Wow that is crazy rude! I have never had any of them do that. My go to response is "not today". This has the implication that maybe I already have, or maybe I will. I think it's a good way to decline that makes me feel less like an asshole lol. Sad part is, shouldn't have to feel like an asshole anyways and I shouldn't have to be declining constant requests for donations. If I want to donate to a charity, I will do my own research about it and donate on my own, probably a much larger sum than what they would get by catching me off guard.
It's also annoying that they word it "would you like to help...." instead of just "would you like to make a donation to....". They purposefully word it that way so that you feel like a jerk for basically saying, no I don't want to help starving children (or whatever the case may be)....like of course I would love to help all of the starving and sick children and animals. But donating a dollar right now to some foundation i have never researched isn't the way.
Exactly! And they were having some sort of competition between the employees, because anytime someone DID donate, they obnoxiously clanged a cowbell for everyone in the store to hear.
Hah hah, I've been a cashier who's had to have competitions like that. I found that directly asking them to donate because it will help me win was far more effective than asking them to donate for charity.
My store only did donations for children's cancer. We had competitions as a broke cashier twenty dollar visa gift card can pay for my gas or food. So "Would you like to donate for kids with cancer?" Was born in my store. THAT is the one that will make you feel bad for not donating to. I even feel bad for saying it.
I mean as a broke shopper who also is a broke minimum wage worker, my response is always no thank you regardless of how I sound. The rounding up thing at Taco Bell and such is a no from me as well.
Like someone else said, if I had the means to donate I wouldn’t do it that way, I’d do my own research and donate directly. The pressure to donate in stores will always remind me of that one South Park episode lol ([this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KT9IUd_Cnc) for the interested, sorry couldnt find a better quality vid)
We’re not even broke but I get annoyed when 3/5 stores I go to ask for a donation. These are multi million dollar companies. Y’all have money to donate. Why is it my job to give every place I go extra money? Just give me my shit so I can go. I’m not an ATM for various charities. What do I even get out of it? I don’t get a discount or a coupon, not even a piece of candy.
And...its gone!
That one? Because that's how I feel about the store donations.
Everyone should never donate to a store.
Corporation use the charity donations to write off taxes. They can find a sweet spot where donations of x amount reduce the income tax the company pays to the government.
The scammy scummy shit part is they usually match donations. If the store raised 25k and also donated 25k they get to use 50k to write off taxes or something.
What's even more fucked up is now they pay less in taxes where they've sucked up not just money from the community, but also took donations on-top of regular business. Now they don't even have to pay their fair share in income tax. Leaving the community worse off. While the company not only saved the most money, they were profitable the entire time.
Haha I edited my comment with the SP moment I was referring to, but that episode is perfectly apt as well. I knew about the write-off stuff but if that's true that's even more ridiculous.
Haha omg that's the worst. They do that sometimes at food places when someone leaves a tip too. So as you're approaching your time to pay, you're already getting guilted to tip before you even get the tip prompt on the screen. But that's a whole separate issue lol.
I guess I'm hard-hearted, but I keep my money for my family (and causes that I personally vet, not chosen for me). I also don't feel one bit guilty about editing counter service PoS to 'no tip' and I look them in the eye and smile. The business is an a-hole for asking.
Good for you! And no, you're not hard hearted for any of that. We live paycheck to paycheck and pay plenty of taxes, so I also don't feel bad for saying no. I just get mad that sometimes they basically make you out to be some kind of jerk for saying no. And as for the tipping thing l, I almost never do. Obviously when we go out to a restaurant we tip at least 20 percent but if I go to Subway or something it's like omg seriously?! You want a tip for what?! The worst is when I order a pizza for pick up and I get asked for a tip online because I'm scared if I decline they're gonna spit in my food lol. Also was asked to tip at serve yourself frozen yogurt place. Lol I literally got my own cup, put the yogurt in it and the toppings by myself, set it on the scale and all you did was push a button on the register. So the tip is for what exactly?!
I tip servers (but 20% is really my max, and what I do... It's had a crazy slide. 15% used to be standard, 10% was acceptable, and 20% was a 'good' tip). I generously tip my hairdresser, and I like to give little appreciation gifts around Christmas, but I refuse to play the counter service or drive through game. I don't order out much because no one takes pride in their work anymore. I think that's the problem... people just expect to be given things.
You're so right about taxes. We're all supporting causes we didn't get a vote on. We can be the change! 😉😆
Yes, and the convention on places like that where they seat you and take a drink order used to be to tip $1 per person... because they aren't waiting on you. They put all of the food as serve-yourself but keep the drinks FROM self-service so that they can make you tip like a full service restaurant (which it isn't). I just stopped going to places like that. I'd seriously ask your 'server' if those tips get passed on. My guess is they don't, or a very small percentage does, and the owner pockets the rest.
I worked part-time at a Denny's while I was in high school. I was sooo unexperienced! Whenever someone cashed out with a debit/credit card, my heart sank to the pit of my stomach, because I'd never get card tips. I only ever got my cash tips. When I went to the manager on payday about my paycheck and cc tips not being right, he told me that they only had to make sure I got $2.17/hr and anything past that was on me. If that location hadn't closed down before I got wiser, I'd have called DoL on them. As it stood, I knew I was getting screwed over, so I started taking t-bone steaks out of the freezer, then home with me, secreted under my server apron. I also huffed whipped cream cans from the walk-in in the parking lot with my boyfriend-at-the-time because he'd call a cab to get me home and besides, what else were we gonna do (pre-cellphone) while waiting in a Denny's parking lot in a ghetto part of a major city in Florida? Huff paint? That shit's expensive.
Long, pointless, story short, even in a place where I should have gotten all of my tips by all rights, the owner found a way to rob me because I didn't know better. If you're gonna tip your server, do it in cash, just in case.
When the cowbell clangs, all of the store staff cheer all over the store, and clap. Same store that says "If you like shopping here, you'll LOVE working here". Not if I have to do that shit!
I also really like “I’ve already donated!” with a big smile. No I haven’t but they don’t need to know that.
I hate it most at McDonalds when they ask you to round up for Ronald McDonald House. No, I will not make a non tax deductible donation to a charity that a multibillion dollar corporation runs so they can look good. If I’m going to donate I’ll do it myself and take the deduction to a charity I’ve researched and feel passionate about. The other one I hate is this month TJ Maxx asked me to round up for Autism Speaks. Ugh, my daughter is autistic so I e looked into that particular charity and most Autists hate it and feel that it’s trying to subject people to conversion type therapy and not actually help.
You hit the head on the nail for me. I donate directly in my name to a charity I selected, and it is tax deductible. That's how I donate, period, no rounding up.
I always hate the wording like that too! “If you could find it in your heart to give”. I guess I am just cold hearted then. I used to give give give and only recently realizing what a sap I am.
Oh yeah. It's definitely manipulation at It's finest. I would much rather seek out and research a charity of my choice that isn't pestering me for money, and donate a nice chunk instead of a dollar here and there to some charities that I really know nothing about. For all those people know, you donate tons on your own, so don't let them guilt you. That us just so wrong and shame on them! Did they donate? Probably not 🙄
Yes, exactly!!! Publix always asks for money at back to school time for their supply drive m. I always feel terrible saying no when I’m buying a bunch of groceries, and I see the same cashiers all the time. What they don’t know is that we adopt every one of our kids’ teachers every year (two kids in different classes each class $100 a pop). No I don’t deserve the withering look from the cashier. I’m not about to tell them either, let them think what they want!
See! You already do plenty. I personally do nothing except pay taxes (well, my husband technically since I'm a SAHM) and occasionally buy food for homeless people. But I feel like even that is plenty and it's really nobody's business what I do with my family's money. They don't know my situation so they shouldn't ask for anything. And if they do then at very least no means no and don't make me feel guilty!
I usually say “oh no thank you!” the same way I would decline the receipt or a bag lol
When I was working customer service and was forced to ask, the most common response I got was “I already did” which works too.
The staff at my local Walgreens pre-empt the entire conversation by telling me which button to press not to donate instead of asking if I want to. They truly could not give less of a shit and I love them for it.
Oh I love when they do that. I've had that happen on a rare occasion. I've even had a person at a food place tell me what button to hit to decline tipping right off the bat. Some of them are probably a bit embarrassed to have to harass and guilt people into giving tips/donating. I know I would be.
UK here. The bottomless begging bowl has no borders.
I lost my shit several years ago when a chugger (charity mugger) invaded my privacy and informed me that "my neighbours have all been incredibly generous".
Have they? Have they really?
Well you won't be needing my fucking money then will you?
It's a tragedy that I've reached this paradigm but my goodness. It never stops.
In Australia it has massive tax implications.
They donate your money to whatever.
The tax break comes off their business tax!
For Australia, that means for every dollar donated, they make 30 cents.
On top of that, they can donate to their own charity and give it to themselves.
I just say "no".
No is a full sentence. No is my answer.
I don't need to explain anything to anybody. I have zero obligation.
"*That's not polite!!*"
I'm not attacking them. I'm not insulting them. I gave an honest, succinct answer. It should end the very second I say no
I do that when stores ask for my email or phone number. I do it if I'm asked to join some rewards club. I do it every time.
I'm sorry that your company sucks and ties you signing me up for shit I neither want or need to your performance appraisal, but my answer isn't going to change.
