternative holiday market. Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity in Evergreen, a former client of JVA, says that its alternative market held every November is the best in Colorado. Maybe next year I’ll get up there. Fortunately, many progressive organizations hold similar fairs across Colorado. I recently purchased a box full of items at my church to benefit the Women’s Bean Project. This amazing program helps women break the cycle of poverty.

Remember, there are thousands of ways you can be a patriotic AND charitable American during this holiday season. Happy shopping, and oh yeah, try to find time to volunteer as well. Call your favorite nonprofit or look here. Set it up before you realize that you are too busy. At least, that’s my trick!