This holiday season, shoppers can support their children’s school by shopping online at www.schoolpartners.ca.  School Partners is like the school’s very own, free online mall.   Featuring over 200 top retailers — including Chapters, The Source, ModCloth, Sears, and The Disney Store — every sale generates a commission for the school (typically between two and 40 percent, depending on the product and retailer).  Best of all, schools receive 100 percent of the commissions earned by members of their school community.  

To see the potential, imagine if every holiday gift bought in a school’s community (i.e. for teachers, students, and their family members) each earned just a few dollars for the school.  For many schools, the result would be a windfall of thousands of dollars.

School Partners’ unique gift ideas and gift finders, Daily Deals, exclusive coupons and “Groupons”, as well as “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” specials (yes, for Canadians!), combine to make School Partners the ideal shopping portal with the best deals – all year round.  Browsing the 17 (and counting) store categories — from books, toys, and movies, to fashion and cosmetics, computers, electronics, and auction sites – expands shopping horizons and ensures shoppers find the right gift at the right price.   

School Partners’ three special verticals – SP Games, SP Travel, and Free Offers – also deliver exceptional value to shoppers, and exceptional earnings to schools.  SP Games position schools to tap the multi-billion electronic games market: X-Box, PS3, Wii, PC, Online, Mobile, and social gaming – rent, buy, and even play for free — all earn money for schools.   SP Travel partners, including Expedia, Priceline, and Hotels.com, score both the best deal on that next flight, hotel, car rental, business trip, or family vacation, and big money for the school.

The Free Offers include free games and downloads, and free trials – including for Netflix, the leading movie-streaming service in the United States now available in Canada.  Offers earn from $3.00 – $15.00 per household for the school.  The current selection can earn $60 per household for a school at no risk or cost to families.  (Some offers are free forever, and with the others, the school receives the commission even if the family chooses to cancel).   The free offers are constantly changing, so shoppers should snap up the ones that interest them.

Getting started on School Partners is easy, and only takes seconds.  Shoppers register on the site to list the school they want to support.  Registering creates a unique tracking code for each shopper, which is associated with the school listed on the shopper’s profile.  (As sales are tracked according to the school listed on the shopper’s profile, schools do not need to register to receive funds.  Shoppers do not need to contact the school first – but should pass the site URL on to their school community, family, and friends so they can support their schools too).   

Once registered, shoppers login to School Partners whenever they shop, and simply click on the links to their favourite stores.  From the link on School Partners, the shopper is taken to the retailer’s own website (e.g. www.chapters.indigo.ca).  If the shopper buys something, the store tracks the sale and the commission. 

The stores send School Partners the commissions with reports indicating the tracking codes of the shoppers who made the purchases and the associated commission amounts.  (We do not receive any information of what was purchased or any payment details, such as credit card information). 

School Partners matches the tracking codes with the associated schools.  Money earned by members of the school community is paid directly to the school’s parent organization (e.g. PAC, School Council, Home and School Association) with no strings attached.  With each payment, we provide full reporting of commissions earned by store, commission amount, and date of sale.  

Schools can make substantial money this holiday season with School Partners.  And this is just the beginning.  We have some pretty big ideas “under construction” that will create even more income for our schools.  These will be launched early in the new year.

The School Partners Foundation, Inc., is a Canadian social business that turns what people and companies do everyday — shop, search, play, and advertise — into growing monthly income for Canadian schools.  We are based in Nanaimo, BC.

Our Mission is to use social networking and social business to give every school in Canada the opportunities, tools, and money to excel and grow stronger everyday — as educators of our children, as school communities, and as global citizens.  A natural priority of this mission is helping schools ensure every student is well-nourished and able to participate fully in school activities. 

We’ll work year-round with parent organizations to leverage social networking and innovative ways for schools to make money on the internet.  Together, we’ll grow each school’s income month over month, watching it meet and then surpass the school’s fundraising goals. 

Social Business is a revolutionary paradigm created by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning inventor of micro-credit and founder of the Grameen Bank. 

As a social business — and federally incorporated non-profit organization – School Partners generates immediate (pre-profit) income for schools – including 100 percent of commissions from the SP Mall.  As well, profits from School Partners do not go to shareholders. Instead, they will be directed to school-based programs and growing the business for our schools.