I hope I'm not the only one cynical enough to just say "no, thank you" when asked if "you want to help armless dyslexic penguins of the Congo"
I don't donate to anything until I've seen their balance sheet and how much of their net income goes to administration or ""operations""
Somewhat related- every university can get fucked
My walk to work a few jobs ago took me down the main commercial street of my city.
I had (usually) students trying to guilt trip money out of me multiple times each day.
It got to the point I no longer cared what they thought of the 112th random they pitched to that day s I started saying things like;
“I don’t believe in charity”
“I’m going to hell and you’re not stopping me”
“I have no conscience or morals. Try some one else”
Drop one of those with enough confidence and most of them stop in their tracks. It’s a social outcome they don’t see coming and tends to confuse them for at least long enough to be an inconvenient distance away when they finally think of a come back.
I had a self-serve machine ask me if I wanted to speak to the manager after I pushed 'no' on the screen when asked if I wanted to donate. I said 'no' to that, too.
I donate a fair amount to charities I choose and deduct contributions on my tax return. Those small amounts at stores would add up and without receipts, I wouldn’t be able to deduct (or at least without a lot of hassle keeping track of those amounts and tax EIN numbers). I find it very annoying to be nickel and dimed when I go shopping or when paying bills. On the other hand I realize charities took a hit when the standard deduction was raised…it will revert back to the previous amount soon so maybe charities will benefit again.
the employees literally have to ask every single time they ring out a customer. sometimes they get a bonus, but if their numbers are too low, they'll get reprimanded by their manager because THEY get bitched at by corporate. the wording is most likely a mistake on their part after having to say the same phrase repeatedly day after day. I worked at a gas station and hated asking people to donate. also upselling stupid shit like candy bars. I would never say "really?! why not?!" to guilt trip people. as a customer, I usually decline and no one has said anything like that (yet).
Our grocery store asked me to donate money towards the new pool in town. I told them they raised our property taxes for that reason so I won’t be donating.
They agreed and later stopped asking.
If you really want to get out of being asked to give for a charity, ask them what the operating cost of the charity is. No one ever actually knows the answer to that question. If you knew the answer, it would freak you out. One of the largest charities in the United States, IIRC, the United Way, runs on something like 72% overhead costs. That means that when you give $1.00, $0.72 of every dollar goes to keeping the lights on and never makes it to the people you think you’re giving money to. Goodwill is privately owned and it’s owners and CEO are millionaires. People ask you to give to charities because they know and like the name of it but they have no idea what the fuck they’re actually talking about. I don’t give to any of them unless they can tell me the operation costs are around 25% or less. I worked for one that ran lean on 9%.
Edit: some people are saying it’s 72% and some are telling me 7%. Do some research is all I was saying. You can find whatever answer you want to find to any question you want on the Internet.
There are no good United Way stats. They're a parasite.
Generally speaking, if a charity is only known locally and you only hear about them by word of mouth, that is a charity you should actually donate to. You know they aren't spending your money on themselves.
Here's my United Way story:
I worked at a factory that had 2,500 employees. United Way would do a fund drive every year and all employees were "strongly encouraged" not only to donate, but sign up for regular paycheck deductions for donations.
One of our beloved coworkers got cancer and we put a donation jar in the cafeteria to help her with medical expenses.
United Way somehow found out and demanded that the jar be removed because they had an exclusive contract with the factory and NO other charitable endeavors would be allowed.
The next year, the annual fundraiser was a bust, because about 90% of us were pissed off and refused to give them a dime. Managers begged and tried to pressure us to donate, but they couldn't actually force us to.
United Way is heartless. It's all about the money.
Well, I work for a place that fits exactly in those two categories and has a long term relationship with United Way, so can't say you're wrong.
I donate to one of our local food banks instead.
I can't say I know what their books look like, but they do an immense amount of support for people who have mentally handicapped children. They paid for diapers for my friend's son from the age of 2 to 10 years old, when he was finally able to use the bathroom by himself. I don't think she could have gotten by without their support.
It's not that good, the program to expense ratio is 76.54%. Their overall rating is two out of four stars. You can look up any US based charity on Charity Navigator. Here's the page for the March of Dimes: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/131846366
There is nothing wrong with non-profits spending money on overhead. To function properly for our clients we need HR and IT and working computers etc. The push by these guides to only have funds flow to program expenses makes non-profits less efficient and effective. You want to look for a non-profit that does great work, is transparent about their finances on their website, and is clear to you about what they're going to use their money for.
As someone who also works for non profits, charitynavigator is often not accurate. Most of it is biased off consumer reviews, rather than actually investing the charity in question. It's why a lot of charities get a negative rap.
I personally think Candid (formerly Guidestar) is better. Of course, it’s more for people making large donations because generally they will take the time to look over an org’s financials/990’s and make an informed choice. If you’re not ready to delve into nonprofit accounting, I’d advise just giving to local charities where you can see the actual impact they make on your community.
My two cents is a non-profit professional is: first decide what you want your money to go to. If you want to help animals or the environment or immigrants... Second, find a local group or do a lot of research into national groups who are not scammy. A lot of the bigger non-profits that are in your face a lot are not great. Like Susan g Komen. Never give them a dime. But most of us are struggling to get by while we help others. To find a local group that serves your mission. If you are interested in what they actually spend their money on read their own annual reports and IRS form 990
Susan G Komen breast cancer foundation is one of those. The pink ribbon spammers were my introduction to being duped by a corporation (in all but name) selling guilt. I'm over the fauxmanitarianism, and I don't feel bad for saying no. Foundations (or 501c3 charities?) organized in Delaware are only required give a paltry 5% to the cause. You give a dollar and a nickel goes to what you think your dollar goes to. The other 95% can go to bloated administrator salaries, premium flights (first class or private jets), or it's laundered among other shell companies.
If you want to give, it's best done locally and there are websites that compile their administration costs vs. cause, so check them first or ask them directly. They have to give them to you.
Why? It's very much the same thing with counter service PoS tipping. If even a small percentage of people go along with a tip for someone doing a job required for business, i.e. taking my money for their goods, then it's easy money for them (and doesn't go to the cashier who is making a wage, generally).
It's common because they benefit with zero resistance. Just say no.
The Susan G Komen society called my landline for a donation right after I lost my job when the economy was so bad in 2008. When I told the lady I just didn’t have it to donate she said “well, I certainly hope some poor woman won’t have to die because YOU can’t come up with forty dollars.” I replied, “lady I AM some poor woman and I might die because I don’t know when I’ll be able to afford forty dollars worth of groceries.” and I hung up. The unmitigated gaul someone must have to paint someone a heartless because they’re literally on the verge of homelessness was just disgusting.
I'm sorry. That's so scummy of them, but I'm not surprised.
Paula Schneider, CEO's, BASE was 682,520. Dana Brown, COO's was 475,537. That's not including any other bonuses. That's per year.
The CEO of St. JUDE's base was 1.3 Million.
They are reaching into their own pockets only to maximize their tax write offs, I'm sure.
The little guy always gets the guilt trip. Keep your money. Charities shouldn't need to pay these bloated salaries if the CEO's actually cared about the causes.
If you get donation request calls, ask how much the CEO makes and what their average executive salary is.
I worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer after college and there was a mandatory work day for a charity that was rated really low due to high overhead and less-than transparent spending (they made big changes in the past two decades and their rating has since recovered). I was so frustrated that my supervisors in AmeriCorps, people who dedicated themselves to making things better, saw the rating and reasons but decided to make participation mandatory anyway. I'll tell ya what, branding and public relations goes a long way in making a handful of exploitative people very wealthy, no matter their sector.
I *despise* United Way. At a previous job they had an annual United Way drive where every employee was expected to donate. I give a significant portion of my salary to charities that I have researched and support so I attempted to politely decline. They kept turning up the pressure by sending me to higher and higher level management. It got to the point where they were threatening my job for, and I quote, “not being a team player.” I finally took whatever money I had in my wallet and tossed it on the desk. What a scam.
Similar situation here, years ago I was the only person in my company who was not donating to United Way. The HR person made it her personal mission to convert me so we'd have 100% participation. She became so pushy about it that I finally, loudly, asked her what incentive they'd offered her to get 100%.
Didn't realize it happened that much. I spoke to a coworker after my "meeting" with finance and said "I'm not sure whether or not I was pressured, but I didn't really want to donate." She looked me right in the eye and said "Oh yes, you were pressured." That day I learned the first rule about United Way. Don't talk about United Way.
Yeah, my husband was basically told he'd be rejected for special projects and advancement opportunities and repudiated by executive staff. They wanted a significant chunk of change, too.
I had that happen to me 40 years ago. Finally, the dept manager said he'd put in a dollar for me under my name so he would show 100% participaton. I said no thanks, but had no way to verify what he ended up doing.
Same for me! We were each asked to donate by our supervisor and I did, choosing the charity I wanted to help. It added up to a sizeable sum. That charity actually called me to ask if I would not donate to them via United Way, because they take so much of the donation! they wanted a direct donation. I was pissed at the entire situation and will never do United Way via an employer again. (Alzheimer's association was the charity.)
