BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – SaveAround is the Greater Binghamton Chamber Business of the Week.

SaveAround is a fundraising platform for school groups, churches, athletic leagues and others which sells books with coupons for local, regional and national merchants.

The books cost $25 and the groups that sell them get to keep half of that to support their organization.

The only cost to the participating merchants is the discount that they offer.

SaveAround currently produces coupon books in more than 100 metropolitan areas, selling 2 to 3 million books per year.

It traces its origins back to 1975 when founder Ray Stanton II started Dine-A-Mate featuring discounts at 8 to 10 local restaurants.

The business became SaveAround in 2002 and moved into the Charles Street Industrial Park in Binghamton in 2010.

Stanton says with inflation soaring, discounts are more important than ever.

Stanton II says, “People love, online or offline, people love to save. Our book is all about saving and all about helping schools raise money they need for their special events, their special programs.”

Stanton says the business was hard hit during the pandemic but is on course to be back to 80% of its pre-COVID sales this year.

He says his coupon books have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for non-profits since they were first launched 47 years ago.

For more information, go to savearound.com.