March 7, 2007

New England Businesses Rally Together to Thank United Way Donors

BOSTON – This week nearly 15,000 individuals from across the region who invested in the community through United Way will open their mail to find a collective “thank you” from nearly a hundred national and local retailers and service providers. The gratitude comes in the form of a membership card to Caring Club, a comprehensive recognition program that allows cardholders exclusive access to hundreds of discounts from local and national retailers. United Way projects 15,000 to 20,000 donors will receive Caring Club memberships this year.

Caring Club was created to recognize and reward United Way supporters for helping to make life better for children and families throughout our region,” says Milton J. Little, president and CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley. “We have been fortunate that so many businesses see this as a valuable and inventive philanthropic program and have decided to get involved.”

In the program, companies including BJs Wholesale Club, Chadwicks, Legal Sea Foods, Bally Total Fitness, Liz Claiborne, MLB.com Shop, Choice Hotels and Pini Swissa Salon, provide special savings to Caring Club cardholders. Offers include free trial memberships and magazine subscriptions, as well as discounts such as $15 off a $50 purchase.

Michael Bronner, founder of Digitas and Upromise, and a supporter of United Way says, “Businesses and donors are responding so well to this program. It’s another way to connect with the people who make our community stronger, rewarding those who give to help others.”

Caring Club rewards any donor who invests $156 or more a year into community solutions through United Way and opts to become a part of the network by remaining in touch and receiving updates from the organization. In its first year, Caring Club included nearly 15,000 members, 650 of whom had never donated to United Way in the past. As a group, Caring Club members invested $16 million into the community in 2006.

Caring Club has also seen success in several other states. When implemented in Boulder, Colo. in connection with Foothills United Way, Caring Club resulted in a 20 percent increase in the amount of donors contributing $144 or more to the organization. Elsewhere, at Heart of America United Way in Kansas City, Mo. Caring Club membership grew from 26,000 to 31,000 in just two years.

For more information on Caring Club, individuals can visit: www.mycaringclub.org. The Website also allows caring club members to download additional coupons, view new business, and find coupon codes for online purchases.