Michigannonprofit.com a crains publication.
Affinity Telecom, a Bloomfield Hills-based phone company, is offering nonprofit organizations another way to increase budgets.
By referring people and organizations to Affinity, nonprofits can earn 2.5 percent to 6 percent
of the monthly service fee for each referral. Those fees range from $24.95 to $44.95. Though no nonprofits have signed up, Affinity is working with several large nonprofits on the
revenue-sharing program, said CEO Yianni Kopanakis. He said he expects to have deals closed soon. In return, Affinity gets word-of-mouth marketing when potential customers receive referrals from
trusted nonprofits rather than telemarketers, Kopanakis said.
"Not a lot of people know who we are," he said. "This is a good way for us to get name recognition."
Once a nonprofit reaches 100 referrals, Affinity offers a month of free service to additional sign-ups.
Affinity also wants deals with large nonprofits in which it would give the nonprofit free phone
service, and in exchange the nonprofit would include Affinity information in the nonprofit's
marketing materials. Additionally, Kopanakis said he would like to tap into the large companies that sponsor nonprofits.
One possibility would be to set up employee programs at sponsor companies so that when employees sign
up for Affinity's service, some of the money would go to the nonprofit. Affinity has done similar work with Saturn dealerships in Clarkston and Southfield. When employees
signed up, some of the money went into a fund for employee parties and contests. Affinity, which has 75 employees, formed in 1996 as Internet service provider CustomNet in Troy. It changed its name and location when it began offering telephone service last January.
For more information, e-mail bruce@affinitytalk.com or visit www.affinitytalk.com.
About CloseCall America
CloseCall America, which began business in 1999, is a Maryland company with offices in Queen Anne’s County on the state’s Eastern Shore. CloseCall prides itself on its commitment to superior customer service, with all calls handled locally rather than “outsourced” to firms in other states or countries. CloseCall provides its customers local and long distance phone service, bundled packages, wireless service, BlackBerry service, high speed Internet, standard dial-up, and VoIP (broadband phone service). Additional information on CloseCall America can be found at its website: www.closecall.com.
For further information, including how to sign up, please contact CloseCall America at 1-877-81CLOSE (1-877-812-5673), or by email at customerservice@closecall.com.
