May 2025 | PerfectGift Experts | 5 Minute read
Scholarships and grants play a pivotal role in supporting educational and career advancement by alleviating financial burdens and recognizing academic achievements. However, many organizations face challenges in attracting a sufficient number of applicants or ensuring timely submissions. Implementing gift card incentives has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance application rates and encourage prompt responses.
That’s where PerfectGift.com comes in. By offering incentives like Visa gift cards for completed applications, we help schools and organizations increase submission rates and engage a broader, more diverse pool of prospective candidates. Whether it’s encouraging early submissions or motivating applicants who might otherwise opt out due to time or access barriers, these rewards add a layer of immediate, tangible value to the process.
The Challenge of Low Application Rates
Understanding the reasons behind the trend of low application rates is essential to developing strategies that effectively engage potential applicants. Two of the most common barriers include time constraints and lack of motivation.
Time Constraints:
Between managing a full course load, participating in extracurricular activities, and working part-time jobs to support themselves, students’ schedules leave little room for tasks that aren’t immediately required. The time and effort needed to research opportunities, gather documentation, and craft compelling essays for scholarship applications can feel overwhelming, especially when the payoff isn't guaranteed.
Lack of Motivation:
For many students, the lack of an immediate reward makes it easy to put off the application process, or skip it altogether. Unlike coursework, where deadlines and grades create urgency, applications often rely on internal motivation. Without short-term incentives, students may struggle to see the value in investing time in something that may not yield results, especially if they're already financially stressed.
How Gift Card Incentives Can Help:
Gift card incentives can play a transformative role. By offering a tangible and immediate benefit—such as a Visa gift card—organizations can cut through the inertia and spark action. These types of rewards act as powerful motivators, giving applicants a sense of instant gratification. It turns the act of applying into a win-win situation: students not only take a step toward funding their education but also receive a meaningful reward simply for completing the process.
The Psychology Behind Incentives
Understanding the psychological impact of incentives is crucial, as it allows organizations to design reward systems that genuinely resonate with their audience. When you tap into what motivates people on a behavioral level, you can create more effective strategies that drive action.
- Perceived Value: Gift cards are often viewed as more valuable than cash due to their association with specific brands and experiences. They offer recipients the opportunity to purchase desired items or services, enhancing the perceived benefit of the reward.
- Justifiability: Gift cards allow recipients to justify indulgent purchases they might otherwise consider frivolous, adding a layer of guilt-free enjoyment to the reward.
- Extended Engagement: The process of receiving and redeeming a gift card extends the engagement with the rewarding organization, reinforcing positive associations over time.
Types of Gift Card Incentives to Boost Applications
To maximize the effectiveness of gift card incentives, it’s important to go beyond simply offering rewards and take a strategic approach to how they’re structured and delivered. The way incentives are framed, the timing of their distribution, and their alignment with the interests of the target audience can all greatly influence the overall success of your program.
Time-Sensitive Rewards: Offer a modest gift card to applicants who submit complete applications by a specified deadline. This encourages timely submissions and increases overall application numbers.
- The American Indian College Fund provided $20 gift cards to students who completed scholarship applications by April 30, aiming to boost enrollment at tribal colleges and universities.
Tiered Reward Systems: A tiered reward system works by providing different incentives at each level of achievement, such as smaller gift cards for initial application submission, larger ones for reaching the finalist stage, and even greater rewards for acceptance.
- For example, in a college application context, smaller incentives like $25 gift cards could be offered to students who complete an initial application or submit required documents by a specific deadline. As the process progresses, larger gift cards or exclusive prizes could be awarded to finalists, with the top award being a significant scholarship.
Partnerships with Popular Brands: Collaborate with brands that resonate with your target audience to offer gift cards. This alignment enhances the attractiveness of the incentive and ensures it meets the preferences of potential applicants.
Best Practices for Implementing Gift Card Incentives
To effectively incorporate gift card incentives into your application process, consider the following best practices:
- Clear Communication: It’s important to define your goals clearly. Do you want to increase the number of applicants, ensure timely submissions, or enhance the quality of applications? Identifying your objectives will help you determine how to structure the incentives.
- Setting Eligibility Criteria: Define clear eligibility requirements to ensure that the incentive reaches the intended audience and maintains the integrity of the application process.
- Timing the Incentive: Decide whether to offer gift cards as immediate rewards upon application submission or as post-submission incentives. Immediate rewards can prompt quick action, while post-submission rewards can serve as appreciation for completed applications.
Tracking the Success of Gift Card Incentives
Evaluating the effectiveness of your incentive program is essential to ensure that your efforts are driving the desired outcomes and to make data-driven decisions for future initiatives. Without careful evaluation, it’s difficult to know if your incentives are truly working, or if adjustments are needed to improve participation, engagement, or overall success. With PerfectGift, organizations not only gain access to flexible reward options like Visa gift cards, but also benefit from tools and insights that help measure impact and optimize performance over time.
- Monitoring Application Metrics: Track changes in the number of applications received, noting any increases corresponding with the introduction of incentives.
- Assessing Applicant Quality: Evaluate whether the quality of applications meets your organization's standards, ensuring that incentives do not compromise the caliber of applicants.
- Calculating Return on Investment (ROI): Compare the costs of the incentive program against the benefits, such as increased application rates and improved engagement, to determine the program's overall effectiveness.
Examples of Successful Gift Programs
- American Indian College Fund: Offered $20 gift cards to students who completed scholarship applications by a specific deadline, resulting in increased enrollment at tribal colleges and universities.
- Alverno College: Offered students who registered by key registration dates the chance to win a $500 tuition scholarship, incentivizing early registration.
- Kean University: Provided full-time students who enrolled by June 15 with opportunities to win prizes such as a VIP parking spot, lunch with the University president, Kean swag, and Barnes & Noble gift cards, encouraging prompt enrollment.
- Florida Prepaid College Board: To encourage early enrollment in their Prepaid Tuition Plans, the Florida Prepaid College Board offered a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card to families who completed their enrollment by a specific deadline. This initiative helped boost participation and commitment to college savings.
Conclusion
Organizations looking to boost scholarship and grant applications can benefit from integrating gift card incentives into their outreach strategies. By understanding the psychological appeal of gift cards and implementing thoughtful incentive structures, organizations can effectively motivate potential applicants. By aligning rewards with applicant interests and maintaining clear communication, they can significantly enhance participation and engagement.
Ready to get started? Explore customizable gift card solutions at PerfectGift.com to power your next application campaign.
