Get Your ING-On In Alberta!
_edited.png)
Supporting the Industries We Serve!
Being supportive to the travel, tourism and heritage industries are foundational principles of our cooperative.
Our initial business components included the 'Member's Advertising Assistance Fund' and the 'Project Assistance Fund'. Both funds grow with each new Lifetime Member and with the sale of a Premium Advertising Package. The 'Referral Rewards' program was added later to offer fund-raising opportunities for any Lifetime Member.
Our goal is to ensure our cooperative offers equal oportunities, no matter the size of its members. If you have other suggestions on how we can meet our member's needs, please let us know through our suggestion form.
Member's Advertising Assistance
While the base fee of $250 annually for a Premium Advertising Package is affordable for most, there will be non-profits or small businesses with limited budgets that find it out of their reach.
With the Member's Advertising Assistance Fund, members with limited resources may apply for up to $200 assistance towards the Premium Advertising Package. Any assistance given does not detract from any future annual patronage dividend.
As a built-in component of our business plan, this fund grows with each fee;
-
With each new Lifetime Member, we add $2 to this fund.
-
With each sale of a Premium Advertising Package, we add $15 to this fund.
Grants Available!
To apply, complete this form.
Project Assistance Fund
Our founder Sheila Willis, faced funding challenges when creating the award-winning app, now owned by the co-op. During negotions it was a requirement of the sale, to start a fund that may help other creatives and community organizations who faced similar challenges, thus the 'Project Fund' was created. As obtaining grant funding becomes more difficult, it was a fortuitous move for our co-op.
This fund will grow alongside our co-op. The first project the fund is helping is our own; rebranding and releasing the mobile app. It may take several years before grants are available. At this point, the only guideline is that the project meets the goals of the cooperative. Future decisions about the fund will be based on member input and executive decisions.
Growth of this fund comes from several sources.
-
With each new Lifetime Member we add $2 to this fund.
-
With the purchase of a Premium Advertising Package, we add a minimum of $5 to this fund.
-
Our bylaws state that 5% of any allocated surplus goes towards this fund.
-
All proceeds from our Project Fundraising Auction go to this fund.
-
Donations are accepted, however a tax receipt is not available at this time.
Referral Rewards - A Fundraising Opportunity
As part of our ongoing effort to support our members, we created the Referral Rewards Program. This offers a fundraising opportunity for our member-owners. In short, for each referred member we offer a reward of $5, and for each new Premium Advertiser $50. As advertising fees are annual, the reward is given for each renewal.
As a fundraiser for non-profits the "Communinty Marketing Fundraiser' can be used; their referrals purchase advertising, the community is mapped on our upcoming app, and the non-profit raises funds. To learn more about the Referral Rewards program, click here.