Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
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Operation Grow Spartanburg started as a simple Facebook group after quarantine by locals who believed our community is stronger when we show up for one another. There’s no big corporate backing. Just local people working to support small businesses, keep dollars local, and give families and businesses fun, often free, ways to connect.
Today, we offer paid memberships for businesses, a free Community Membership for individuals, and host networking and community events designed to increase visibility for local businesses, build meaningful relationships, and preserve that small town feel as Spartanburg continues to grow.
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John Coates, Jake Creedy, Dave McDonough, and Shawn Martin were the original dreamers who turned the idea of Operation Grow Spartanburg into reality.
Lindsey Bowen at BOCO Creative Agency now handles website design and management, graphics, and financial and administrative tasks for OGS.
Alongside these core leaders are dozens of volunteers who have shown up, pitched in, and helped us grow over the years, and we’re forever grateful for every single one of them.
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There are plenty of ways to support Operation Grow Spartanburg, even if you don’t own a business:
Join our free Community Membership and take advantage of all the special offers and discounts from local businesses
Use the OGS Member Directory when deciding where to shop, eat, or hire locally
Offer your time when we have a need for volunteers
Attend OGS community events and invite your friends and family too
Join the OGS Facebook group
Invite friends and neighbors to join the OGS Facebook group
Purchase OGS merch and rep our city
We’re so grateful for all of your support! Spartanburg is a better place because of people like you!
Free Community Membership FAQs
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The OGS Community Membership is a free membership for individuals who want to support local businesses and access exclusive discounts and special offers from participating OGS Business Members.
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It is completely free. All you need to join is your name and email address.
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No. The Community Membership is specifically designed for individuals, local residents, and anyone interested in supporting businesses (and taking advantage of special offers) throughout Spartanburg County.
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You’ll receive access to the private OGS Member Specials page, where participating local businesses offer exclusive discounts and promotions only eligible to OGS members. You will also receive occasional emails about new specials, featured businesses, OGS events, and community updates.
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After signing up, simply log into your OGS account and you’ll be able to see all the specials currently available.
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No, businesses and organizations must purchase an OGS Business Membership to be listed in the Member Directory. Businesses that purchase the Business Membership will also have access to all of the member specials!
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Each offer will include its own redemption instructions on the Member Specials page. You may need to show the offer, use a discount code, book through a specific link, or mention your OGS membership when purchasing. Offers are created and managed by the participating businesses and may have expiration dates, restrictions, or limited availability, so always review the details before redeeming. Questions about a specific offer should be directed to the business providing it.
OGS Business Membership FAQs
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Any small business, organization, or local service that operates in Spartanburg County can join.
Restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, medical offices, food trucks, childcare providers, real estate agents, service providers, construction companies, salons, Spartanburg school districts and private schools, Spartanburg cities, etc.
Nonprofits and community/networking groups are welcome to join and be listed as well as long as you operate in Spartanburg County.
If you’re not sure which category you fit in, email us and we’ll help you find the best spot.
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To keep our focus on truly local, independently owned businesses, the following are not eligible:
Businesses or organizations not owned and operated in Spartanburg County
National franchises
Chain restaurants
Multi-level marketers
If any of these businesses purchase a membership, your money will be refunded and you will not be added to our Member Directory.
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Listing in the OGS Business Member Directory - your business name and website under the applicable category
Free Networking Events for local business owners
Access to exclusive offers from participating local businesses
Option to feature a discount or special on the private OGS Member Specials page
First to know about upcoming events and sponsorship opportunities
Eligibility to become an official sponsor for OGS events
Eligibility to become a vendor at OGS events
Exclusive access to these add on options:
Spotlight feature on your category page
Spotlight feature on our home page
Social media shoutouts in the OGS Facebook group
Dedicated event promotion posts in the OGS Facebook group
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OGS 1 Category Membership – $35/month or $350/year.
You’re listed in the one category that best fits your business.OGS 2 Category Membership – $50/month or $500/year.
You’re listed in two categories if your business genuinely fits in more than one (For example, your store sells sports equipment. Your business could be listed in “Retail” and “Athletics”).The “Other” category is reserved for truly specialty businesses that don’t reasonably fit in any other category. Because of that, it can’t be used as a second category.
If your business is listed under “Other,” it won’t be listed in any additional categories so we can keep things fair for everyone.
Think we’ve missed a common category your business clearly belongs in? Fill out the form on the Member Directory page to submit the category, and we’ll happily review it for future additions.
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Unfortunately no. Each business must have its own membership. The 2 Category Membership is for businesses that genuinely fit into more than 1 category.
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Yes. If something shifts in your business or we need to adjust where you’re listed, just email us and we’ll update your category placement going forward.
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Memberships are billed based on which payment option you chose:
Once a month
Once a year
If you purchase a yearly membership on September 1, 2026, your next membership fee will be drafted September 1, 2027.
If you purchase a monthly membership on September 1, 2026, your next membership fee will be drafted October 1, 2026.
You may cancel your membership at any time by visiting your account. If you cancel, your membership will simply continue until the end of your paid period. At that point, you will no longer be charged moving forward. There are no refunds if you cancel your membership.
