Should you give at the register?
Posted on January 11, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Your power as a donor lies in the decisions you make about which charity to fund and how much to give. While this may not seem like much, in reality it’s tremendously powerful. Charities are in constant pursuit of donor dollars. The more donations they receive the more they can grow and expand their programs. The fewer donations they receive the greater the risk to their programs and the entire organization. Therefore, behaviors that donors reward with donations get more emphasis and resources, while behaviors that cause donors to withhold donations get discontinued or hidden from public view.
Last weekend the Wall Street Journal came out with a story on the growing trend of stores asking for charitable donation at the cash register. I hate these solicitations because they ask donors to give without providing any information on the quality or impact of the aid they provide. Evaluating information about charities before giving is key to good donorship.
If you want charities to have a larger impact – give only to those charities that already provide proof of their impact.
If you want charities to become better at evaluating their work and improving their practices - give only to those charities that regularly evaluate their work and share both their findings and how they’ve improved their practices with donors.
If you want charities to coordinate better with other organizations to ensure that they are complementing, not duplicating, each others work - give only to those agencies that already actively coordinate with other agencies.
If you want more charities to solicit you by phone - give to those charities that already solicit you by phone.
If you want more charities to ask for donations at the cash register - give to charities already asking for donations at the cash register.
Your donor decisions impact how charitable organizations direct their time and resources. Make sure you’re only rewarding those behaviors that you believe are important to good aid.
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Related Posts:
How do you know if an organization deserves your donation
If they don’t provide information in writing, don’t give
How is the sweater your Aunt Martha gave you similar to charitable donations?
Cost efficient aid is not necessarily effective aid
Bad donor advice perpetuates bad aid practices
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I agree with most of what you say here, but I don’t think giving donations at the register is such a bad thing, especially when you’re giving to a well known organization. I don’t receive phone calls about charities and unless I’m actively seeking one out, the most exposure I have to any is while I’m shopping. I think that for a lot of people who would like to give but never really think of giving, asking for donations at the register can be the best thing.
The problem is that giving at the register may lead to more giving but not smarter giving. Rarely do they have any meaningful information available to potential donors and no information on how the organization was chosen or vetted by the store. The problem is that donors need to give better, not just give more.
While I rarely disagree with your posts, Saundra, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the cash register ask for major, branded, well-known charities. As a consumer, I know the work of charities like Komen, Children’s Miracle Network, Make-a-Wish, and other national charities that have had a little plug on the credit card screen before I swipe at the grocery. I have never seen a small local charity pushed at a cash wrap, though I’m sure someone can provide an example that proves me wrong. Perhaps most importantly, for the person who says “Yes, I’ll donate $1 to Komen Foundation,” would they have really gone online and found somewhere else to donate that dollar? Probably not. It gets absorbed by their grocery, etc. budget and they don’t think another thing of it.
I’m afraid I’m one of those people that can give examples of small local charities hooking up with stores. A charity that works with pets asks for donations at Pet Smart and a local school/after school program – I’m really not sure – has hooked up with Whole Foods.
I really am concerned about the rising number of instances where individuals are asked to give without putting thought into it. It’s not a good habit to get into.