Sumner’s Daffodil Festival, troubled by diminishing operating funds in recent years, will have a new revenue source for its future endeavors. The nonprofit has partnered with card transaction processor Eliot Management Group to become a beneficiary of its new Merchant Network program.
The program was launched by the company May 20 to allow businesses to support their favorite college sports programs through micro-donations on every card transaction.
“During that time an article came out about the Daffodil Festival and how, due to lack of funds, 2009 could be the last year of putting on the festival without support,” said Steve Wilczek, an Eliot account representative. “Being a lifelong Tacoman, that just about broke my heart.
“I’m not in a position to stand up as a volunteer or just give money, but my company had this program that could work.”
Merchants that accept credit or debit cards are charged a transaction fee payable to the processing company every time a customer uses one of those payment methods. Usually the amount of the fee is 1 to 2 percent of the total cost of product or service and merchants may or may not pass that cost on to customers, depending on store policy.
Eliot has offered its existing and potential customers the option of designating a percentage of every transaction fee to go to one of the causes partnered with the company. A typical micro-donation would only be a few cents, but multiple transactions a day from several participating high-traffic businesses would add up over time. The Daffodil Festival is currently one of two causes partnered with Eliot; the other is University of Utah sports.
Participants receive a terminal and window sticker labeled with their chosen beneficiary, and their name is listed online as a business that supports the particular cause, theoretically attracting patronage from conscious consumers, Wilczek said.
If the program gains popularity among local merchants, as Eliot management hopes, it could provide a consistent supplementary income to the non-profit Daffodil Festival, which has historically relied on outright donations from longtime partners.
“Right now, there is less attention toward courting new sponsors than working with old sponsors,” Daffodil Chief Branding Officer Steve James said. “There’s a need to massage those relationships.
“I think, as far as the concept of running a (card) terminal in a business to support the festival, it will provide a great additional revenue stream.”
One aspect of the festival that James stressed was the fact that it is a year-round endeavor.
“People tend to think of us in terms of the parade in spring, but that’s just a celebration of what we and the girls we work with do all year,” James said. “After April it seems like the festival is over. My job is to make sure it works as a 12 month operation.”
Every year, the Daffodil Festival appoints one distinguished senior girl from each high school to join the royal court as a princess. Over the course of a year, the girls are trained in social graces and community involvement. One is selected to be Daffodil Queen, and all members of the royal court are awarded college scholarships.
