frequently asked questions
What is the purpose of the Community Card programs?
What are the objectives of the programs?
What are the community benefits?
What kinds of businesses are in the Community Card programs?
When did the programs launch?
What is a Community Card and how does it work?
What are the benefits for participating in the Community Card programs?
Does it cost a business anything to join?
Do I have to change any hardware or software to participate?
What if I don’t have a MasterCard or Visa terminal?
Is there a time commitment when I sign up for the program?
What is a Community Rebate offer?
What is the rebate breakout on a qualifying transaction?
Can I change my Community Rebate offer?
Can I offer “specials” that override the rebate offer?
How will the Community Rebate be collected and dispensed?
Is there a cost for swiping any card in a terminal?
In addition to providing a rebate, in what other ways can I participate?
How will businesses promote the program?
What does a store employee need to know to process a Community Card?
How do I get started?
What is the mission?
Who started Interra?
How is it structured and funded? How do I contact Interra?
The Community Card Programs
What is the purpose of the Community Card programs?
The purpose of the programs is to provide citizens, local businesses and non profits access to information and technology enabling them to shop locally and share locally. The program promotes shopping at participating businesses while rewarding customers and donating to their favorite causes. The program directs money to local businesses and nonprofits creating a way for citizen-consumers to make choices about their spending while affecting where money circulates within our community.
What are the objectives of the programs?
The objective is to empower consumers by building an understanding of the impact of their purchasing decisions. The program brings together the civic, nonprofit and business sectors and enables them to leverage the power of the consumer dollar to reverse negative social and environmental trends.
What are the community benefits?
The programs provide a new source of dollars flowing back to schools and nonprofits. Consumers begin to adjust their purchasing decisions through increased purchases from locally-focused businesses thus contributing to a more sustainable economy and a revitalized community.
What kinds of businesses are in the Community Card programs?
The programs focus on locally-focused, environmentally and sustainably-minded businesses. Sustainably-minded businesses are value-driven as well as profit-driven, committed to social and environmental responsibility and operate in ways that help solve environmental, social and economic problems. These businesses adopt principles and practices that improve the quality of life for their customers, their employees and their community.
Boston Community Change: November 2006 Puget Sound Community Change: November 2007 I Buy NEO: April 2008 Green Festival Community Change: April 2008
What is a Community Card and how does it work?
The magnetic strip and bar-coded card functions as a community loyalty card and is not used for payment. The customer pays with cash, check, credit or debit card. Businesses swipe or scan the Community Card first and then proceed as usual with the transaction. The data is sent using the existing credit card terminal and the businesses are billed monthly for the community rebate amount. Interra disburses the dollars to cardholders and their chosen beneficiaries.
Business Participation
What are the benefits for participating in the Community Card programs?
Businesses will attract new customers as a result of program related marketing and promotions including: media and publicity, inclusion in our online directory, community events and member communications. In addition, businesses can expect an increased frequency of sales on above average transactions. Cardholders are rewarded for buying from the local businesses and given the opportunity to give back to schools and local non-profits.
Does it cost a business anything to join?
There is no cost to join the program. You are charged a rebate only when someone makes a purchase and you are billed accordingly on a monthly basis.
Do I have to change any hardware or software to participate?
No. The program will work on your existing MasterCard or Visa credit card terminal.
What if I don’t have a MasterCard or Visa terminal?
Businesses can manually enter transactions into their on-line account. If you want a terminal to swipe the Community Cards, Interra will work with your organization to obtain one.
Is there a time commitment when I sign up for the program?
Yes. Businesses commit to participate in the program for two years. The agreement renews automatically on a year-to-year basis after the first two-year term until a notice of termination by the merchant is received.
What is a Community Rebate offer?
The businesses set a rebate and a minimum purchase amount. The rebate can be a %, e.g. 5% rebate for purchases over $20.00 or a fixed amount, e.g. $5.00 on minimum purchase of $20.00 with a maximum of $50.00.
Can I change my Community Rebate offer?
Yes. Businesses can change their Community Rebate at any time and as often as they would like.
Can I offer “specials” that override the rebate plan?
Yes. A business can create and manage multiple specials. A special is an alternative rebate plan that can be activated on one or more days of the week and last for a range of dates. For example, on the first Tuesday of every month businesses can increase the rebate to a certain %. This can also be used for cross-marketing amongst neighborhood businesses, e.g. offer a special during the monthly Artwalk.
How will the Community Rebate be collected and dispensed?
On a monthly basis a merchants will be invoiced and their accounts debited for the total accumulated rebates generated through participating shoppers. These rebates will then be distributed to the customers and chosen beneficiaries as cash back rewards and donations respectively. Merchants can log in to their online account and view transactions at any time.
Is there a cost for swiping any card in a terminal?
There is a $.26 transaction processing fee for using the credit card terminal. The fee is deducted from the rebate amount. You are not charged an additional $.26. To cover the cost of this processing fee, merchants must set a rebate amount that at a minimum covers the transaction cost of $.26.
What is the rebate breakout on a qualifying transaction?
The rebate breakout differs for each Community Card program. Please consult your local program site for specific information on your Community Rebate. An example of the Puget Sound Community Change rebate breakout is shown below.
If the total purchase amount is $12.60 and the rebate is 10% then the total rebate amount is $1.26. After the $.26 cents has been deducted, the remaining $1.00 is broken out as follows:
- $.35 as a reward to the cardholder
- $.35 as a donation to the cardholders beneficiaries (not for profits or schools)
- $.10 to the local community program
- $.20 to administer the program network
In addition to providing a rebate, in what other ways can I participate?
Businesses can inform other businesses, tell customers about the program or donate other resources to introduce and promote the program to the community.
How will businesses promote the program?
Businesses will be provided window decals, point of sale and in-store materials and displays to draw attention to the program. Cardholders will receive monthly e-newsletters highlighting local businesses, events and nonprofits. Stores can also individually promote benefits that they decide to offer through the program. Window posters will promote other businesses participating in the program.
What does a store employee need to know to process a Community Card?
The Community Card is handled like any other payment card that fails.
1) The customer presents the Community Card to the cashier at purchase
2) The cashier enters the total purchase amount into the credit card terminal
3) The Community Card is swiped through the terminal
4) The terminal returns a “Decline for Payment” or “Invalid Card” message. This is due to the fact that the Community Card is a non-payment card.
5) The customer then proceeds to pay in any form desired (cash, check, credit or debit card) as usual and the transaction is complete.
Its easy and there is no cost to enroll. Complete and sign the merchant agreement, attach a voided check, set a rebate plan, email your logo for the online business directory and we will stop by to do a first swipe and to provide you with the appropriate materials.
The Interra Project
To empower a community based movement of citizen consumers by providing tools for a direct alignment between daily economic activities and our deepest human values.
The founding of Interra is the result of a five year work process involving over 100 leading social entrepreneurs including Visa International founder Dee Hock, Greg Steltenpohol, the founder of Odwalla Juice Company, and Jon Ramer, founder of ELF Technologies and SmartChannels.
How is it structured and funded?
Interra is incorporated as a non-profit tax-exempt project. Our fiscal sponsor is the Natural Capital Institute (NCI) (www.naturalcapital.org). Author and environmentalist Paul Hawken is the Executive Director of NCI. Interra is funded through grants from the Russell Family Foundation (www.trff.org), Steltenpohl Family Funds, The Tides Center, the Rudolph Steiner Foundation, the Columbia Foundation (www.columbia.org), Panta Rhea and individual donors.
info@interraproject.org
206 526-2323
or 6537 4th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117
