Enrolling at RaiseRight.com

How-to Enroll at RaiseRight.com

OVERVIEW OF THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS

ARE YOU REALLY YOU?
Anyone wishing to enroll at RaiseRight.com (RR) has to be vouched for by the coordinator of the local nonprofit organization. In our case, that's JoAnn Witte, President of the Gene Grawe Fund, Inc. So start here by first sending JoAnn an email telling her that you want to enroll in RR. Once she's seen your email, she may call you or otherwise verify you. Folks living out of the Quincy area must have someone already associated with the Gene Grawe Fund recommend them.

To be good stewards of our members' money, membership in the Gene Grawe Fund, Inc. is limited to those having a verifiable association with family or friends in the Quincy Catholic School System or at least in the Quincy, Illinois area. We must be able to verify your information before we can release the enrollment code to you.

Unfortunately, we must endure a small amount of inconvenience to keep everyone's money safe. Internet thieves depend on anonymity and automation to do their dirty work. We foil their misdeeds by injecting people into the enrollment process which denies Internet thieves both the anonymity and the automation.

Once satisfied, JoAnn will send you our Secret Enrollment Code that not only vouches for you to RR, but also links your scrip purchases on RaiseRight.com to the Gene Grawe Fund back here in Quincy. The whole purpose of this vetting and Secret Enrollment Code process is to eliminate online fraud. Without this code Internet thieves are stopped cold. So please don't post the Secret Enrollment Code anywhere on the Internet or pass it around to others. Every time that happens we have to secure a new Secret Enrollment Code from RaiseRight.com.

LINKING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
During enrollment at RR you must link one checking or savings account to your RR account. And you'll need to choose between Instant Linking or Manual Linking. Instant Linking only takes a few minutes, while Manual Linking takes a few days. It's your choice and is based on whether or not you are comfortable entering your online banking credentials during the secure, Instant Linking process. 

Instant Linking takes only a few minutes to complete. It requires you to provide your login credentials (username & password) to your online account on your bank's website. The Great Lakes Scrip Center (GLSC), owners of RaiseRight.com, have partnered with Plaid.com to instantly and securely authenticate bank account linking without waiting for micro-deposits.

Plaid is a San Francisco company that was founded in 2012 and quickly became a trusted intermediary between financial institutions, applications, and consumers. Today, Plaid connects more than 9,000 financial institutions with tools, services, and applications, and has also become an industry leader in improving financial services and building a modern financial infrastructure. They are partnered with companies like Goldman Sachs, Citi, American Express, and Google.

Plaid's Instant Link process uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology for all communication and your sensitive login credentials are never exposed or stored. Instead, they simply pass through Plaid's secure SSL connection which communicates directly with your bank to authenticate your banking information. Once Plaid authenticates you, they are no longer in the picture and if desired, you are free to change your login credentials on your banking website. When your bank account linking is complete, you can begin making purchases on RaiseRight.com.

Manual Linking is a much, much slower process that dates back to the late 20th century and requires you to provide your bank's routing number and your checking/savings account number. Then within a couple days, the Great Lakes Scrip Center will make two micro-deposits into your bank account. Once you see the deposits, login to your RR account and confirm the deposit amounts. Then a confirmation code will be displayed which you need to write down and then send to the local coordinator. Once JoAnn receives it, she will activate your account.

SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION YOU'LL NEED TO HAVE OR WILL RECEIVE

• Gene Grawe Fund Secret Enrollment Code provided by JoAnn Witte or another GGF volunteer.
• Your email address (will be used as your username).
• You must create a password and select two security questions/answers.
• Your standard contact information. MUST BE VERIFIABLE.
  
• Name of the person who referred you to the Gene Grawe Fund. MUST BE VERIFIABLE.
  
• Designated student's name, grade, and school. MUST BE VERIFIABLE.
  
• Designated student's Gene Grawe Fund 9-digit account number.
• Register & confirm your phone number.
• For Instant Linking: Your online banking credentials.
• For Manual Linking: Bank routing number and your checking/savings account number.
• For Manual Linking: You confirm deposit amounts.
• You create a 4-digit PIN for PrestoPay.
• PrestoPay approval code provided by RaiseRight.com.