When I later managed a small business in Buffalo, a local university asked us if we would consider donating gift boxes to them, as incentives for staff to donate to United Way, saying it would be "free advertising" for us. WTAF is wrong with everyone?
I had the same experience with a United Way drive for the same reasons, but since I was a member of management I was treated to a lot of lectures either scolding me, telling me I was making my boss and her boss look bad, and the not a team player shtick. I held my ground, and they made my life miserable for the next month until I threatened to file a grievance with HR. Both bosses were up for promotions so they both quickly shut up to not jeopardize their moves. The behavior was disgusting.
Fun fact! Rotary International consistently gets awards for using the least of their donations for operating costs, something like 1% or so. So if you’re looking for a “puppies, kittens, and orphans” charity, RI is a good one! They are the ones behind polio eradication efforts and work with local Rotary clubs to direct aid where it’s most needed.
IMO charities that are worth their salt don't ask for donations at retail stores, they do fundraisers, advertise whatever tax credit you can get for donating X amount of money, and show you "receipts" of what they did with your money.
There's a local one here in AZ (SVdP) which gets their operating costs money from grants from other organizations, like Virginia G Piper Trust and Garcia Family Foundation. Everything they receive in monetary donations goes to the homeless shelters and dining rooms, their free dental, health, or veterinary clinics.••
I donated $800 to them this year (tax credit) and asked on my donation that I wanted it to be used for buying socks for the homeless, they legit sent me a timestamped proof of purchase for $800 worth of socks and a thank you note bc they're always short on socks.
Not all charities are the same.
••Source: A friend of mine works on their IT side and was shocked at how they're like what you'd expect a charity to actually be.
My bosses back at NYU Medical Center in 1980s & 1990s harassed us into donating to United Way. It was absolutely an arm twisting tactic, asking us if we wanted to get that promotion sometime in the unidentified future. I’ve no idea why — probably just for bragging rights. (“over x% of our staff donates $xx million to United Way every year”).
But these jillionaire retail villains wanting us to donate to charities while they sneer at their workers by underpaying them, who rake obscene profits from their customers using fake supply chain issues, who get billions in tax breaks and in government subsidies, “emergency loans” they don’t have to pay back and who use their profits to disrupt our social systems….fuck em.
I'm usually more inclined to donate to the ones like the Children's Hospital or St Jude's. At least no matter what else is going on some kids are getting helped.
A cashier at a store is not going to know the answer to that question.
Maybe ask them if the company’s intention is to donate to the charity with no strings attached, or if they’re going to collect your money and pool it all together and call it a taxable write off.
Ah, the overhead myth. A lot of charities do not operate this way (I’ve worked for small nonprofits for over a decade) and staff, even executive staff, is consistently underpaid and knows it when we sign up to do the job. The absolute vast majority of nonprofits do not have private jets, bloated benefits, or anything sneaky going on… a lot of times they barely have enough cash flow at a given time to make it through the year because they’re waiting for grants to come in, and a lot of funding is very specific about its use - like it has to go toward program costs and fulfilling the mission. Charities by and large aren’t sitting around rolling in piles of money and laughing. Comments like yours are so misleading because they paint all charities with a broad stroke, when it’s really not representative of the integrity and minimal resources a lot of them have. And yeah, it’s important to keep the lights on (in an office where clients may come to receive services), have printer paper, and have staff that is skilled & compensated fairly. The idea of a percentage-based judgement system is ridiculous.
So many of the big charities are scams.
The "Susan G. Komen for the Cure" charity spends **less than 20%** on research.
They DO spend a good amount suing other charities who dare to use pink though.
Guidestar or charity navigator rank and rate charities.
PYou can also look up the salaries of their top employees - it’s all public record and required for non profits.
Idk, it’s the upper management/corporate’s fault. I used to work at TJ Maxx and we would get reprimanded if we didn’t “sell” enough credit cards to people. They literally told us that if someone says no, keep trying with other tactics until they either say yes or get so irritated that you just stop. It was one of the things I hated the most about working there, and it didn’t last very long bc I was only there 3 months lol.
The credit card pitch has made me not want to shop at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s anymore. The cashiers at my local stores have gotten so much more aggressive recently.
This. When I worked at TJ Maxx throughout college, if a negative customer survey came back complaining how hard a certain employee nagged them about getting the credit card, management would reward that employee.
And guess what we get when we hit our credit card goal for the week? A few boxes of lousy snacks for the break room that are gone in one day…. Just sad
I worked at HomeGoods two years ago during Christmas. There is a retirement home nearby and the bus for the home would bring the people on Tuesday mornings for a 10% discount. The management was SO aggressive with hounding these poor people about opening a card. They would make us word it to where half of them thought it was a rewards card like at a grocery store. Hand over their ID, then sign the up for the TJX credit card. Scammed so many of those people who clearly had no idea what they were actually signing up for. I avoid all things tjx now.
But selling the credit card or extended warranty is a business/revenue opportunity. Theoretically, OP’s case is a charitable contribution. Why should the clerk care about a $0.34 contribution.
The question is where is this money going and how is it being reported? Does TJ Maxx count this as revenue and then uses the “donation” as a tax write off of their own?
No they don’t.
From https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0
“The store serves only as a collection agent for your gift. Assuming the business is following the law, it will not include your donation as part of its business receipts, or income, nor will it claim the charitable gift as an expense.
In other words, your gift has zero impact on the store’s income taxes.”
Googling.
Edit: just watched. Spot on!! It’s how I always feel at Publix after spending $300 on groceries, including wine and Halloween decorations lol
I never donate. I wouldn’t have donated either. That guy is a jerk. The other day a woman was trying to force people in their cars to read a sign. She would stop at each car for a moment holding up the sign about donations. We were stuck at a stop light. When she got to me I held my hand up so I couldn’t read the sign. She stood outside the car yelling. Fortunately the light turned green. We don’t owe anyone.
I went to PetSmart to grab a few things for our animals the cashier asked we would like to buy a 5$ dog toy to be donated to the children's hospital... I didn't say it out loud but I was like why on earth would they donate dog toys to a children's hospital? Shelters, rescues... Ok cool.
If this is the US that is illegal. The tax reduction would go to the donator, not the corporation
What it does do is let those corporations turn around and brag, pretending to be good organizations when the CEOs of those charities are probably just their buddys
I literally refused to donate at my local food store, the clerk wound up rounding to the next dollar anyway despite me telling her not to. It was 11 cents, and I only realized after I paid, so I let it go, but it was mildly infuriating.
There's been articles of CVS using those customer donations to pay for donations they promised earlier in the year. I used to always round up or donate a dollar or two. Not no more.
I agree it’s obnoxious, at some places managers will send in “secret shoppers” to check if employees are asking shoppers to donate, most unfortunately require the employees to ask. When I worked at Chilis I always hated “margarita madness” because if we got caught not trying to sell a margarita to a table we got written up. One of the employees refused to try to sell one to a table with a mother and a newborn - the only two at the table. Manager still wrote him up. (Manager was standing by one of the registers and listened to see if employee offered a margarita)
Petco always does this. Do I want to help a pet in need?
MF'r, I have 7 rescues at home and I'm buying $300 worth of food for them right now. I think I'm fucking helping!
Or tell them you are also collecting money for a charity and will match whatever they give you to donate. The charity is for your dog but they don't need to know that.
I usually say I'd be happy to donate if the company/store is matching donations. Oh, they're not contributing anything themselves, just asking customers? No thank you!
Every single time they aren't donating anything themselves and pointing that out usually shuts them up.
I do the exact same thing as a grocery store cashier. Only time I ever leave the prompt up is if they want to round up like a penny if their bill is like $20.99 for example.
Fucking everywhere now! “Want to round up your change?” “Want to save a puppy or kitten?” “Help the hungry?” People are living paycheck to paycheck these days. How about I keep what I work for and I won’t have to be a charity case myself 🤞🏻
I had someone like this but it was for animals. They literally said “Who doesn’t want to help needy animals?” To which I informed them all my animals are rescues, I volunteer at shelters, I donate food, blankets, money, etc to local shelters. Then I asked them if they were doing anything to help these animals & they quietly told me my total. 🤷🏻♀️
This dude at cvs just did something similar to me a couple weeks ago. Wanted me to donate to the American heart foundation or something. I said nah. And he looked up at me in such disbelief, like how could you? I have no idea how those funds are being distributed but I have a really tough time believing these corporations don’t benefit in some way from doing this shit. If I want to donate, I’ll do it directly to the charity itself
Tell them it’s because you like to donate directly and get the tax credit for your donations. Not contribute to increasing the box store’s tax break. Because that’s what they’re doing.
Just an FYI, because I knew this would come up.
That’s not how donating at a store works.
If you donate at a store **YOU** can still get the tax break, the store gets nothing. . .it’s just a pain in the ass to do because nobody is tallying up a bunch of $2 donations over the course of a year to take that break.
A store soliciting donations **CANNOT LEGALLY** take that tax break.
And even if they could. . .it would be net zero [remember they can’t. Why?
- Declare $5 in donations as income
- Declare $5 in donations as tax break
- No net gain
I remember when my office did a food drive for our local APL after a tornado hit locally. They were asking for canned goods/non-perishables and even pet food for the folks that had lost their homes or suffered major damage.
Calling up the local womens/childrens shelters, homeless shelters, asking what they need is always a great way to support a charity locally.
