Buy BC Gift Cards Come Back to Help Bay County Small Businesses

As new COVID-19 restrictions have been put into place, The Bay Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) and Bay Future, Inc. (BFI) are re-instituting the “Buy BC” Gift Card program to help area small businesses.

The program, implemented earlier this year, provided a $120,000 boost to the local economy at a time when many businesses struggled. Like the initial program, Buy Local, Buy BC will continue to offer consumers an additional 25 percent in purchasing power at local businesses with 100 percent of proceeds going directly to area businesses.

Gift cards will be available in $20 increments. For every $20 gift card purchased, the Buy BC “fund” will provide an additional 25 percent to the gift certificate to that same business at no added expense to the purchaser or business. Customers will be able to purchase a $25 gift card for $20. Customers will be able to purchase these gift cards on a first-come-first-serve basis until the gift cards are sold out.

Eligible businesses include those in the retail, restaurant, or service industry with a physical location in Bay County, Michigan. Businesses must first sign up to participate in the program. The sign-up process will be as follows:

• 1. Businesses sign up at www.baycityarea.com/events/details/buy-bc-business-sign-up4424
• 2. Businesses will receive confirmation email, letting them know they have successfully signed up
• 3. Businesses will need to visit giftup.com and follow the steps listed *you do not have to be a BACC member to be eligible for the program

In order to be guaranteed inclusion in the program, businesses must complete the application process before 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 24, 2020. Once Bay County businesses have opted into the program, BACC and BFI will communicate with those participating businesses and provide a “social media toolkit” so they can promote the sale of gift cards for their own business. This gives those businesses the opportunity to increase the stimulus money they will receive from the Buy BC fund.

The 25 percent stimulus on consumer sales will be allocated back to that business. The more gift cards that are sold to their business, the more money they receive. BACC and BFI will make an announcement that the Buy BC program is open to the public for purchase and will continue to promote via social media. The program will end once the targeted amount of gift cards has been purchased. BACC and BFI will then deliver stimulus checks to those participating businesses. Gift cards will be active for one year, starting on the purchase date.

For questions regarding the Buy BC program, please contact Jodi Lamont jodi at bay city area dot com or call (989) 893-4567.