General Information

Revised 1/09

T.R.I.P. is offered to the families of Potter's House & Calvin Christian Schools, giving them the opportunity to reduce their tuition by participating in this program.
Through this program, gift certificates and/or cards are purchased from participating restaurants, food and retail stores, and service businesses at a discount to the school. Families purchase these certificates at face value. The remaining discount or credit earned in passed on to participating families for tuition reduction. Generally, one percent (1%) of the certificate amount is retained by the Calvin Christian School TRIP Committee for operating the program, except for orders with over 13% credit, then 2% will be retained. Any excess after expenses at the end of the school year will be used for general tuition reduction or for the GAP Fund or Calvin Christian Education Foundation Fund.
This tuition reduction can be applied to an individual account (your own or another family's account), the Calvin Christian Education Foundation, GAP (General Assistance Program for needy families), general tuition reduction for all families, a specific needy family designated by the Finance or T.R.I.P. Committee, or to a church Christian Education Fund or Society.
This is a volunteer program run by a T.R.I.P. steering committee and a paid T.R.I.P. Coordinator and can only operate if the participants are willing to volunteer. Please Volunteer!!!
Participation is open to all parents, grandparents, other relatives, friends, and anyone in the community who wish to support tuition reduction at Calvin Christian or Potter's House Christian Schools.
Below is an example of how purchasing T.R.I.P. certificates will benefit you:
Russ' cards ordered: $100.00
Your check amount: $100.00
Your tuition credit: $4.00 (4%)
Program expenses: $1.00 (1%)
Some certificates or cards are purchased directly from local businesses. Others are ordered from the local Great Lakes SCRIP Center or VIP TRIP, a program run by Grand Rapids Christian School Association. Some certificates have expiration dates varying from six weeks to two years. Most have no expiration dates. Certificates are to be used like cash (or checks). Some certificates can be personalized once your receive them.
Please be aware of the store's cash back policies. Do not expect cash back when the policy or certificate says 'no change given'. Also, do not expect an unreasonable amount of cash back. If what you get is different than what you expected, please accept that as store policy. If you give a cashier a difficult time about wanting cash back, our program can be jeopardized and our school can receive a bad reputation. Most gift cards do keep a cash balance on the card until the balance is at zero. This is your cash back. Again, please check the store's policy first. Let's always be polite and give Calvin Christian a good reputation.
Some certificates and/or cards can also be used to pay on credit card balances. Your accounts can be paid at the store office or cash registers with T.R.I.P. certificates or cards. Please check with the store policy before paying with T.R.I.P. certificates and/or cards.
Order forms and envelopes for placing orders are available at each school office in T.R.I.P. information boxes and available as a download from the TRIP website. Order forms with accompanying payment (checks payable to Calvin Christian T.R.I.P.) must be turned in to one of the offices by the designated time. Orders will be available for pick-up at the designated times the following week. These times will be posted regularly.
TRIPBITS, a monthly newsletter informing T.R.I.P. members of news regarding retailers, orders, volunteer schedules, and drop-off/pick-up times will be published monthly. Please be sure to read this carefully. If you do not have a student at Calvin Christian, You are responsible to pick up a TRIPBITS at any of the TRIP information boxes, or you may receive TRIPBITS through your e-mail address by e-mailing your request to trip@calvintrip.org.