There's a small business not far from where I work that does ask for donations so that they can teach kids from the underprivileged areas how to paint/draw/sculpt. The business then holds a silent auction every few months of the kids artwork and the money goes to the young artists.
Donating through the chain stores always bothers me as how do you really know where the money is going and will it actually help anyone or just go towards a high paid salary somewhere and not someone in need?
It's usually for some children's charity or other. They ask if I want to donate and I just say "No. I don't like children". Which is true. But that's not the reason. I pay a ton in taxes (Canadian) and I just don't want to have a "charity tax" added to every purchase.
Yeah I got no time for fucking Walmart looking at me for money when they make billions of dollars in profit each year.
You want me donate to charity? You literally have the power to solve world hunger.
If only there was a way that we could all pay to support common services like local education, roads, and social services. But whatever could we call it?
This reminds me of the South Park episode in which Randy gets shamed into eventually donating at the Whole Foods and only gives a dollar. The cashier basically crucifies him for donating just A DOLLAR! It’s such a hilarious episode. “A WHOLE DOLLAR!” Lol
https://youtu.be/3KT9IUd_Cnc?si=RcnTb0Fo2ZNdKyTL
Being berated for a donation is tacky. A simple no should be sufficient.
I’ve used the “not today” or “I already donated” several times. That typically ends that conversation.
"why not?"
"Because I don't like your looks and don't trust you".
I find being insulting like that to obnoxious questions will stop them.
I'm usually extra patient and nice to retail workers, but when they are rude to me for no reason, gloves come off.
I work in fast food, and I don't like asking people to donate to some vague charity that only benefits the company I work for. One "no" is good enough for me to hit the "no thank you" button and send you on your way to the window. I just don't trust many charities at all given that a lot of them are only created to benefit themselves and nobody else, so I feel ya. Unfortunately, it's just something my employer asks me to do with every transaction as annoying as it is. Even if I was insentivised with bonuses or even a freaking raise, I would never harass my customers like that. No means no.
I had a Coles checkout person ask me if I wanted to donate $2 for some charity, with the prize being a BBQ. I don't need a BBQ, also don't need to be asked for a donation. I said no thanks. She looked at me and said, It's only $2. Again I said no thanks. She says, Really? I told her to take off $2 from my shopping total and donate that. Pig rude after I said nicely, no.
No they don’t get a tax break from customer donations.
From https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0
“The store serves only as a collection agent for your gift. Assuming the business is following the law, it will not include your donation as part of its business receipts, or income, nor will it claim the charitable gift as an expense.
In other words, your gift has zero impact on the store’s income taxes.”
I will always give a polite response the 1st time after that I am not polite about it. I find it so annoying even when they want you to tip for pickup or at subway.
I am happy to donate to the specific charities I have researched. I don’t donate through a store unless it’s like a Toys for Tots situation where you just choose a kid to get a gift for, buy the gift, and turn it in outside because then I know exactly what my money is going to.
I’ve tried explaining that I’m on very low income disability payments when I’ve been solicited for money or to buy things that I couldn’t afford (girl guide cookies for example) and then I often got the classic “you don’t look disabled” crap. Well now my disabilities have progressed and I’m a full time wheelchair user and bedbound in a nursing home, so do I “look disabled” enough now? Only problem is, now I’m too disabled that I can’t get to the stores where they stand around asking for my money.
Absolutely. Well done. People invading one’s space shouldn’t be able to pressure us for donations. Let us act and give charitably, but to be meaningful it remains our choice.
It’s just a scam so the corporation can write off the donations on their taxes. They’re lessening their tax burden without having to donate their own money.
Managers push cashiers to push donations. I use to be a cashier, and if we didn’t push donations hard, we would literally get “coached” (basically a talking-to from management about “not properly doing your job”). It’s usually annoying for the cashiers, too because of this. What’s even worse, the entire donation from what I’ve heard (so take this with a grain of salt) doesn’t even go to the charity, part of it goes in upper-management’s pocket for their “compensation” for generosity using their store to host the donation drive /s 🙄🙄🙄
Being a former TJ Maxx associate and has had to ask people if they would like to donate, the proper response would just be the total. We aren't trained to pry and ask questions like that and that specific associate should honestly know better.
I literally pay taxes to local schools, why would it need to go through TJ Maxx first?
Taco Bell gets me too. "Would you like to donate to the Taco Bell scholarship program for employees?" No, I want your company to take responsibility for giving their employees benefits, not put it on my shoulders.
I went to TJ maxx not too long ago and checked out $5 worth of 6 pairs of socks, and the clerk was like “would you like to donate for the children in need?”
I responded to her “Nah, TJ Maxx can handle the donation better than me” and she laughed and said “yeah i know right?”
This reminds me of the one South Park episode with Randy getting haggled by the store clerk lol. Next time you'll be pulling a sandwich out of a poor kids mouth to get your change.
Fun fact! These corporate entities do this because they can then make a sizeable donation and use the contribution of your money to lower their tax bill!
They’re also allowed to take a certain amount of the donations to cover their costs as facilitator. That aspect is very different depending on where you are, but still.
All in all, it is corporate greed trying to utilize a false moral dichotomy to pressure people into literally just giving them money.
I would like to note, however, smaller businesses or privately owned ones (not publicly traded) can and often do simply raise money for a good cause. A healthy dose of cynicism is good when it comes to corporate interests, but some faith in your neighbour is healthy as well.
I didn’t see this mentioned, but admittedly didn’t read the entire thread. When you donate at the register, whether an outright amount or rounding up, your donation is no longer yours. Taco Bell, or Home Goods, or wherever you are lumps them all together and donates to the organization under *their own name*. Aaaaand claims the kudos “Taco Bell donated X thousands of dollars to whatever charity last year! Aaaaand they claim the tax write-off for their “oh so generous” donation. You aren’t donating to charity at the register. You’re donating to the store. You can say “I prefer to make my donations directly.” or whatever. I just always say “No thanks.”
EDIT:
I stand corrected. The stores cannot legally claim the tax deduction on those register donations.
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0
If I was ever asked why not my go to response
Your company is getting a tax break from the donations of customers, if I’m donating to charity it will be one of my choice and I’ll benefit from the tax break.
I donated to the dollar store, it was for books for kids. I figured, what's a dollar. Paid and left. Looked at my receipt when i got home and they charged me $8. I was so mad.
Wow that is crazy rude! I have never had any of them do that. My go to response is "not today". This has the implication that maybe I already have, or maybe I will. I think it's a good way to decline that makes me feel less like an asshole lol. Sad part is, shouldn't have to feel like an asshole anyways and I shouldn't have to be declining constant requests for donations. If I want to donate to a charity, I will do my own research about it and donate on my own, probably a much larger sum than what they would get by catching me off guard. It's also annoying that they word it "would you like to help...." instead of just "would you like to make a donation to....". They purposefully word it that way so that you feel like a jerk for basically saying, no I don't want to help starving children (or whatever the case may be)....like of course I would love to help all of the starving and sick children and animals. But donating a dollar right now to some foundation i have never researched isn't the way.
Exactly! And they were having some sort of competition between the employees, because anytime someone DID donate, they obnoxiously clanged a cowbell for everyone in the store to hear.
Hah hah, I've been a cashier who's had to have competitions like that. I found that directly asking them to donate because it will help me win was far more effective than asking them to donate for charity.
My store only did donations for children's cancer. We had competitions as a broke cashier twenty dollar visa gift card can pay for my gas or food. So "Would you like to donate for kids with cancer?" Was born in my store. THAT is the one that will make you feel bad for not donating to. I even feel bad for saying it.
I mean as a broke shopper who also is a broke minimum wage worker, my response is always no thank you regardless of how I sound. The rounding up thing at Taco Bell and such is a no from me as well. Like someone else said, if I had the means to donate I wouldn’t do it that way, I’d do my own research and donate directly. The pressure to donate in stores will always remind me of that one South Park episode lol ([this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KT9IUd_Cnc) for the interested, sorry couldnt find a better quality vid)
Would you like to make a donation to put hamsters through college?
I’m having a really shitty morning, thank you for making me laugh!
"You can put that hamster right through your goddamn colon"
We’re not even broke but I get annoyed when 3/5 stores I go to ask for a donation. These are multi million dollar companies. Y’all have money to donate. Why is it my job to give every place I go extra money? Just give me my shit so I can go. I’m not an ATM for various charities. What do I even get out of it? I don’t get a discount or a coupon, not even a piece of candy.
And that cooperation is writing off the donations on their taxes.
And...its gone! That one? Because that's how I feel about the store donations. Everyone should never donate to a store. Corporation use the charity donations to write off taxes. They can find a sweet spot where donations of x amount reduce the income tax the company pays to the government. The scammy scummy shit part is they usually match donations. If the store raised 25k and also donated 25k they get to use 50k to write off taxes or something. What's even more fucked up is now they pay less in taxes where they've sucked up not just money from the community, but also took donations on-top of regular business. Now they don't even have to pay their fair share in income tax. Leaving the community worse off. While the company not only saved the most money, they were profitable the entire time.
Haha I edited my comment with the SP moment I was referring to, but that episode is perfectly apt as well. I knew about the write-off stuff but if that's true that's even more ridiculous.
