HANNAFORD HELPS SCHOOLS Case Study 2025
OVERVIEW
Program Name
Hannaford Helps Schools Program in partnership with PS It Matters Powered by Catalina Coupon
Program Overview
The Hannaford Helps Schools Program is an initiative that enables shoppers to earn School Dollars (a $3 donation coupon for the purchase of four participating products) at all Hannaford locations over a 12-week period Those earned School Dollars can then be donated to any participating school of the shopper's choice. This program effectively connects shoppers with the opportunity to support their local schools, resulting in high participation rates among community members and raising thousands of dollars for educational pursuits In addition to making a hyperlocal impact, this program is proven to increase net sales, surge store traffic, and boost brand affinity.
MANAGEMENTHISTORY
The PS It Matters Value Add
Designed to give shoppers an easy way to give back to local schools, the Hannaford Helps Schools program began with a simple structure: by purchasing four participating products, Hannaford shoppers would generate a $3 donation to support local schools Since its inception in 1999, the program has donated over $20 million dollars to local schools
As a partner of Hannaford since 2014, PS It Matters was tasked with overseeing the program’s operation in 2022 When PS It Matters began managing the program, each school was registered to one local store To donate to a specific school, shoppers had to place their School Dollars coupon into the Collection Tower at their school’s designated store. Alternatively, they could shop at any Hannaford location and turn in School Dollars coupons to their school Schools then sent all the collected coupons to their designated store at the end of the program in a pre-paid envelope provided by Hannaford
Over the next four years, the PS It Matters team implemented efficient processes, creative ideas, and revenue-impacting recommendations that drastically reshaped the program into its most impactful and profitable form Through capitalizing on the power of choice and affinity, we have strengthened program engagement and surged redemption rates In the most recent iteration of the program, shoppers are able to redeem School Dollars online and in a mobile app, allocating the donations to any school of their choice. We have also boosted school engagement and spiked earned media by implementing our proven communication strategy and providing a variety of ready-to-use promotional materials
PS It Matters has driven significant improvements in the program by fostering brand affinity, driving coupon redemption rates, and maximizing its impact on local communities. Today, our team manages many key aspects of the Hannaford Helps Schools program, empowering Hannaford to donate millions to local schools and demonstrate its commitment to corporate social responsibility with minimal effort.
CASESTUDY
Hannaford Helps Schools
BACKGROUND
Hannaford Helps Schools is a program that began in 1999, and since inception, has raised over $20 million for local schools. The PS It Matters Team has successfully managed this program since 2022 and has implemented changes to align shoppers with the opportunity to directly support the school of their choice. By transitioning from an in-store tower to electronic redemption of School Dollar coupons, we have increased the coupon redemption rate to 21%. Our program changes, in addition to the participation of vendors, engagement from school communities, and support of Hannaford staff have led to the most successful year of the program to date, raising over $1.1 million for local schools in a single program year.
“Thank you for the update and the generous support from the Hannaford Helps Schools Program! I appreciate the commitment to our local schools and the impact it has on our community. We look forward to continuing our involvement in this great initiative.”
-Principal of Participating School after 2024 Program
Program Highlights
TotalNumberof CouponsRedeemed
TotalValueofCoupons Redeemed
AverageCoupon RedemptionRates AcrossAllStores
SuccessfulProgramElementsIntroducedbyPSItMatters
Introduced systematic management of the school list using our proprietary database. This management process includes routine research and validating to ensure all participating schools are engaged with the program and continue to match program criteria
Create and manage online redemption website and mobile app to expedite coupon redemption.
Eliminated the in-store Collection Tower to streamline online redemption. This change reduced work for store employees by minimizing set-up requirements and ending the need to count coupons
Designed and distributed marketing materials for schools to share with their community.
Developed and executed our proven communication series to inform school leaders about the program and encourage program promotion.
Modified program parameters so shoppers could support any school from shopping at any Hannaford location
FUNDING BREAKDOWN
Hannaford Helps Schools donation totals are comprised of multiple components. The PS It Matters team receives a breakdown of how many School Dollars were redirected using the App or Website. CPGs contribute to the total amount that will be distributed among all participating schools. At the conclusion of the program, our team collaborates with the Hannaford corporate team to finalize the total funds raised, calculate the bonus that all schools will receive, as well as tally the School Dollar funds each school has raised for their institution. Below is the funding breakdown for the 2025 Hannaford Helps Schools Program.
WHAT WE DO: PS IT MATTERS’ ROLE
Database Creation and Management
Curate a proprietary database of schools within Hannaford’s service area.
Conduct ongoing research to ensure our proprietary database encompasses the breadth of schools in your Hannaford’s local communities.
Optimize program performance by routinely validating that participating schools are actively engaged with the program and continue to meet the set criteria.
Program Management
Act as a liaison between shoppers, school community members, store employees, and Hannaford’s corporate team
Field calls and emails from stores, shoppers, and community members regarding school registration, contact information changes, donation progress, and general program questions
Process daily school submission requests from the public, store leadership, and schools themselves
Facilitate all donation distributions to participating schools and field any issues with returned checks
School Engagement & Communication
Utilize our proven communication series to inform participating schools and encourage program promotion.
Design a variety of marketing tools for schools to use to promote the program, resulting in earned media spikes for Hannaford
Create and customize a program microsite in line with Hannaford’s branding and unique messaging style to facilitate online coupon redemptions and inform school communities and the public about the program and its community impact
Data Reporting
Present program performance, community impact milestones, top performing stores and districts, and coupon redemption data in a series of reports both during and after the program.
Report real-time coupon redemption data, donation totals, and store ranking information to inform Hannaford’s corporate team about program performance.