The whole enrollment process only happens once per RR account. Each RR account must have a unique email address and can be linked to only one bank account. If you wish to use multiple bank accounts, you'll need multiple RR accounts and a different email address for each. Many Gene Grawe Fund members have two or more.

If you now have a good understanding of the enrollment process go ahead and start your enrollment on RaiseRight.com. If you would like a little more guidance, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

STEP-BY-STEP ENROLLMENT PROCESS

1. First, you'll need our Secret Enrollment Code. To get it click here to send JoAnn an email telling her that you want to enroll on RaiseRight.com.

2. Once she's seen your email, she'll verify you and then send you the Secret Enrollment Code that verifies you to RR and also links your scrip purchases made on your RaiseRight.com account to the Gene Grawe Fund. Now you can go to RaiseRight.com and use that Secret Enrollment Code to start enrolling.

3. Your email address will become your RaiseRight.com username.

4. You must create a password. We advise making it secure, but still something you'll remember standing in the checkout line somewhere.

5. While enrolling at RR, if you have a designated student, enter that student's full name, grade, and school so the correct student/family will get credit for your purchases. Better yet, enter that family's 9-digit Gene Grawe Fund account number. Call the family to get it. They'll be happy to know you'll be helping them out. When you use the family's 9-digit Gene Grawe Fund account number, there's never any doubt where you want your tuition earnings to go. Students graduate, change schools, and we do have students with the same name and some even attend the same school. Please don't make us guess. Or leave the student blank and then your purchases will be credited to the GGF General Fund for all Gene Grawe Fund students to share. If you want your earnings to go directly to a particular school, then enter the school name in the student name field.

6. Select two security questions and provide the answers.

7. Register and verify your phone.

8. Next thing to do is to sign up for PrestoPay and link it to your checking or savings account. Otherwise you'll need to mail checks to RR which kind of defeats the purpose of purchasing instant eCards. You'll need to choose between Instant Linking or Manual Linking.

Instant Linking requires you to provide your login credentials (Internet banking ID and Internet banking password) to your online account on your bank's website. You'll need to select your bank from a list of thousands of banks. Then enter your Internet banking ID and Internet banking password for your online account at that bank. Once Plaid establishes the link to your online banking account, you may have to select which account to use if you have multiple accounts with that bank. Finally, you create and confirm a 4-digit PIN. Now, you can begin making purchases on RR.

Manual Linking is a slower process and requires you to provide your bank's routing number and your checking/savings account number. Then within a couple days, the Great Lakes Scrip Center (GLSC) will make two micro-deposits into your bank account followed by an immediate withdrawal of the total amount deposited. Once you see the deposits, login to your RR account and confirm the deposit amounts. Then an approval code will be displayed which you need to send to the local coordinator JoAnn Witte at Info@GeneGraweFund.org so she can approve you. Once JoAnn receives it, she will activate your account.

9. Once approval for PrestoPay is complete, you will be ready to buy instant eCards online. There is a $0.29¢ charge per checkout so order your cards together. Not all merchants are available as eGiftCard or ReloadNow, but many are. The gift cards that the GGF purchases locally in Quincy are not.

CAUTION
We've had some new RR members attempt to purchase large amounts of instant eGift Cards as soon as they get approved. This will usually trigger the fraud alert software at RR which locks you out until JoAnn Witte can unlock your account. So if that happens, just contact JoAnn directly. After she unlocks your account, you can make large purchases without trepidation or fear of setting off any alarms.

RaiseRight
If you have an Android device, iPhone, or iPad you will now want to go to your devices App Store, search for RaiseRight and install it. You'll need your RaiseRight.com credentials to set it up. The RaiseRight mobile device app is the easiest way to purchases gift cards from RaiseRight.com and the Gene Grawe Fund office!  It's what you'll use while waiting in the checkout line or during dessert when paying for dinner out. RaiseRight works great out of town and also when you cannot get into the GGF office. Get used to using RaiseRight and you'll soon be earning more tuition money than you would without it.

If you have a smartphone, you can just show the merchant your smartphone and they will scan the barcode or key-in the numbers. Never hand your unlocked smartphone to anyone who will take it out of your sight to scan the barcode. Either walk with them to the wait staff register or let them write down the gift card number. If you do not have a smartphone, you can print your eGift Card and take it to the merchant. If eating at a restaurant you could also just write the eGift Card number on your bill. I've done it many times.

COMMENTS
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