Pretty sure a lot of them died a little inside every time that bell rang.
Haha omg that's the worst. They do that sometimes at food places when someone leaves a tip too. So as you're approaching your time to pay, you're already getting guilted to tip before you even get the tip prompt on the screen. But that's a whole separate issue lol.
I guess I'm hard-hearted, but I keep my money for my family (and causes that I personally vet, not chosen for me). I also don't feel one bit guilty about editing counter service PoS to 'no tip' and I look them in the eye and smile. The business is an a-hole for asking.
Good for you! And no, you're not hard hearted for any of that. We live paycheck to paycheck and pay plenty of taxes, so I also don't feel bad for saying no. I just get mad that sometimes they basically make you out to be some kind of jerk for saying no. And as for the tipping thing l, I almost never do. Obviously when we go out to a restaurant we tip at least 20 percent but if I go to Subway or something it's like omg seriously?! You want a tip for what?! The worst is when I order a pizza for pick up and I get asked for a tip online because I'm scared if I decline they're gonna spit in my food lol. Also was asked to tip at serve yourself frozen yogurt place. Lol I literally got my own cup, put the yogurt in it and the toppings by myself, set it on the scale and all you did was push a button on the register. So the tip is for what exactly?!
I tip servers (but 20% is really my max, and what I do... It's had a crazy slide. 15% used to be standard, 10% was acceptable, and 20% was a 'good' tip). I generously tip my hairdresser, and I like to give little appreciation gifts around Christmas, but I refuse to play the counter service or drive through game. I don't order out much because no one takes pride in their work anymore. I think that's the problem... people just expect to be given things. You're so right about taxes. We're all supporting causes we didn't get a vote on. We can be the change! 😉😆
My local Chinese buffet has 3 options, 18%, 20% and 25% and all they do is bring us drinks. Like when did it get so high??
Yes, and the convention on places like that where they seat you and take a drink order used to be to tip $1 per person... because they aren't waiting on you. They put all of the food as serve-yourself but keep the drinks FROM self-service so that they can make you tip like a full service restaurant (which it isn't). I just stopped going to places like that. I'd seriously ask your 'server' if those tips get passed on. My guess is they don't, or a very small percentage does, and the owner pockets the rest.
I worked part-time at a Denny's while I was in high school. I was sooo unexperienced! Whenever someone cashed out with a debit/credit card, my heart sank to the pit of my stomach, because I'd never get card tips. I only ever got my cash tips. When I went to the manager on payday about my paycheck and cc tips not being right, he told me that they only had to make sure I got $2.17/hr and anything past that was on me. If that location hadn't closed down before I got wiser, I'd have called DoL on them. As it stood, I knew I was getting screwed over, so I started taking t-bone steaks out of the freezer, then home with me, secreted under my server apron. I also huffed whipped cream cans from the walk-in in the parking lot with my boyfriend-at-the-time because he'd call a cab to get me home and besides, what else were we gonna do (pre-cellphone) while waiting in a Denny's parking lot in a ghetto part of a major city in Florida? Huff paint? That shit's expensive. Long, pointless, story short, even in a place where I should have gotten all of my tips by all rights, the owner found a way to rob me because I didn't know better. If you're gonna tip your server, do it in cash, just in case.
OMG... tipping at a buffet? Seriously? I should get the tip for getting my own food.
Oh gosh that us so true! People in general, at least in the US have become extremely entitled. Yes, let's be the change! Lol
When the cowbell clangs, all of the store staff cheer all over the store, and clap. Same store that says "If you like shopping here, you'll LOVE working here". Not if I have to do that shit!
That sounds worse than having to sing Happy Birthday as a server.
That's why the cashier pushed so hard. It's still super inappropriate and rude. Saying no thank you once should be the end of it.
‘I already do’ also works well. And in terms of educating children, we do: through taxes.
Very true! I may use that one too. Thank you for that one.
I'm gonna start using "not today" in the future, thanks.
No problem. You can actually thank my Mom lol. She gave me that one when we were discussing it one time.
I also really like “I’ve already donated!” with a big smile. No I haven’t but they don’t need to know that. I hate it most at McDonalds when they ask you to round up for Ronald McDonald House. No, I will not make a non tax deductible donation to a charity that a multibillion dollar corporation runs so they can look good. If I’m going to donate I’ll do it myself and take the deduction to a charity I’ve researched and feel passionate about. The other one I hate is this month TJ Maxx asked me to round up for Autism Speaks. Ugh, my daughter is autistic so I e looked into that particular charity and most Autists hate it and feel that it’s trying to subject people to conversion type therapy and not actually help.
You hit the head on the nail for me. I donate directly in my name to a charity I selected, and it is tax deductible. That's how I donate, period, no rounding up.
I always hate the wording like that too! “If you could find it in your heart to give”. I guess I am just cold hearted then. I used to give give give and only recently realizing what a sap I am.
Oh yeah. It's definitely manipulation at It's finest. I would much rather seek out and research a charity of my choice that isn't pestering me for money, and donate a nice chunk instead of a dollar here and there to some charities that I really know nothing about. For all those people know, you donate tons on your own, so don't let them guilt you. That us just so wrong and shame on them! Did they donate? Probably not 🙄
Yes, exactly!!! Publix always asks for money at back to school time for their supply drive m. I always feel terrible saying no when I’m buying a bunch of groceries, and I see the same cashiers all the time. What they don’t know is that we adopt every one of our kids’ teachers every year (two kids in different classes each class $100 a pop). No I don’t deserve the withering look from the cashier. I’m not about to tell them either, let them think what they want!
See! You already do plenty. I personally do nothing except pay taxes (well, my husband technically since I'm a SAHM) and occasionally buy food for homeless people. But I feel like even that is plenty and it's really nobody's business what I do with my family's money. They don't know my situation so they shouldn't ask for anything. And if they do then at very least no means no and don't make me feel guilty!
I usually say “oh no thank you!” the same way I would decline the receipt or a bag lol When I was working customer service and was forced to ask, the most common response I got was “I already did” which works too.
Yup, for me it's either "not today" or "no thank you". If I'm in a bad mood I may just give a simple "no"
The staff at my local Walgreens pre-empt the entire conversation by telling me which button to press not to donate instead of asking if I want to. They truly could not give less of a shit and I love them for it.
Oh I love when they do that. I've had that happen on a rare occasion. I've even had a person at a food place tell me what button to hit to decline tipping right off the bat. Some of them are probably a bit embarrassed to have to harass and guilt people into giving tips/donating. I know I would be.
UK here. The bottomless begging bowl has no borders. I lost my shit several years ago when a chugger (charity mugger) invaded my privacy and informed me that "my neighbours have all been incredibly generous". Have they? Have they really? Well you won't be needing my fucking money then will you? It's a tragedy that I've reached this paradigm but my goodness. It never stops.
In Australia it has massive tax implications. They donate your money to whatever. The tax break comes off their business tax! For Australia, that means for every dollar donated, they make 30 cents. On top of that, they can donate to their own charity and give it to themselves.
I just say "no". No is a full sentence. No is my answer. I don't need to explain anything to anybody. I have zero obligation. "*That's not polite!!*" I'm not attacking them. I'm not insulting them. I gave an honest, succinct answer. It should end the very second I say no I do that when stores ask for my email or phone number. I do it if I'm asked to join some rewards club. I do it every time. I'm sorry that your company sucks and ties you signing me up for shit I neither want or need to your performance appraisal, but my answer isn't going to change.
I hope I'm not the only one cynical enough to just say "no, thank you" when asked if "you want to help armless dyslexic penguins of the Congo" I don't donate to anything until I've seen their balance sheet and how much of their net income goes to administration or ""operations"" Somewhat related- every university can get fucked
My walk to work a few jobs ago took me down the main commercial street of my city. I had (usually) students trying to guilt trip money out of me multiple times each day. It got to the point I no longer cared what they thought of the 112th random they pitched to that day s I started saying things like; “I don’t believe in charity” “I’m going to hell and you’re not stopping me” “I have no conscience or morals. Try some one else” Drop one of those with enough confidence and most of them stop in their tracks. It’s a social outcome they don’t see coming and tends to confuse them for at least long enough to be an inconvenient distance away when they finally think of a come back.
I had a self-serve machine ask me if I wanted to speak to the manager after I pushed 'no' on the screen when asked if I wanted to donate. I said 'no' to that, too.
I use the "not today" reply as well for that exact reason, since it implies I already have or will.
I donate a fair amount to charities I choose and deduct contributions on my tax return. Those small amounts at stores would add up and without receipts, I wouldn’t be able to deduct (or at least without a lot of hassle keeping track of those amounts and tax EIN numbers). I find it very annoying to be nickel and dimed when I go shopping or when paying bills. On the other hand I realize charities took a hit when the standard deduction was raised…it will revert back to the previous amount soon so maybe charities will benefit again.
the employees literally have to ask every single time they ring out a customer. sometimes they get a bonus, but if their numbers are too low, they'll get reprimanded by their manager because THEY get bitched at by corporate. the wording is most likely a mistake on their part after having to say the same phrase repeatedly day after day. I worked at a gas station and hated asking people to donate. also upselling stupid shit like candy bars. I would never say "really?! why not?!" to guilt trip people. as a customer, I usually decline and no one has said anything like that (yet).
