RAD Cards sell out in less than 2 weeks
Tuolumne County has sold out of $455,755 worth of electronic gift cards that automatically double the amount of money consumers can spend at locally owned businesses, less than two weeks after they first went on sale the weekend before Thanksgiving.
People could purchase the so-called RAD cards, which stands for Relief Across Downtown, exclusively through a smartphone app, and whatever amount they spent up to $100 would be equally matched by the county using federal COVID-19 relief funds.
What all of that essentially means is more than $911,000 will be infused into the local economy over the coming weeks.
Funding for the program was allocated by the county Board of Supervisors in September using some of the $5.3 million that the county received this year from the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act economic stimulus package passed by Congress in March.
“We assumed the money would be spent quickly, but this was even more quickly than I think anyone expected,” County Supervisor Ryan Campbell, who serves as board chairman, said on Thursday. “I think it just shows that the community really responded positively to it.”
The board approved a $515,000 contract for the Downtown Modesto Partnership Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Modesto, to implement the program in Tuolumne County after it proved to be popular in both Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
About $60,000 of the contract went to the organization for administration and transaction fees.
One of the unique aspects of the program is that the money on cards can only be spent at eligible locally owned businesses that sign-up for the program. More than 150 businesses in Tuolumne County were participating as of Thursday (see complete alphabetized list on page A6).
“The fact that we basically injected a million dollars into our local economy in a short period of time was by design,” Campbell said. “We’ve all struggled over the past few years. This was a way to provide a little relief for our local business
es and struggling families.”
Josh Bridegroom, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Modesto Partnership, said at a webinar before the program launched in Tuolumne County that it took about eight weeks for the first $1 million of RAD Cards to be purchased in Stanislaus County and about another eight weeks for all that to be spent at businesses by consumers.
Cole Przybyla, the county innovation and business assistance director, said RAD Card purchases in the county had totaled $178,126 as of Thursday morning. Participating businesses were able to start accepting the cards as payment on Nov. 24.
“The true benefit is for our mom-and-pop retail shops and restaurants with products for sale at $100 or less,” Przybyla said. “When you think back on the past year and half, that’s who had the largest hit from the pandemic.”
Przybyla said whether more funding will be added to the program is a decision that has to be made by the county Board of Supervisors, though he would recommend it given the popularity.
About $2.4 million remains from the initial $5.3 million the county received last May from the American Rescue Plan Act, with an additional $5.3 million expected to come from the federal government in May next year.
The board allocated $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan funding for the RAD Card program in September, with an additional $15,000 coming from the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau, Sonora Area Foundation and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Another $500,000 went toward a newly launched grant program for nonprofit organizations and community groups that were hurt by the pandemic, while other funding went toward other uses that included purchasing fire equipment, improving cyber security, and a study intended to help the county identify ways to reduce the amount it spends annually on rented facilities.
Campbell said he was open to the idea of the board considering whether to put more money into the RAD Card program before the end of the year, though he would also first like to see data on how the money is being spent to determine if any changes should be made.
“We went into this with the thought that we’ll start out with a half-million dollars and will revisit it if it’s successful,” he said. “That’s obviously what has happened, so I think there’s a strong chance that if not this year, certainly next year we’ll be adding more money to RAD cards.”