NWACC Foundation Introduces Visa Card from Arvest

The NorthWest Arkansas Community College Foundation is hoping to benefit financially from a new Visa card bearing its name.

Etsyl Sparkman, the Foundation’s executive director, says Arvest Bank Group broached the idea of a Foundation-branded credit card. The community college will receive a contribution from the bank group based on the total amount users charge on the Visa cards. Sparkman says it’s just another case of Arvest supporting the community college because usually such credit cards are only issued for large organizations. Typically, groups must have mailing lists of at least 20,000 people before banks are interested in issuing branded credit cards. The Foundation’s mailing was just 5,500 strong.

Sparkman says he hopes the college faculty and staff will use the Foundation Visa card when making school-related expenditures because the college will benefit from that usage. It’s not certain just what percentage NWACC will receive because that depends on volume, Sparkman says.

“We will need to have a certain percentage participate within an 18-month period,” he says. “[Arvest] is willing to try it but the college is going to have to perform as there is a reasonable amount of volume [required].”