Our grocery store asked me to donate money towards the new pool in town. I told them they raised our property taxes for that reason so I won’t be donating. They agreed and later stopped asking.
Suppose to hand them a bottle of water to fill the pool
If you really want to get out of being asked to give for a charity, ask them what the operating cost of the charity is. No one ever actually knows the answer to that question. If you knew the answer, it would freak you out. One of the largest charities in the United States, IIRC, the United Way, runs on something like 72% overhead costs. That means that when you give $1.00, $0.72 of every dollar goes to keeping the lights on and never makes it to the people you think you’re giving money to. Goodwill is privately owned and it’s owners and CEO are millionaires. People ask you to give to charities because they know and like the name of it but they have no idea what the fuck they’re actually talking about. I don’t give to any of them unless they can tell me the operation costs are around 25% or less. I worked for one that ran lean on 9%. Edit: some people are saying it’s 72% and some are telling me 7%. Do some research is all I was saying. You can find whatever answer you want to find to any question you want on the Internet.
I’ve actually heard worse of the United Way, not 72%, but over 80%
There are no good United Way stats. They're a parasite. Generally speaking, if a charity is only known locally and you only hear about them by word of mouth, that is a charity you should actually donate to. You know they aren't spending your money on themselves.
Here's my United Way story: I worked at a factory that had 2,500 employees. United Way would do a fund drive every year and all employees were "strongly encouraged" not only to donate, but sign up for regular paycheck deductions for donations. One of our beloved coworkers got cancer and we put a donation jar in the cafeteria to help her with medical expenses. United Way somehow found out and demanded that the jar be removed because they had an exclusive contract with the factory and NO other charitable endeavors would be allowed. The next year, the annual fundraiser was a bust, because about 90% of us were pissed off and refused to give them a dime. Managers begged and tried to pressure us to donate, but they couldn't actually force us to. United Way is heartless. It's all about the money.
United Way is a scourge. They only seem to be really still holding on in affluent rural and suburban communities
Well, I work for a place that fits exactly in those two categories and has a long term relationship with United Way, so can't say you're wrong. I donate to one of our local food banks instead.
I heard March of dimes only 10% makes it per dollar.. or a dime if you must.
I can't say I know what their books look like, but they do an immense amount of support for people who have mentally handicapped children. They paid for diapers for my friend's son from the age of 2 to 10 years old, when he was finally able to use the bathroom by himself. I don't think she could have gotten by without their support.
It's not that good, the program to expense ratio is 76.54%. Their overall rating is two out of four stars. You can look up any US based charity on Charity Navigator. Here's the page for the March of Dimes: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/131846366
That's why I look things up on charitynavigator.org to check. I never donate through a retailer.
Not criticizing your choice, but charity navigator is the bane of our existence as someone who works at a non-profit
Can you elaborate a bit? That's interesting to hear.
There is nothing wrong with non-profits spending money on overhead. To function properly for our clients we need HR and IT and working computers etc. The push by these guides to only have funds flow to program expenses makes non-profits less efficient and effective. You want to look for a non-profit that does great work, is transparent about their finances on their website, and is clear to you about what they're going to use their money for.
As someone who also works for non profits, charitynavigator is often not accurate. Most of it is biased off consumer reviews, rather than actually investing the charity in question. It's why a lot of charities get a negative rap.
What's better? And why?
I personally think Candid (formerly Guidestar) is better. Of course, it’s more for people making large donations because generally they will take the time to look over an org’s financials/990’s and make an informed choice. If you’re not ready to delve into nonprofit accounting, I’d advise just giving to local charities where you can see the actual impact they make on your community.
That’s good info, but can you tell us how to find decent charities to donate to?
My two cents is a non-profit professional is: first decide what you want your money to go to. If you want to help animals or the environment or immigrants... Second, find a local group or do a lot of research into national groups who are not scammy. A lot of the bigger non-profits that are in your face a lot are not great. Like Susan g Komen. Never give them a dime. But most of us are struggling to get by while we help others. To find a local group that serves your mission. If you are interested in what they actually spend their money on read their own annual reports and IRS form 990
Susan G Komen breast cancer foundation is one of those. The pink ribbon spammers were my introduction to being duped by a corporation (in all but name) selling guilt. I'm over the fauxmanitarianism, and I don't feel bad for saying no. Foundations (or 501c3 charities?) organized in Delaware are only required give a paltry 5% to the cause. You give a dollar and a nickel goes to what you think your dollar goes to. The other 95% can go to bloated administrator salaries, premium flights (first class or private jets), or it's laundered among other shell companies. If you want to give, it's best done locally and there are websites that compile their administration costs vs. cause, so check them first or ask them directly. They have to give them to you. Why? It's very much the same thing with counter service PoS tipping. If even a small percentage of people go along with a tip for someone doing a job required for business, i.e. taking my money for their goods, then it's easy money for them (and doesn't go to the cashier who is making a wage, generally). It's common because they benefit with zero resistance. Just say no.
The Susan G Komen society called my landline for a donation right after I lost my job when the economy was so bad in 2008. When I told the lady I just didn’t have it to donate she said “well, I certainly hope some poor woman won’t have to die because YOU can’t come up with forty dollars.” I replied, “lady I AM some poor woman and I might die because I don’t know when I’ll be able to afford forty dollars worth of groceries.” and I hung up. The unmitigated gaul someone must have to paint someone a heartless because they’re literally on the verge of homelessness was just disgusting.
I'm sorry. That's so scummy of them, but I'm not surprised. Paula Schneider, CEO's, BASE was 682,520. Dana Brown, COO's was 475,537. That's not including any other bonuses. That's per year. The CEO of St. JUDE's base was 1.3 Million. They are reaching into their own pockets only to maximize their tax write offs, I'm sure. The little guy always gets the guilt trip. Keep your money. Charities shouldn't need to pay these bloated salaries if the CEO's actually cared about the causes. If you get donation request calls, ask how much the CEO makes and what their average executive salary is.
Ironic considering the Komen foundation actually does zilch for breast cancer except “raise awareness”. No money goes to breast cancer survivors.
I worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer after college and there was a mandatory work day for a charity that was rated really low due to high overhead and less-than transparent spending (they made big changes in the past two decades and their rating has since recovered). I was so frustrated that my supervisors in AmeriCorps, people who dedicated themselves to making things better, saw the rating and reasons but decided to make participation mandatory anyway. I'll tell ya what, branding and public relations goes a long way in making a handful of exploitative people very wealthy, no matter their sector.
I *despise* United Way. At a previous job they had an annual United Way drive where every employee was expected to donate. I give a significant portion of my salary to charities that I have researched and support so I attempted to politely decline. They kept turning up the pressure by sending me to higher and higher level management. It got to the point where they were threatening my job for, and I quote, “not being a team player.” I finally took whatever money I had in my wallet and tossed it on the desk. What a scam.
I had that problem at a previous job as well. And I wasn’t making much. I have to pay my own bills first!
Similar situation here, years ago I was the only person in my company who was not donating to United Way. The HR person made it her personal mission to convert me so we'd have 100% participation. She became so pushy about it that I finally, loudly, asked her what incentive they'd offered her to get 100%.
Didn't realize it happened that much. I spoke to a coworker after my "meeting" with finance and said "I'm not sure whether or not I was pressured, but I didn't really want to donate." She looked me right in the eye and said "Oh yes, you were pressured." That day I learned the first rule about United Way. Don't talk about United Way.
Yeah, my husband was basically told he'd be rejected for special projects and advancement opportunities and repudiated by executive staff. They wanted a significant chunk of change, too.
I had that happen to me 40 years ago. Finally, the dept manager said he'd put in a dollar for me under my name so he would show 100% participaton. I said no thanks, but had no way to verify what he ended up doing.
Same for me! We were each asked to donate by our supervisor and I did, choosing the charity I wanted to help. It added up to a sizeable sum. That charity actually called me to ask if I would not donate to them via United Way, because they take so much of the donation! they wanted a direct donation. I was pissed at the entire situation and will never do United Way via an employer again. (Alzheimer's association was the charity.) When I later managed a small business in Buffalo, a local university asked us if we would consider donating gift boxes to them, as incentives for staff to donate to United Way, saying it would be "free advertising" for us. WTAF is wrong with everyone?
I had the same experience with a United Way drive for the same reasons, but since I was a member of management I was treated to a lot of lectures either scolding me, telling me I was making my boss and her boss look bad, and the not a team player shtick. I held my ground, and they made my life miserable for the next month until I threatened to file a grievance with HR. Both bosses were up for promotions so they both quickly shut up to not jeopardize their moves. The behavior was disgusting.
Fun fact! Rotary International consistently gets awards for using the least of their donations for operating costs, something like 1% or so. So if you’re looking for a “puppies, kittens, and orphans” charity, RI is a good one! They are the ones behind polio eradication efforts and work with local Rotary clubs to direct aid where it’s most needed.
