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Trustees approve Thrive Credit Union 'spirit card' program to raise small debit-card donations for schools
Summary
The board authorized a partnership with Thrive Credit Union to offer school-branded debit spirit cards that return 8¢ per transaction to the district and include a pledged $2,000 first-year donation; the program costs the district nothing to launch.
Anderson Community School Corp. trustees on May 11 authorized a partnership with Thrive Credit Union to offer school-branded debit 'spirit cards' that will return a small sum to the district on each transaction.
Brad Meadows described the program and said Thrive will design school-specific cards and handle upfront costs. "For every transaction, we get 8¢ back," Meadows said. Thrive also pledged at least $2,000 to local schools in the first year and will cover card development costs; there is no cost to the district.
Meadows said the program has generated funds in neighboring districts since March 2025 and showed examples of marketing materials and student features used in other school campaigns. Existing customers could switch to a spirit card and new customers could enroll at a Thrive branch once local cards are available.
The board voted by roll call to authorize the district to move forward with signing an agreement and implementing the spirit-card program; trustees emphasized not disrupting existing local-bank relationships and said the program is exclusive to Thrive’s offering.
Next steps: the district will work with Thrive on card design and launch logistics; Meadows said cards should be available in a few months and the district will determine how to allocate proceeds (examples include local education foundations or direct school support).
