Just Like Tip Prompts, Requests for Donations at Checkout Are Everywhere
tax benefits for companies. Vastly more donation campaigns now include a round-up component than they did in 2020, according to a report on charity appeals in the checkout line from social impact organization Engage for Good. Shelly Allhands, a Seattle freelance communications professional, says she’s annoyed by businesses with lots of money asking for spare change.
The round-up requests remind her of “millionaires who tell us to use paper straws while flying private jets." Chris Perry of Falls Church, Va., has worked in nonprofit fundraising for over a decade. He’s worried about the fatigue he’s hearing from would-be donors, and how people are lumping charity round-ups together with tipping. The philanthropic organizations he’s worked with rely on the campaigns to fund as much as half of their efforts, he says.
“We’re asking consumers to pay salaries, fix charities, all these things at the same time when they’re maybe struggling, too," says Perry, citing his work overseeing donations at the Children’s Miracle Network, a collective of nonprofit children’s hospitals. He now does the same for low-income home-repair organization Rebuilding Together. Still, he says, “The money that comes in is substantial, and there’s a lot of flexibility in how nonprofits can use it." Round-up’s spread One reason for the campaigns’ growing popularity: They work.
Round-up initiatives, now found everywhere from stores to movie theaters and casinos, can raise millions in weeks. Stop & Shop’s campaigns for breast-cancer research and food-security efforts garner between $1 million and $2 million in a month, says Jennifer Barr, who oversees the grocery chain’s charitable giving. U.S.
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