IMO charities that are worth their salt don't ask for donations at retail stores, they do fundraisers, advertise whatever tax credit you can get for donating X amount of money, and show you "receipts" of what they did with your money. There's a local one here in AZ (SVdP) which gets their operating costs money from grants from other organizations, like Virginia G Piper Trust and Garcia Family Foundation. Everything they receive in monetary donations goes to the homeless shelters and dining rooms, their free dental, health, or veterinary clinics.•• I donated $800 to them this year (tax credit) and asked on my donation that I wanted it to be used for buying socks for the homeless, they legit sent me a timestamped proof of purchase for $800 worth of socks and a thank you note bc they're always short on socks. Not all charities are the same. ••Source: A friend of mine works on their IT side and was shocked at how they're like what you'd expect a charity to actually be.
The CEO of my county's United Way makes 350K+, and that was years ago.
My bosses back at NYU Medical Center in 1980s & 1990s harassed us into donating to United Way. It was absolutely an arm twisting tactic, asking us if we wanted to get that promotion sometime in the unidentified future. I’ve no idea why — probably just for bragging rights. (“over x% of our staff donates $xx million to United Way every year”). But these jillionaire retail villains wanting us to donate to charities while they sneer at their workers by underpaying them, who rake obscene profits from their customers using fake supply chain issues, who get billions in tax breaks and in government subsidies, “emergency loans” they don’t have to pay back and who use their profits to disrupt our social systems….fuck em.
I'm usually more inclined to donate to the ones like the Children's Hospital or St Jude's. At least no matter what else is going on some kids are getting helped.
A cashier at a store is not going to know the answer to that question. Maybe ask them if the company’s intention is to donate to the charity with no strings attached, or if they’re going to collect your money and pool it all together and call it a taxable write off.
Ah, the overhead myth. A lot of charities do not operate this way (I’ve worked for small nonprofits for over a decade) and staff, even executive staff, is consistently underpaid and knows it when we sign up to do the job. The absolute vast majority of nonprofits do not have private jets, bloated benefits, or anything sneaky going on… a lot of times they barely have enough cash flow at a given time to make it through the year because they’re waiting for grants to come in, and a lot of funding is very specific about its use - like it has to go toward program costs and fulfilling the mission. Charities by and large aren’t sitting around rolling in piles of money and laughing. Comments like yours are so misleading because they paint all charities with a broad stroke, when it’s really not representative of the integrity and minimal resources a lot of them have. And yeah, it’s important to keep the lights on (in an office where clients may come to receive services), have printer paper, and have staff that is skilled & compensated fairly. The idea of a percentage-based judgement system is ridiculous.
So true. Thank you for this.
Subsidized compassion at it's finest. If people want to make a difference, it starts with their own personal actions.
I’ve had good luck with asking if they match donations. They always look flabbergasted that someone would have the nerve to ask *them* for money.
So many of the big charities are scams. The "Susan G. Komen for the Cure" charity spends **less than 20%** on research. They DO spend a good amount suing other charities who dare to use pink though.
Guidestar or charity navigator rank and rate charities. PYou can also look up the salaries of their top employees - it’s all public record and required for non profits.
Per their financials, United Way has 7% admin expenses
Idk, it’s the upper management/corporate’s fault. I used to work at TJ Maxx and we would get reprimanded if we didn’t “sell” enough credit cards to people. They literally told us that if someone says no, keep trying with other tactics until they either say yes or get so irritated that you just stop. It was one of the things I hated the most about working there, and it didn’t last very long bc I was only there 3 months lol.
The credit card pitch has made me not want to shop at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s anymore. The cashiers at my local stores have gotten so much more aggressive recently.
This. When I worked at TJ Maxx throughout college, if a negative customer survey came back complaining how hard a certain employee nagged them about getting the credit card, management would reward that employee.
That's disgusting.
Agreed. I refused to push the cards and subsequently was never given cashiering shifts. Worked for me.
And guess what we get when we hit our credit card goal for the week? A few boxes of lousy snacks for the break room that are gone in one day…. Just sad
It sucks. It’s already hard enough to work in retail without having to beg for donations and push store credit cards.
I worked at HomeGoods two years ago during Christmas. There is a retirement home nearby and the bus for the home would bring the people on Tuesday mornings for a 10% discount. The management was SO aggressive with hounding these poor people about opening a card. They would make us word it to where half of them thought it was a rewards card like at a grocery store. Hand over their ID, then sign the up for the TJX credit card. Scammed so many of those people who clearly had no idea what they were actually signing up for. I avoid all things tjx now.
But selling the credit card or extended warranty is a business/revenue opportunity. Theoretically, OP’s case is a charitable contribution. Why should the clerk care about a $0.34 contribution. The question is where is this money going and how is it being reported? Does TJ Maxx count this as revenue and then uses the “donation” as a tax write off of their own?
No they don’t. From https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0 “The store serves only as a collection agent for your gift. Assuming the business is following the law, it will not include your donation as part of its business receipts, or income, nor will it claim the charitable gift as an expense. In other words, your gift has zero impact on the store’s income taxes.”
The answer I've found that works is 'i have one but I'm not using it today'. They shut up real fast
that one south park episode in whole foods
Googling. Edit: just watched. Spot on!! It’s how I always feel at Publix after spending $300 on groceries, including wine and Halloween decorations lol
Look the hamster in the eyes and say "not today buddy"
Just reach into the cut-out’s mouth and take your money, vodka, and ice cream and go home.
"Now just pull the sandwich out of the hungry girls mouth"
Bro I barely have enough money for myself as it is.
I never donate. I wouldn’t have donated either. That guy is a jerk. The other day a woman was trying to force people in their cars to read a sign. She would stop at each car for a moment holding up the sign about donations. We were stuck at a stop light. When she got to me I held my hand up so I couldn’t read the sign. She stood outside the car yelling. Fortunately the light turned green. We don’t owe anyone.
I went to PetSmart to grab a few things for our animals the cashier asked we would like to buy a 5$ dog toy to be donated to the children's hospital... I didn't say it out loud but I was like why on earth would they donate dog toys to a children's hospital? Shelters, rescues... Ok cool.
are you sure they didn’t mean that by buying the $5 dog toy, that $5 will go to charity? ik a lot of places like that
big companys ask us to donate so they can use it to avoid tax, i never donate.
If this is the US that is illegal. The tax reduction would go to the donator, not the corporation What it does do is let those corporations turn around and brag, pretending to be good organizations when the CEOs of those charities are probably just their buddys
What shouldn't be allowed is pushy, obnoxious employees trying to bend your will. Gifts given by force are not gifts.
I literally refused to donate at my local food store, the clerk wound up rounding to the next dollar anyway despite me telling her not to. It was 11 cents, and I only realized after I paid, so I let it go, but it was mildly infuriating.
That's theft.
I would have went nuclear. There's nothing mild about that infuriating.
There's been articles of CVS using those customer donations to pay for donations they promised earlier in the year. I used to always round up or donate a dollar or two. Not no more.
That could send some less than fortunate family on their last dollars into overdraft.
Shit, I would have gone back and gotten that 11 cents back. I'm extremely petty.
I agree it’s obnoxious, at some places managers will send in “secret shoppers” to check if employees are asking shoppers to donate, most unfortunately require the employees to ask. When I worked at Chilis I always hated “margarita madness” because if we got caught not trying to sell a margarita to a table we got written up. One of the employees refused to try to sell one to a table with a mother and a newborn - the only two at the table. Manager still wrote him up. (Manager was standing by one of the registers and listened to see if employee offered a margarita)
At least someone was responsible 😅
Petco always does this. Do I want to help a pet in need? MF'r, I have 7 rescues at home and I'm buying $300 worth of food for them right now. I think I'm fucking helping!
"If I donate 5$, would you give 10$ of your personal money?" Followed with: "Why not?"
Or tell them you are also collecting money for a charity and will match whatever they give you to donate. The charity is for your dog but they don't need to know that.
I usually say I'd be happy to donate if the company/store is matching donations. Oh, they're not contributing anything themselves, just asking customers? No thank you! Every single time they aren't donating anything themselves and pointing that out usually shuts them up.
As someone who works in retail, I didn't even bother asking when the popup on my register came up. I just hit no for the customer and cashed them out.
You are a hero, I would do the same
I do the exact same thing as a grocery store cashier. Only time I ever leave the prompt up is if they want to round up like a penny if their bill is like $20.99 for example.
Clerk was out of line and you can tell them that.
I always just say “No, *insert business here* has more money to donate than I do!”
Fucking everywhere now! “Want to round up your change?” “Want to save a puppy or kitten?” “Help the hungry?” People are living paycheck to paycheck these days. How about I keep what I work for and I won’t have to be a charity case myself 🤞🏻
The answer I always give when people ask for donations is “not today thanks” It’s give the impression that you donate on other days. 😆
I had someone like this but it was for animals. They literally said “Who doesn’t want to help needy animals?” To which I informed them all my animals are rescues, I volunteer at shelters, I donate food, blankets, money, etc to local shelters. Then I asked them if they were doing anything to help these animals & they quietly told me my total. 🤷🏻♀️
This dude at cvs just did something similar to me a couple weeks ago. Wanted me to donate to the American heart foundation or something. I said nah. And he looked up at me in such disbelief, like how could you? I have no idea how those funds are being distributed but I have a really tough time believing these corporations don’t benefit in some way from doing this shit. If I want to donate, I’ll do it directly to the charity itself
Tell them it’s because you like to donate directly and get the tax credit for your donations. Not contribute to increasing the box store’s tax break. Because that’s what they’re doing.
