How To Make A Discount Card Fundraiser?

A discount card fundraiser is one of the most practical ways to raise money for your school, sports team, church, or nonprofit. You sell cards that give buyers access to discounts at local businesses, and your organization keeps the profit from every card sold.

Unlike candy or wrapping paper sales, a discount card gives supporters savings they can use for months at places they already visit. The model is simple, the profit margins are high, and supporters get something tangible in return for their money.

Step 1: Set Your Fundraising Goal

Start by deciding how much money you need to raise. A clear goal tells you exactly how many cards to sell and at what price.

To calculate your target:

• Decide your fundraising goal (for example, $5,000)
• Choose your card price (for example, $15 per card)
• Divide the goal by the card price to find how many cards you need to sell (334 cards in this case)
• Divide that number by your team size to set individual targets.

Keep the individual target realistic. A team of 20 selling 17 cards each is far more achievable than expecting a handful of people to carry the entire campaign. A clear, specific target also gives sellers a number to work toward and lets organizers measure progress throughout the campaign.

Step 2: Partner With Local Businesses

The strength of your discount card depends entirely on the businesses behind it. The better the deals, the easier the cards are to sell.

How Many Businesses Do You Need?

Aim for 10 to 20 local businesses. That number gives your card enough variety to appeal to different buyers without making the card feel cluttered or overwhelming.

Focus on businesses your community already uses regularly:

• Restaurants and cafes
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Gyms and fitness studios
• Retail shops and boutiques
• Car washes and service businesses

What Kinds of Discounts to Ask For?

Keep the ask simple and reasonable. Discounts that work well include:

• 10% to 15% off total purchase
• Buy one, get one free on specific items
• A fixed dollar amount off a minimum spend

The key is making sure the discount feels genuinely valuable. A card that saves someone $5 to $10 per visit pays for itself quickly and motivates repeat use throughout the year.

The good news is that businesses are more open to this than most people expect. In fact, 91% of small businesses believe that businesses should give back to their local communities, and 64% sponsored or donated goods or services to local events in the past year. A discount card partnership gives them a structured, low-effort way to do exactly that.

Step 3: Design Your Discount Card

A well-designed card communicates professionalism and makes the offer immediately clear. Supporters are more confident buying a card that looks polished, and volunteers are more confident selling one.

What to Include on the Card?

Every discount card should have:

• Your organization’s name and logo
• A list of participating businesses and their offers
• The card’s validity period
• A contact or website for more information

Keep the layout clean. Cramming too many businesses onto one card makes it hard to read and reduces the perceived value of each offer.

Plastic vs Paper Cards

Plastic cards suit most discount card campaigns better than paper. Paper cards can tear, fade, and wear out with regular use in a wallet. When a card deteriorates, supporters stop carrying it, which means they stop using it and stop thinking about your cause.

Plastic cards look professional, last the full validity period, and signal to buyers that your organization takes its fundraiser seriously. If you want cards that hold up for the full campaign, our team at Duracard prints custom plastic fundraising cards in-house at our Minnesota facility. Our 12-offer and 18-offer layouts give your partner businesses clear, readable space on the card.

Step 4: Price and Print Your Cards

Pricing your card correctly is the difference between a campaign that sells out and one that stalls. Many groups price their discount cards in the $10 to $20 range. Here is how to think about it:

• The price is too low, and you leave money on the table
• The price is too high, and supporters hesitate at the point of sale
• The sweet spot is a price where the card clearly pays for itself after two or three uses

If your card includes discounts at ten local businesses, and each visit saves someone $5 to $10, a $15 card is an obvious yes for most buyers.

Once your price is set, work with a card printer to finalize and produce your cards. Choose a manufacturer that handles design, printing, and shipping in-house to reduce costs and turnaround time.

Step 5: Build Your Sales Team

Your cards do not sell themselves. You need a motivated, organized team behind the campaign.

