The reason they ask for donations is because they can pool the donations together, say they’re donating, and then get a tax write off. They are just trying to make free money.
This is a commonly repeated myth but it isn’t true. Nobody gets a tax write off in point-of-sale fundraising. Charities ask stores to do it because it’s one of the most efficient and effective ways for a charity to raise money. Chairty events are costly, and asking people on the street gets a lot of rejection. Stores agree to do it because they get to run ads saying they helped raise millions for charity and the charity will usually shout them out as well.
I work for a retailer and have been loosely involved in a project like that a few years ago.
Basically, it felt like it was mostly a very inexpensive way for the company to get everyone involved feel good about themselves. The free advertising was definitely an argument to get the higher-ups on board, but my impression was that it was kinda secondary compared to the kinda fake good conscience it gave everyone.
There was definitely no tax breaks for that initiative though, so at least in my country that is indeed a myth
EDIT: You also get to say in your annual report to the shareholders that the company helped raise x millions euros to charities at no cos, which in turn makes them feel good about themselves without impacting their profits.
I’ve always been curious how the money gets to the charity. Does the corporation put the donations into an account and collect interest on it before they give it to the charity?
And who pays the cc fees? And do they have an agreement with the cc provider for a kickback? There are so many hands involved with simple monetary transactions most people wouldn’t believe it.
It’s a good question. The flat fee is already covered by your item purchase, so at worst it would be 2.5-3.5% of the donation amount, which isn’t terrible.
The reason they ask for donations is because they can pool the donations together, say they’re donating, and then get a tax write off. They are just trying to make free money.
This is a commonly repeated myth but it isn’t true. Nobody gets a tax write off in point-of-sale fundraising. Charities ask stores to do it because it’s one of the most efficient and effective ways for a charity to raise money. Chairty events are costly, and asking people on the street gets a lot of rejection. Stores agree to do it because they get to run ads saying they helped raise millions for charity and the charity will usually shout them out as well.
I work for a retailer and have been loosely involved in a project like that a few years ago.
Basically, it felt like it was mostly a very inexpensive way for the company to get everyone involved feel good about themselves. The free advertising was definitely an argument to get the higher-ups on board, but my impression was that it was kinda secondary compared to the kinda fake good conscience it gave everyone.
There was definitely no tax breaks for that initiative though, so at least in my country that is indeed a myth
EDIT: You also get to say in your annual report to the shareholders that the company helped raise x millions euros to charities at no cos, which in turn makes them feel good about themselves without impacting their profits.
They still take credit for it like you said.
I’ve always been curious how the money gets to the charity. Does the corporation put the donations into an account and collect interest on it before they give it to the charity?
And who pays the cc fees? And do they have an agreement with the cc provider for a kickback? There are so many hands involved with simple monetary transactions most people wouldn’t believe it.
It’s a good question. The flat fee is already covered by your item purchase, so at worst it would be 2.5-3.5% of the donation amount, which isn’t terrible.
Charity is profitable.
Damn, I didn’t know I was duped. I do wonder how this holds up in countries other than the US.
Don’t forget the press release they can also make saying how nice they are for donating, too…
You should delete your misinformation.
No, they should leave it up as it is immediately debunked in the next comment, which is good.
Yeah they won’t. Lemmy is very lax when dealing with published falsehoods which are in support of an ideologically needed narrative.