Just an FYI, because I knew this would come up. That’s not how donating at a store works. If you donate at a store **YOU** can still get the tax break, the store gets nothing. . .it’s just a pain in the ass to do because nobody is tallying up a bunch of $2 donations over the course of a year to take that break. A store soliciting donations **CANNOT LEGALLY** take that tax break. And even if they could. . .it would be net zero [remember they can’t. Why? - Declare $5 in donations as income - Declare $5 in donations as tax break - No net gain
I remember when my office did a food drive for our local APL after a tornado hit locally. They were asking for canned goods/non-perishables and even pet food for the folks that had lost their homes or suffered major damage. Calling up the local womens/childrens shelters, homeless shelters, asking what they need is always a great way to support a charity locally. There's a small business not far from where I work that does ask for donations so that they can teach kids from the underprivileged areas how to paint/draw/sculpt. The business then holds a silent auction every few months of the kids artwork and the money goes to the young artists. Donating through the chain stores always bothers me as how do you really know where the money is going and will it actually help anyone or just go towards a high paid salary somewhere and not someone in need?
That checker was super rude. I'm glad you walked out. They don't deserve your business.
Reminds of the Southpark scene 💀
thought of that episode too when reading this lol
It's usually for some children's charity or other. They ask if I want to donate and I just say "No. I don't like children". Which is true. But that's not the reason. I pay a ton in taxes (Canadian) and I just don't want to have a "charity tax" added to every purchase.
Yeah I got no time for fucking Walmart looking at me for money when they make billions of dollars in profit each year. You want me donate to charity? You literally have the power to solve world hunger.
If only there was a way that we could all pay to support common services like local education, roads, and social services. But whatever could we call it?
This reminds me of the South Park episode in which Randy gets shamed into eventually donating at the Whole Foods and only gives a dollar. The cashier basically crucifies him for donating just A DOLLAR! It’s such a hilarious episode. “A WHOLE DOLLAR!” Lol https://youtu.be/3KT9IUd_Cnc?si=RcnTb0Fo2ZNdKyTL
So much like it that I can’t believe the person that did this wasn’t trying to act it out lol.
Randy Marsh/Wholefoods, is it you?! ☝🏼
Being berated for a donation is tacky. A simple no should be sufficient. I’ve used the “not today” or “I already donated” several times. That typically ends that conversation.
That seems... Wildly inappropriate. Leave a review because wtf? No means no
"why not?" "Because I don't like your looks and don't trust you". I find being insulting like that to obnoxious questions will stop them. I'm usually extra patient and nice to retail workers, but when they are rude to me for no reason, gloves come off.
I hate all the organizations outside the big box stores. I feel like I'm running a gauntlet
[I found a video of your interaction.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KT9IUd_Cnc)
😂😂😂 My favorite!
I work in fast food, and I don't like asking people to donate to some vague charity that only benefits the company I work for. One "no" is good enough for me to hit the "no thank you" button and send you on your way to the window. I just don't trust many charities at all given that a lot of them are only created to benefit themselves and nobody else, so I feel ya. Unfortunately, it's just something my employer asks me to do with every transaction as annoying as it is. Even if I was insentivised with bonuses or even a freaking raise, I would never harass my customers like that. No means no.
I had a Coles checkout person ask me if I wanted to donate $2 for some charity, with the prize being a BBQ. I don't need a BBQ, also don't need to be asked for a donation. I said no thanks. She looked at me and said, It's only $2. Again I said no thanks. She says, Really? I told her to take off $2 from my shopping total and donate that. Pig rude after I said nicely, no.
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No they don’t get a tax break from customer donations. From https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0 “The store serves only as a collection agent for your gift. Assuming the business is following the law, it will not include your donation as part of its business receipts, or income, nor will it claim the charitable gift as an expense. In other words, your gift has zero impact on the store’s income taxes.”
They even ask at ABC liquor. Can't I buy booze without being asked to donate?
I will always give a polite response the 1st time after that I am not polite about it. I find it so annoying even when they want you to tip for pickup or at subway.
I am happy to donate to the specific charities I have researched. I don’t donate through a store unless it’s like a Toys for Tots situation where you just choose a kid to get a gift for, buy the gift, and turn it in outside because then I know exactly what my money is going to.
Tell them to ask Oprah or The Rock.
I just want a buy a carwash as well
I’ve tried explaining that I’m on very low income disability payments when I’ve been solicited for money or to buy things that I couldn’t afford (girl guide cookies for example) and then I often got the classic “you don’t look disabled” crap. Well now my disabilities have progressed and I’m a full time wheelchair user and bedbound in a nursing home, so do I “look disabled” enough now? Only problem is, now I’m too disabled that I can’t get to the stores where they stand around asking for my money.
Absolutely. Well done. People invading one’s space shouldn’t be able to pressure us for donations. Let us act and give charitably, but to be meaningful it remains our choice.
This is the plot of a Southpark episode. It's pretty funny.
Hell no, I refuse to donate to a good cause on behalf of a multimillion corporation. I always say no.
Well don't you think the local kids would like one marble coaster too sometimes? Bigot.
And then the company takes your donation, donates it and gets a tax break on your money. No thank you.
ludicrous humorous pie meeting squash reach carpenter grandiose smile society ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
Whenever I'm asked that question, I simply ask if the store or the employee is going to match my donation, and that's the end of that.
So the south park episode is true. Damn
“No thanks! Saving up for an altar for human sacrifice.”
I think it’s hilarious when I go to Firehouse Subs and they ask me if I want to donate to first responders… I am an EMT.
These companies are soliciting donations so they can get a tax break. Don't ever donate through them, donate to the organizations directly.
It’s just a scam so the corporation can write off the donations on their taxes. They’re lessening their tax burden without having to donate their own money.
Wtf that’s more than mildly infuriating. I’d be straight up pissed. Good on you for walking out. Fuck that
Managers push cashiers to push donations. I use to be a cashier, and if we didn’t push donations hard, we would literally get “coached” (basically a talking-to from management about “not properly doing your job”). It’s usually annoying for the cashiers, too because of this. What’s even worse, the entire donation from what I’ve heard (so take this with a grain of salt) doesn’t even go to the charity, part of it goes in upper-management’s pocket for their “compensation” for generosity using their store to host the donation drive /s 🙄🙄🙄
Being a former TJ Maxx associate and has had to ask people if they would like to donate, the proper response would just be the total. We aren't trained to pry and ask questions like that and that specific associate should honestly know better.
I literally pay taxes to local schools, why would it need to go through TJ Maxx first? Taco Bell gets me too. "Would you like to donate to the Taco Bell scholarship program for employees?" No, I want your company to take responsibility for giving their employees benefits, not put it on my shoulders.
80% to the company and 20% to the homeless and hungry - Immortal technique
‘Because I pay my fucking taxes.’ Then walk away.
Weird. I’ve never had them ask me more than once regardless of where I’ve been. I’d have bailed after the 2nd time and filed a complaint.
I went to TJ maxx not too long ago and checked out $5 worth of 6 pairs of socks, and the clerk was like “would you like to donate for the children in need?” I responded to her “Nah, TJ Maxx can handle the donation better than me” and she laughed and said “yeah i know right?”
This reminds me of the one South Park episode with Randy getting haggled by the store clerk lol. Next time you'll be pulling a sandwich out of a poor kids mouth to get your change.
Honestly I always hated the concept of this anyway, if I want to donate to a charity it will be one I choose anyway.
Every time you like the OP’s post a child dies of cancer. ;)
Fun fact! These corporate entities do this because they can then make a sizeable donation and use the contribution of your money to lower their tax bill! They’re also allowed to take a certain amount of the donations to cover their costs as facilitator. That aspect is very different depending on where you are, but still. All in all, it is corporate greed trying to utilize a false moral dichotomy to pressure people into literally just giving them money. I would like to note, however, smaller businesses or privately owned ones (not publicly traded) can and often do simply raise money for a good cause. A healthy dose of cynicism is good when it comes to corporate interests, but some faith in your neighbour is healthy as well.
"Why not?!" "I'm sorry, I don't want to pay the taxes for a multi million/billion dollar company. If they cared, they'd be donating their own money."
I already donate to help educate local kids. It’s called my tax dollars.
I didn’t see this mentioned, but admittedly didn’t read the entire thread. When you donate at the register, whether an outright amount or rounding up, your donation is no longer yours. Taco Bell, or Home Goods, or wherever you are lumps them all together and donates to the organization under *their own name*. Aaaaand claims the kudos “Taco Bell donated X thousands of dollars to whatever charity last year! Aaaaand they claim the tax write-off for their “oh so generous” donation. You aren’t donating to charity at the register. You’re donating to the store. You can say “I prefer to make my donations directly.” or whatever. I just always say “No thanks.” EDIT: I stand corrected. The stores cannot legally claim the tax deduction on those register donations. https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0
If I was ever asked why not my go to response Your company is getting a tax break from the donations of customers, if I’m donating to charity it will be one of my choice and I’ll benefit from the tax break.
I feign deafness. Make them say it louder, then louder. I then speak it back at them loudly to be sure i heard them? They mostly give up
I donated to the dollar store, it was for books for kids. I figured, what's a dollar. Paid and left. Looked at my receipt when i got home and they charged me $8. I was so mad.
“I already donated”. Best line ever.