Free money is back. Get COVID relief funds to shop at Stanislaus restaurants, stores
Everyone could use a little free money this time of year. And now the RAD Card is going to give Stanislaus County residents even more just in time for the holidays.
The mobile app, which stands for Relief Across Downtown, is getting another $1 million boost from Stanislaus County’s allocation of CARES Act federal funding for COVID-19 relief. That money will then be used to double users money, up to $100, for purchases made at local restaurants, retail shops and more.
The RAD Card has been available since August, when the Downtown Modesto Partnership launched the gift card app as an easy and contactless way to help local restaurants survive during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The app is free to download for anyone with a smartphone from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The first release this summer was funded by private donor dollars, and also allowed users to receive up to a $100 match.
The second release, launched in late October, got a massive upgrade in matching funds through an initial $1 million injection of CARES Act taxpayer-supported money. Shoppers could once again get up to a $100 match and this time the card expanded to downtown businesses across all cities in Stanislaus County.
The program is dipping into some of the $50 million CARES Act money earmarked for “community support” out of the total $96 million the county received.
Josh Bridegroom, president and CEO of the DoMo Partnership, said in the first three weeks of that fall relaunch some $500,000 was purchased to load onto cards. The program also ran out of its first round of private funding, and recently exhausted its Modesto-allocated federal matching funds as well.
New $1 million boost to program from CARES Act funds
That has all now been replenished with the second round of CARES Act funding. Bridegroom hopes more people will be able to take advantage of the program, and its $100 match. While folks who already took advantage of the full $100 match in the relaunch with federal funds won’t be able to get another, they can gift money to someone else who can then receive the match.
The newest release, which updated this weekend, also makes gifting the card easy and seamless with the“Send a Gift Card” option in the app. The newest version features more than a dozen virtual different greeting cards to send to recipients, as well as the ability to schedule when the gift goes out. The first person you gift will receive the full match as well, even if your personal match is maxed out.
To use the app, be sure to download the newest update. Bridegroom recommends deleting the app entirely and reinstalling it to make sure the newest version is being used, with all of its updated features.
Bridegroom said the program has exceeded his expectations since it started small in the summer. The relaunch with federal dollars also allowed them to expand beyond just Modesto’s downtown, adding Turlock, Oakdale Riverbank and all of the towns and unincoprorated areas of the county. More than 125 businesses are currently participating across the county.
But, the card still won’t expand outside of downtowns in any of the locations. He said to spread the $100 match across entire cities would limit its impact and water down the benefits to business owners too much. He said such a plan would take much more than the now $2 million invested from the county’s CARES Act money.
“If they want to go outside of downtowns that would take about $50 million. Otherwise we’re talking thousands and thousands of businesses and the result is each wouldn’t get very much,” Bridegroom said. “But we chose downtowns because they are the social and economic and historic places that everybody celebrates and has a sense of ownership of in a city.”
As a RAD Card user I can tell you it’s simple and fun to use the app. Another nice thing about the program is it does not charge you or the business fees, so all those dollars go directly to the restaurant or boutique instead of some financial institution somewhere far, far away.
You simply place your order with a business, and when you go to pick it up open the app and scan the QR code. That’s it, no need to open your wallet or sign anything. Just be sure to tip.
With all of Stanislaus County now under a new stay-at-home order again, supporting small local businesses during the shutdown and critical holiday shopping season is more important than ever. The RAD Card helps put dollars in people’s pockets designed to do exactly what we hope they will do. Shop local, shop small and help our community survive this pandemic and its safety shutdowns. Which, if you ask me, is pretty darn rad indeed.
To find out more about the RAD Card visit www.theradcard.com.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
