SIERRA VISTA — Better Bucks, in circulation for almost half a year, has made life better not just for the people who use them to purchase goods and services, but also for the merchants who have been accepting the bucks, a member of the nonprofit Better Bucks of Sierra Vista board said.
Management at the Goodwill Store on East Fry Boulevard, for example, has seen a dramatic drop in shoplifting incidents at the business, as well as a change in attitude in many of the customers who shop there regularly.
Other merchants who accept Better Bucks have been ringing up additional sales of merchandise from people who used Better Bucks and were then able to spend whatever cash they had on other items, said Scott Borgstadt, president of the Better Bucks of Sierra Vista board.
Better Bucks are vouchers sold in booklets of five at $1 each. The public may purchase the voucher booklets for $6. The extra dollar goes toward printing the booklets and administrative costs.
The bucks pack a significant punch because their aim is to help the homeless and the needy.
The vouchers enable individuals with little or no money to shop at certain businesses that have signed on to accept Better Bucks instead of cash. The businesses are later reimbursed by Better Bucks of Sierra Vista, which runs the program.
The vouchers or Better Bucks can only be used to purchase essential items such as food and toiletries. There is also a voucher that can be redeemed at the Nancy J. Brua Animal Care Center for individuals who have a pet, but can’t afford to immunize them, feed them, etc. A one-day bus pass is included in the booklet, as well as a list of service providers who can help homeless and needy individuals with a variety of issues.
Alcohol, drugs and tobacco products cannot be purchased with Better Bucks.
The limit is $20 per visit at any business and Better Bucks expire after one year. Additionally, anyone purchasing goods with a Better Buck will not receive change. That way people are not given back cash that could be used to buy drugs or alcohol, Borgstadt said.
The businesses that accept better Bucks include Fry’s, Food City, Culver’s, Friends of the Sierra Vista Library, Goodwill of Southern Arizona, Nancy J. Brua Animal Care Center and Vista Transit.
Making a difference
“I truly believe this is generating business for some of these stores,” said Borgstadt, a corporal with the Sierra Vista Police Department. “People who didn’t have Better Bucks before could not spend additional money.”
That has happened at the Goodwill store also, Manager Cherie Legault said. But the greatest change has been the drop in shoplifting, which in turn has affected the demeanor and attitude of some of the people who may have been stealing from the store.
Shoplifting incidents at Goodwill dropped 80% in December and 90% in January and Legault believes the lives of some customers who could not afford clothes and who are now using Better Bucks have changed as significantly as the drop in incidents.
“Before the Better Bucks program started we had some issues with some customers here and there,” Legault said. “But after the Better Bucks program started, I started seeing them at the racks buying more often, rather than spending some time and then leaving and maybe taking something.”
Legault said many of those same individuals began coming up to the cash register to pay for clothes. They also sparked conversations with the cashiers.
“Now they come up to the register and they have these Better Bucks that they can buy the stuff with and they’re very appreciative that we even do the program,” Legault said. “They love coming in here now. It’s almost an everyday occurrence.
“We’ve built a communication, a relationship with them. They’ll tell us that they got a job, that they’re doing better, or that they went to rehab. They’ve said that this program (Better Bucks) helps.”
Legault said some of these customers have used their Better Bucks to buy clothes for job interviews.
“Now these people are outspoken,” Legault said. “They’re coming in here buying some clothes for interviews for jobs. Some of them have come in here to share their success stories. Some of them are not even on the streets anymore.”
Sierra Vista’s program was inspired by one in Flagstaff created by local police and the Shadows Foundation in 2016. Shadows, a nonprofit, has been working with the Better Bucks board here to help get the effort off the ground.
The booklets are for sale at Sierra Vista City Hall, the public library and the police department.
The program kicked off Oct. 1 and from then to Dec. 31, the board paid out $1,491 to merchants who accepted Better Bucks. Those same merchants reported earning $2,148 in product sales during that time. The additional money came from Better Bucks users who were able to spend additional cash to purchase other items, Borgstadt said.
Better Bucks beneficiaries also used 130 bus passes between October and December and 15 vouchers were used at the Nancy J. Brua Animal Care Center.
In January and February, the board paid out $517 to merchants, who then reported total product sales of $700 from Better Bucks users who spent extra cash.
Borgstadt said 38 bus passes were used in February.
Echoing what Legault said about her customers, Borgstadt mentioned Better Bucks board member Fred Shirley said the program has helped restore the dignity of a lot of people.