Assign every seller a specific card count target based on your overall goal. Give them everything they need before they start:

• A stack of cards ready to sell
• A short script explaining the card and its value
• Information about the cause the fundraiser supports
• A deadline to keep the campaign moving

The cleaner and more organized your setup, the more your team will follow through. Sellers who feel prepared and supported consistently outperform those who are handed a stack of cards with no direction.

Step 6: Promote and Sell Your Cards

Promotion often decides whether a fundraiser stalls early or reaches its goal. The more people who know about your campaign, the more cards you sell.

In-Person Sales

In-person selling works well for discount card fundraisers, since people are more willing to buy when someone they know asks them directly. Encourage your team to:

• Sell to family, friends, and neighbors first
• Set up a table at school events, sports games, or community gatherings
• Ask local businesses if they will display or sell cards on your behalf

Social Media and Online Promotion

Online promotion extends your reach beyond your immediate network. Post regularly across Facebook, Instagram, and any community groups your audience uses. Include:

• A clear explanation of what the card offers
• Photos of the participating businesses
• Your fundraising goal and how close you are to hitting it
• A direct way to buy or reserve a card

Total US charitable giving reached an estimated $617.20 billion in 2025, up 5.7% from the year before. People want to support causes they care about. Your job is simply to make it easy for them to say yes!

Step 7: Distribute Cards and Track Results

Once cards are sold, distribute them quickly. Supporters who wait too long between purchasing and receiving their card lose momentum and enthusiasm.

Keep track of:

• How many cards each seller has distributed
• Total revenue collected to date versus your goal
• Which businesses are being used most frequently

Tracking your numbers lets you identify what is working, recognize top sellers, and adjust your approach if you are falling short of your target. A simple spreadsheet is enough for most campaigns.

How Much Money Can You Make With a Discount Card Fundraiser?

Discount card fundraisers can keep most of the sale price as profit, since printing is the main cost and participating businesses fund the discounts. Here is an example using sample figures:

• 300 cards sold at $15 each = $4,500 in revenue
• Sample printing cost = $300
• Net profit = $4,200

Actual printing costs vary by quantity, card features, and layout, so request a quote before you set your card price.

Larger campaigns with bigger sales teams can raise more from a single campaign. For context, the median amount raised from fundraisers in the 2022-23 school year was $8,500, and 71% of school fundraising leaders met or exceeded their goals that year. One well-run discount card campaign can cover a large share of a typical school’s yearly fundraising total.

The profit potential is real. What determines your result is the quality of your business partnerships, the size of your sales team, and how aggressively you promote the campaign.

Important FAQs

How much does it cost to start a discount card fundraiser? 

Startup costs are low. The main expense is printing your cards, and the price depends on the number of cards, the layout, and features such as numbering or barcodes. Since participating businesses provide discounts at no cost, most of your card sale revenue goes directly to your cause.

How many businesses do I need for a discount card fundraiser? 

Aim for 10 to 20 local businesses. That gives your card enough variety to appeal to different buyers while keeping the card clean and easy to read. Focus on businesses your community visits regularly.

Who can run a discount card fundraiser? 

Any organization can run one. Schools, sports teams, churches, bands, nonprofits, and community groups all use discount card fundraisers successfully. The model works for any group with an organized sales team and a clear fundraising goal.

Bottom Line 

A discount card fundraiser works because it gives everyone something to gain. Supporters get genuine savings. Local businesses get new customers. And your organization keeps the profit from every card sold. Partner businesses also gain goodwill and new foot traffic from supporters in their own community. The setup is straightforward, and with printing as the main cost, most of the money raised stays with your group.

Supporters keep using a fundraising card when the card looks like it belongs to their school, team, or church. At Duracard, we print fundraising cards in full color on durable PVC, with room for your group’s photo, sponsor logos, and the full list of partner offers. Sequential numbering can be added to help your group keep count of the cards handed to sellers, and a writable finish lets buyers sign the back.

Start planning your fundraising card with Duracard and give supporters a card worth carrying.