P3 was highlighted in the Rocky Mountain Conference Newsletter "News Nuggets" this week. We honored to play a small role in helping provide funding for kids at Vista Ridge Academy.
Imagine what it would look like if every business owner had the opportunity to contribute to a cause they care about simply by doing what they are already doing. That’s at the heart of what James Christianson and Lief Sorensen believe is possible with their company P3.
The company’s premise is to harness the power of businesses that are already spending money on credit card processing fees and re-direct a portion of these funds by giving 50 percent of profit back to Adventist education. By maintaining long-term relationships through effective customer service and integrity, Christianson and Sorensen say they will be ensuring these revenue streams for schools continue month over month and year after year.
“Why pay two, three or more percent to a bank to process simple credit card transactions?” Sorensen adds, “and, even more importantly, consider the impact giving back just a portion of these fees would have on Christian education.”
Setting up a company capable of both processing credit cards and allowing businesses to contribute just made sense. As Sorensen points out, “from dentists to mechanics, doctors to retail store managers, with P3, now every type of business owner has an opportunity to participate and support their local school. We couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities.”
Partner, process, purpose. These are the values that define P3—and its impact can already be seen on a local level.
Vista Ridge Academy -- www.vistaridge.org -- recently benefited from a $30,000 tuition subsidy through a matching grant campaign. According to Academy principal Sandy Hodgson, her school “has been blessed by businesses working with P3 to advance Adventist education. Because of a one-week matching grant campaign, Vista Ridge Academy benefited last August, and the funding received went directly to subsidizing tuition for families who would not be able to afford an Adventist education.”
Shawn Nowlan, chairman of Vista Ridge Academy expressed gratitude for P3 involvement, noting that it is “helping to lower financial barriers for students, so they can experience Vista Ridge Academy’s Christian education that prepares them both for time and for eternity. What better way for us to return the funds God has entrusted to us?"
Christianson and Sorensen recognize the impact of difficult economic times on school budgets: “Our business model provides a much-needed additional revenue stream for Adventist schools,” Christianson told NewsNuggets.
Like Christianson, Sorensen also has a deep personal interest in helping to provide additional funding and resources for Adventist education, “I attended Adventist schools from first grade all the way through medical school. The education I received was excellent preparation for my career and the positive influence of the teachers and friends I made along the way was priceless. At P3 we want to use business partnerships and our shared passion for Adventist education to develop a funding source which will allow as many kids as possible access to these life-shaping experiences.”
Ultimately, partnering your business with P3 will continue the chain of positive impact, allowing for more children to attend schools like Vista Ridge Academy, to strive for academic excellence in a Christian environment, and eventually, give back to the same community that fostered their education. To learn more, visit www.p3online.org.
- Rajmund Dabrowski