Frequently Asked Questions

FREquently asked questions

We already have Amazon Smile and eScrips. Do we need another program? 

Amazon: Amazon discontinued the Amazon Smile program in February 2023, so if you are still linking to Amazon Smile, you are probably driving sales, but not earning anything for your school. When Amazon Smile was functioning, it allowed your school to earn 0.5% in commissions on anything bought directly from Amazon, excluding third-party purchases. 

eScrips: Most popular grocery stores, including Safeway and Whole Foods, do not participate in eScrips. For those that do, the commissions are small. Here’s an example from a local grocery store, Draeger’s: 

0% Monthly Purchases Between $0-$199
1% Monthly Purchases Between $200-$600
2% Monthly Purchases Above $600

For example, if your monthly purchases totaled $650.00 your donation earned would be $5.00: ($199 x 0%) + ($400 x 1%) + ($50 x 2%) = $5.00. Compare a 0.5% Amazon Smile earning rate with a 0-2% eScrips earning rate vs. a 7-16% Audenticity rate.

How much does Audenticity for Schools cost? 

There is a one-time setup fee of $100 due at sign up. Our goal, however, is not to make money off schools or PTAs themselves, so we will refund the $100 setup fee once you’ve reached $500 in school earnings. We want to make sure you’re getting the most out of this program, so we charge an initial fee to ensure that you promote the program to parents and do everything possible to make it successful.

If Audenticity refunds the setup fee, how does Audenticity make money?

For every commission paid by a retailer, the school or parent association gets 70% as school earnings and Audenticity keeps 30% as the network fee. 

What stores and brands do you work with?

All of our stores and brands are listed on our Partners page.

How do we get parents to shop through this portal? 

There are many ways to build awareness of your new program. 

  • Add a link in your school footer or website
  • Include a link in your weekly newsletters that you send out to parents
  • Send a special announcement email
  • Send a reminder when new collections become available, such as Halloween, Christmas Valentine’s Day, Spirit Week

In addition, the portal will prompt the parent to bookmark the page to their desktop browser and to their home page on their mobile device.

Do parents have to purchase the exact recommended item in order for us to earn funds? 

In most cases, no. As long as the parent is going through your portal, even if they choose to purchase something else once they are on the retailer’s site, you will earn a commission. 

We don't have the time or resources to create collections. Can you help?

Once the initial setup is complete, schools and parent associations manage their own account by creating and removing seasonal collections. For those that don't have the time or resources to do this on their own, Audenticity offers a Managed Plan, where we will do this for you.

For example, as we approach Christmas, we will remove the Halloween collection and create a new collection featuring Christmas items and add it to your account. This reduces your workload while also giving you a reason to remind parents to shop through your storefront. 

If you ever need a collection that is unique for an upcoming school event, such as an SEL week or Spirit Week, you can email the support team and we will create a collection specifically for you. Be sure to give us plenty of notice so that parents have enough time to shop through your portal and have the items arrive in time. 

A Managed Plan is a nominal $5/month and will be automatically billed monthly.

When does my school get paid? 

When your earnings total $25 or more, we will ask you to provide some paperwork for tax purposes. Once that is complete, we will send you a paper check each month that your accumulated earnings are greater than $25. If you prefer, we can also set up an ACH transfer.

Still have questions? Email us at support@audenticity.com.