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Memberships, add ons, services, vendor fees, registration fees, and sponsorship payments are non-refundable once payment is submitted.
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If you’d like to cancel your membership, simply log in to your account, click “Manage Subscription” and then click “Cancel Subscription”. When you cancel, you will no longer be charged. Your membership will remain in effect until the end of your paid period.
When your paid period ends, your business will be removed from the Membership Directory, and you will no longer have access to add on features or event vendor and sponsorship opportunities.
There are no refunds given if you cancel your membership.
You may re-join at any time.
Add ons for Business Members FAQs
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The Category Page Featured Section is a paid upgrade that puts you at the top of your category page for one full month, above the alphabetical listings.
You’ll get a larger block with your logo/photo, short description, and call-to-action.
When you purchase, you’re added to the next available month in the queue for that category.
If you want to know how far out the list is before you buy, just shoot us an email and we’ll tell you what the next open month is.
*You must have an active OGS Membership to book a Category Page Featured Section.
*Please do not book more than 3 months at a time to give everyone a chance to take advantage of this feature.
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The Home Page Small Business Spotlight is our highest visibility option.
Your business is featured on the home page for an entire month.
Only one business per month is featured in this spot.
When you purchase, you’re added to the next available month in the spotlight queue.
Want to know current availability? Email us and we’ll let you know how long the wait is.
*You must have an active OGS Membership to book a Home Page Small Business Spotlight.
*Please do not book more than 1 month at a time to give everyone a chance to take advantage of this feature.
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Featured spots and home page spotlights run one business per month in each position. When you purchase a feature:
You’re added to the next available month in the queue.
For example, if you purchase in November, and December–February are already booked, your feature will run in March.
If you’d like to know the current wait time before purchasing, just send us an email and we’ll let you know where the list stands. You can also let us know if you’d like to book for a specific month, and we can see if it’s available.
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The OGS Facebook Group Special Shoutout is a dedicated post by the OGS Team in the OGS Facebook group that highlights your business to the community.
You’ll send us:
Your logo and/or photos you’d like included
Any videos you’d like included
Key info you want highlighted
Your website and/or social links
The OGS Team will use their magic to put it together in a clean, engaging post and share it with the group.
Your post can also be featured at the top of the group for 1 week. This means it will remain at the top of the OGS Facebook page above all the other posts for a whole week!
*You must have an active OGS Membership to book the OGS Facebook Group Special Shoutout.
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The Event Promotion Post is for one specific event you want to push.
You’ll send us:
Event name
Date, time, location
How people can sign up or attend
Any graphics/photos/videos you want included
The OGS Team will craft a perfectly worded, engaging post in the OGS Facebook group and highlight the details so more locals can show up for you.
The post can also be featured at the top of the group for 1 week. This means it will remain at the top of the OGS Facebook page above all the other posts for a whole week!
(For best results, send us your event info at least 7–10 days before the event.)
*You must have an active OGS Membership to book an Event Promotion Post.
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Yes, these offerings are only for businesses with an active OGS Business Membership.
Event FAQs
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You must have an active OGS Business Membership in order to be an event vendor or sponsor.
When we start planning an event, we will send out information to our members for those interested in being a vendor or sponsor.
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Sponsoring an event puts your brand at the center of what makes Spartanburg special, while helping us keep these experiences accessible and impactful for the whole community (AKA, we don’t have to charge admission fees or raise our vendor fees and make it out of reach for some small businesses).
Event sponsors help power the mission and get powerful visibility in return. As an OGS event sponsor, you get:
Your logo on ALL event marketing such as graphics, flyers, signage, shoutouts, and social media mentions.
Brand visibility in front of a highly local, highly engaged audience.
The opportunity to be a vendor at the event with no extra vendor fees.
Face-to-face time at the event with potential customers who care about supporting local businesses.
Name recognition and goodwill as a brand that’s actively investing in Spartanburg’s growth.
A direct role in real community impact: from small business growth to local charities and causes.
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Being an event vendor for an Operation Grow Spartanburg event means more than just setting up a table. It’s about getting in front of real people who actually live, work, and spend money here. You get:
Face-to-face time with local customers who can see, taste, and experience what you offer.
Tons of promotion before the event so you’re not trying to drive traffic alone.
A vendor spotlight in the Facebook event page prior to the event.
Affordable vendor fees that keep opportunities accessible to everyone.
A community focused atmosphere where people show up ready to support local.
New connections and repeat customers.
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Absolutely! Bring a tent and hand out promotional products, business cards, brochures, etc! You can even have demos, quick consults, or give out lead generation offers.
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Organizing and hosting an event has a lot of expenses - insurance, permits, marketing, venue fees, rental of any equipment, DJ, porta potties, etc. This helps cover these costs.
In addition, we sometimes donate all or a portion of the profits from the vendor fees to charity.
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We will have a rain date selected up front. If the event is rescheduled due to weather beyond our control, we will announce it at least 24 hours before the event. Vendor fees will not be refunded if you are unable to participate in the rescheduled event.