Downtown Dollars promotes center city businesses

UDA sells gift certificates, called Downtown Dollars, which can be redeemed at any of more than 30 participating center city retailers. Certificates went on sale in late November, and “several hundred dollars” worth of certificates have sold, according to Brian Fogle, executive director of Great Southern Bank’s Community Development Corp., a partner in Downtown Dollars. Certificates are available year-round at the UDA offices, 304 W. McDaniel St., or the Great Southern branches on South Avenue and East Battlefield Road.

A lesson from Kansas

UDA Executive Director Rusty Worley said the idea came from a similar program in Lawrence, Kan., where Springfield representatives made a visit in June as part of their annual Discover Downtown trip.

“In Lawrence, they had partnered with a bank there to provide this concept of a downtown gift certificate, and it had been very helpful in adding value to their membership organization,” Worley said. “When we got back, we visited with the Downtown Springfield Association, and they are very excited about it.”

The program is open only to members of DSA, which Worley said provides an added incentive for downtown businesses to join the group. DSA membership, according to the organization’s Web site, www.downtownspring

fieldassociation.com starts at $150 for businesses; individual memberships also are available.

Rick Marquez, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., the nonprofit agency that promotes downtown businesses in Lawrence, said his community’s gift certificate program, which started in 2004 and allows certificates to be redeemed at any of the agency’s 110 member businesses, is marketed year-round.

“Aside from the shopping in downtown Lawrence, and eating and visiting the art galleries and everything else you can do, it’s really our only tangible product,” Marquez said of the gift certificates. “Any time we do any type of marketing at all we mention the gift certificates.”

Marquez added that the program sold about $50,000 worth of certificates in 2005, and the program is on pace to surpass that total in 2006.

‘A good marketing tool’

Well Fed Head Books, 331 S. Campbell Ave., is among the businesses participating in Downtown Dollars, a program that bookstore co-owner Beth Buczynski said has numerous advantages.

“It allows the gift giver to give the recipient a number of options and encourages them to come downtown and support their local businesses,” she said.

“Pretty much every business issues gift certificates on their own, and will continue to do so, but this is a good marketing tool for downtown.”

Another benefit is equal face value between money spent and the gift certificates, made possible by Great Southern’s role providing the printing for Downtown Dollars.

Neither the businesses nor the certificate buyers incur any additional costs to participate.

“If you spend $5, you get a $5 gift certificate,” said Brian Fogle, executive director of the Great Southern Community Development Corp.

“We’re doing it as a service to our downtown customers and future customers,” he added.

He said the bank’s participation is a natural outgrowth of Great Southern’s history.

“We were founded on Walnut Street in 1923, and we’ve had a presence downtown throughout our entire history,” Fogle said.

“We’re very committed to downtown Springfield, and when I happened to be on that trip and we were looking at (the program), we volunteered to be involved.”

UDA Director Worley said that although the program is in its early stages, he hopes that its growth mirrors that of the program in Lawrence.

“I think the businesses are really excited with the concept of collaboratively marketing downtown as a district,” Worley said.

“This is an important step in continuing that and shows there is a lot available to patrons downtown.”

Participating businesses

A Perfect Studio

A Valeria Boss Salon

Agrario

Big Whiskey’s American Bar and Grill

Coesters Sports Bar and Grill

Discovery Center

Electric Newsstand

Ernie Biggs Piano Bar

Fitzwilly’s Gifts and Antiques

Gailey’s

Gilt Antiques and Decorative Gifts

Gizmos, Gadgets, and More by Gold Minds

Good Girl Art Gallery

Hickok’s Steakhouse

High Strung

Hyde Gallery

Icon

In Bloom

Jordan Creek Bar & Grill

Mille’s Café

Moxie Cinema

Mud House

Mud Lounge

O’Connell’s Center City Grocery

Patton Alley Pub

Quiznos Subs

Shae Belle

Springfield Brewing Co.

Springfield Hot Glass Studio

Springfield Little Theatre

Staxx

Trolley’s Downtown Bar & Grille

Well Fed Head Books