Leon County and Swellcoin Launch “Pay it Forward” Initiative

As local organizations have been trying to figure out how to stay open and provide essential services to our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses have started to promote purchasing gift cards to be used later. Staff at the Leon County Offices wanted to help businesses and nonprofits in a more immediate way. So, County communications consulted with the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality and came up with the “Pay It Forward” initiative. Turning that idea into a reality, they partnered with Shop Tally and Swellcoin to launch a web-based shopping portal where individuals could purchase gift cards from local businesses and directly donate those cards to support nonprofits on the frontlines that are providing services to those in need. 

Sara Pratt, Senior Public Information Specialist of Leon County, said “when we developed Pay It Forward, we set a goal to make it easy for others to support local businesses with revenue while providing nonprofits with monetary resources to buy food, supplies and services for individuals and employees in need.” The response to Pay it Forward has been great so far, and since launching the initiative about a week ago, more than 60 local businesses and nonprofits have signed up to participate. “In the last few days, over $420 in gift cards have been donated to local nonprofits including PACE, the Oasis Center for Women and Girls, Domi Station, and Florida Veterans Foundation” says Pratt. 

In the spirit of National Pay It Forward Day on April 28, Leon County and Swellcoin are encouraging everyone that is able to spread kindness to others by participating in Pay It Forward and by sharing acts of kindness with them on social media through the hashtag #PayItForward. Together as a community we all can chip in to help support the businesses and nonprofits that make Tallahassee-Leon County a great place to live, work and play. 

Anyone interested in participating in the Pay It Forward initiative can purchase a local gift card to donate at ishoptally.com. Business and nonprofits that wish to participate can add their organization's contact information directly on the site.