Skip to content
NIL.CARDS
Get started
How it works

Photo day to payout in about three weeks

A season runs in four stages. Below is each one in order: what the program does, what NIL.CARDS does, and the rule that stage enforces whether anyone remembers it or not.

4
Stages
≈21
Days to live
70%
Students + Programs
Bring it to my schoolStart at stage 01

A card is a 2.5 by 3.5 inch collectible, produced in four stages: consent, production, storefront and payout.

T+7 → T+21
Stage 02 · Cards created

Photo day becomes a season set

Portraits and student stories become designed cards — physical and digital — in the program's colors. Stories are screened before they go anywhere, and every proof routes through the program director before a single card prints.

The program does
  • Runs photo day on a date already on the calendar
  • Collects student stories and season highlights
  • Approves proofs, or sends them back for changes
NIL.CARDS does
  • Designs the card set and builds each digital profile
  • Screens story text for contact details and personal links
  • Prints and ships the physical run once approval is in

The guardrailNames default to the privacy-first convention — first name and last initial — and a parent chooses whether the full name ever appears. Grade and section are never public.

Fig. 02 — Source art → approved proof
Portrait and story feed the card; the director's approval gates the print run.
Season-long
Stage 03 · Sell & sponsor

A store that fits in a pocket, and on a card

The program's storefront opens: card packs, foil variants, senior bundles, posters and scan-to-support. Every printed card carries a QR code, and local businesses can buy season sponsor slots that appear on the cards themselves.

The program does
  • Shares the store link and runs game-day tables
  • Signs local businesses to season sponsor packages
  • Chooses which products the season offers
NIL.CARDS does
  • Hosts the storefront, QR profiles and guest checkout
  • Takes payment through Apple Pay, Google Pay or card
  • Reports scans, redemptions and sponsor performance

The guardrailEvery QR code and every support button routes to the program's own checkout — never to a personal payment link. Buyers can leave a note; it reaches the parent and the director, and never the student.

Fig. 03 — Scan → program checkout
Scanning a card opens that program's store, with guest checkout and a $10 card.
Per sale, then season close
Stage 04 · Funds distributed

The same three numbers, on every screen

The split is recorded on the sale itself, in whole cents, at the moment money moves. The program sees its total, a parent sees their student's share, a student sees their own line items, and the figures reconcile to each other because they are the same ledger.

The program does
  • Reads program totals and per-student statements
  • Reports to boosters and administrators from one export
  • Renews sponsors for the next season
NIL.CARDS does
  • Allocates every sale across program, student and platform
  • Publishes per-student statements and program reports
  • Handles payment processing, refunds and receipts

The guardrailThe parts always sum to exactly the amount charged, and rounding is absorbed by the platform — never taken out of a student's share.

Fig. 04 — One sale, three ledgers
Every $10.00 card splits $4.00 to the program, $3.00 to the student and $3.00 to the platform.
The calendar

Dates the school already has

Nothing here asks a program to invent a new event. The run maps onto photo day, the first home game, championships and senior night.

  1. T+0Agreement signedProgram or district
  2. T+2Consent requests outParents e-sign
  3. T+7Photo dayPortraits and stories
  4. T+14Proofs approvedDirector reviews
  5. T+21Store liveCards printing
  6. SeasonGames and scansSponsors run
  7. CloseStatements outFunds distributed
Division of labor

Who does what

Four people touch a season. Three of them for minutes, not evenings.

Program director

≈2 hrs · week one
  • Loads the roster and sends consent requests
  • Approves card proofs before printing
  • Reads one dashboard for consent, sales and payouts

Parent or guardian

≈5 min · once
  • Grants six permissions separately — or only some of them
  • Changes or revokes any permission at any time
  • Downloads the full consent record as a PDF

Student

Any time
  • Writes a story, which routes to parent and program review
  • Sees their own earnings line by line, in their share
  • Can take their card down in one tap

Buyer or sponsor

Under a minute
  • Scans a card and checks out as a guest
  • Buys packs, foils, posters or a senior bundle
  • Sponsors a season and sees scans and redemptions
Hard lines

What the platform will not do

These are not settings a program can switch on. They are absent from the product, which is a different and stronger claim.

  • No card without consent

    Publishing and printing are blocked at the database, not in the interface.

  • No messaging to students

    There is no chat, no comments and no buyer notes surface on any student screen.

  • No leaderboards

    Students are never ranked by what their family's network can raise.

  • No sales pressure

    No goals, no streaks, no per-sale notifications — a weekly digest is the most a student receives.

  • Takedown is immediate

    A student's takedown unpublishes on confirm. It is an action, not a request.

  • Students stay unindexed

    Student pages carry noindex and are excluded from the sitemap.

Questions

The ones that decide it

Still unanswered? Ask directly — a person replies, usually the same day.

Talk to us
How long does the first season take to set up?

About three weeks from agreement to a live storefront, using dates already on the school calendar. Consent collection starts immediately; photo day and proof approval set the pace after that.

What if a parent says no — or says yes to only part of it?

Both are normal. The six permissions are granted separately, so a family can allow a digital profile but no physical card, or allow the card but not sponsor logos. Anything not granted simply does not happen, and the student stays part of the program.

Can a permission be withdrawn later?

Yes, and it takes effect immediately — the profile unpublishes within 24 hours, the QR code routes to a neutral program page and future printing stops. Cards already in circulation stay printed, and money already paid is unaffected. Re-enabling later requires program review.

What does it cost the school?

A season fee per program — $99 Starter, $249 Pro, or a custom district agreement — plus a platform fee on sales. The platform fee falls as a program grows, and every reduction goes to the program; the student's share of a $10 card is $3.00 on every plan.

Do students need an account to be on a card?

No. Consent comes from a parent or guardian, and a buyer never needs an account either — checkout is guest-first. Students who do sign in get a view of their own story, earnings and safety controls, scaled to their age.

Is this an influencer or advertising program?

No. It is a school-sanctioned fundraiser with a district agreement and licensed marks. Sponsors buy a season package that supports a program; they never receive student contact details or any way to message a student.

Next step

Bring the first program on this season

One district agreement clears compliance for every program at once. After that, each new program is an onboarding — not a negotiation.

Request a demoSponsor a program