The latest gift card giveaway is themed for Valentine’s Day and called “Cupid’s Cash.” Gift cards come printed with the tagline “Show Colleyville businesses some love.”
Colleyville residents can use those gift cards at participating businesses through March 15. Businesses can then redeem gift cards at City Hall for their cash value.
Colleyville Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery said during a Jan. 19 City Council meeting that many businesses who responded to a survey conducted by the city indicated that one of the best ways Colleyville could support businesses would be to bring in new customers.
“Our citizens will continue to support their favorite businesses,” she said. “But we wanted to see if there was a way we could be creative and potentially get some new customers into those businesses and bring in some of that new blood they’ve been asking for.”
To help provide that support, gift cards were also distributed to public and private schools, medical workers and first responders from nearby cities that have mutual aid agreements with Colleyville. Lothery said the expanded distribution serves a dual purpose: to incentivize people who serve Colleyville but live outside of the city to visit more Colleyville businesses and to show appreciation for those vital workers during the pandemic.
The first rounds of gift cards were sent to homes and houses of worship in March and April to respond to the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring program invested $444,000 in the city’s economy, according to city reports. In December, the city mailed $35 gift cards to Colleyville homes and gave $50 “Colleyville Cares” gift cards to houses of worship to distribute to those in need. That round of gift cards accumulated around $240,000 for businesses.
The money reimbursed to Colleyville businesses comes from the city’s tax increment financing, or TIF, zone. When a city designates a certain area a TIF zone, part of the standard tax revenue collected there goes to a fund used for specific development purposes. Colleyville’s TIF zone, which covers SH 26 and a few other commercial areas, is used for economic development projects, such as the gift card program.
