Elk Grove Village mailed one $200 Visa prepaid gift card to every residential household on August 13, 2024, using PerfectGift as its programme partner. The Illinois municipality presented the distribution as support for back-to-school purchases and other household expenses. [S01]

A resident benefit with a defined delivery route

The municipal instructions made the current resident the beneficiary, rather than an owner who rented out a property. Cards carried the Shop Elk Grove identity, while accompanying communications explained how residents could recognise, activate and use them. PerfectGift handled activation and missing-card support. [S01]

A later PerfectGift case study, published in September 2025, described an earlier 2022 programme reaching nearly 14,000 households and a repeat engagement in August 2024. It credits custom artwork, carriers, fulfilment and support as parts of the service. That account is the supplier’s retrospective description. [S02]

The practical work behind a household mailing

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The practical work behind a household mailing

Element

Municipal record

Benefit

One $200 Visa prepaid card per resident household

Mailing date

August 13, 2024

Eligibility

Current residential households in the village

Partner

PerfectGift

Objective

Household support; local purchases encouraged

The village directed residents with undelivered cards to PerfectGift, which could check issuance and replace cards lost in the mail. Its instructions also addressed small remaining balances and payment authorisations at fuel pumps or businesses where tips may be added. [S01]

These details matter when prepaid value is used as public assistance. Dispatch is only one step: a household must recognise the envelope, activate the card, understand why a payment might fail and know where to seek help. An unfamiliar transaction decline can make a useful benefit seem unusable unless the programme explains the next step clearly.

Local spending was an objective, not a measured result

The supplier describes the initiative as a success and says it encouraged local economic activity. Its case study does not provide merchant-level redemption data or a comparison quantifying additional spending generated by the programme. [S02]

The distinction matters for other municipalities considering a similar approach. Distributing value measures delivery; establishing an economic effect requires information about where and when that value was used, and what recipients would otherwise have spent. A branded card can communicate a local purpose without demonstrating that the funds stayed inside the local economy.

The documented lesson is operational. A prepaid-card distribution can be organised around a defined household list, recognisable communications and direct support. Any claim about business growth or incremental local sales needs evidence beyond the number of cards mailed.