The 2021 Holiday Rewards Program hosted by Durango Business Improvement District was the biggest and most successful one yet, BID Executive Director Tim Walsworth said. The program, which spanned from Nov. 26 to Dec. 19, generated about $136,000.

The rewards program is meant to incentivize residents to shop locally by offering gift cards valued at increasing amounts the more that one spends at local businesses.

One hundred dollars spent locally netted a $25 gift card; $300 spent was met with a $50 gift card; and $500 spent earned a $100 gift card, with the catch being that only purchases greater than $25 counted toward the reward thresholds.

Three hundred gift cards from 20 businesses were up for grabs for shoppers.

The 2021 Holiday Rewards Program was the fifth of its kind hosted by the BID. Since spring 2020, BID has held spring, fall and holiday rewards programs offering gift cards to local business patrons. The rewards program model was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage continued local spending.

Walsworth said that since the first rewards program last year, the BID has raised about $350,000 for small businesses.

The 2020 Spring and Holiday Rewards Programs raised a combined total of $233,792, BID Marketing and Communications Director Tanya Clegg previously told The Durango Herald.

“We love those programs, and we will do them again in 2022,” Walsworth said.

He said the BID will likely host another rewards program in the spring because it would line up with tax return season. A rewards program hosted then would encourage people to spend some of their tax return money at local businesses, he said.

The 2021 Holiday Rewards Program was sponsored by Morehart Murphy Regional Auto Center and Bank of Colorado.

cburney@durangoherald.com