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Businesses soliciting for charity

Finance85

Finance85

Star Player
Oct 22, 2003
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How does this wise group of people feel about this practice?

Firehouse Subs asks if you want to round up to the next dollar and donate your change.

Delta Airlines makes an announcement at the gate just before boarding and goes around passing the hat. Then they make an announcement during the flight and go down the aisle collecting.

Giant Foods and Publix asks about various charities at the register.
 
I find it uncomfortable.

I’ve been jaded on charities ever since the LR learned me years ago that the money you give only partly gets where it should. I was literally naive to that fact of life.
 
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I'm not bothered by it, but I have never once donated a single penny as a result. I'm much more annoyed the various kids sports teams who set up outside the local Publix asking for donations. That's more uncomfortable for me; I know most of them from my kids playing with them in various things. They're typically travel teams, and I'm generally not a big fan of that variation of youth sports.
 
Finance85 said:
How does this wise group of people feel about this practice?

Firehouse Subs asks if you want to round up to the next dollar and donate your change.

Delta Airlines makes an announcement at the gate just before boarding and goes around passing the hat. Then they make an announcement during the flight and go down the aisle collecting.

Giant Foods and Publix asks about various charities at the register.
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I hate it and find it annoying. Because most of those “charities” are really nonprofits where primary shareholders wives and useless kids sit on boards or in meaningless management positions and eat up tons of cash intended for whatever sadsack recipient (abandoned dogs, orphans, cancer victims etc) you were TRYING to give money to. I hate the vultures.

And yes it’s not ALL of them, just enough I refuse to participate unless I really know the charity.
 
^ This. Just say no, and do some research into a charity that you really have interest in supporting. Then give what you want when you want. All the above mentioned stuff is annoying as hell.
 
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I already give to charities of my choice. I try to be generous.

It just makes me feel uncomfortable to be bombarded. It's almost as if some of the businesses are trying to shame people into giving.

The Firehouse Subs rounding up is the only thing I do, mostly because it's easy and I accumulate a lot of change anyway.
 
atlseminole said:
It's especially annoying to me at Publix. It seems I'm constantly being hounded for donations both outside the store and inside at the register.
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This^. You won’t find me near a Publix during Girl Scout cookie time. Talk about being uncomfortable.
 
SeaPA said:
I'm not bothered by it, but I have never once donated a single penny as a result. I'm much more annoyed the various kids sports teams who set up outside the local Publix asking for donations. That's more uncomfortable for me; I know most of them from my kids playing with them in various things. They're typically travel teams, and I'm generally not a big fan of that variation of youth sports.
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The travel team kids outside the stores bug me too. Especially, the kids that come to the neighborhood Publix from out of the area because they think they'll get more money. What makes it even worse is some of these teams are a source of income for the manager/coach.
 
It backfires with me. I get insulted that a merchant I grace with my business would impose social pressure to donate. But I'm a hard case, the mandatory-donation setup with the boosters disturbs me too.
 
I also find the practice somewhat disingenuous. I’m sure Publix, or whoever, makes the donation on your behalf, then takes a nice deduction. I hope they at least match the donations, but I doubt all of them do.
 
How about the people in the street at intersections approaching your car at the light. That should be freaking illegal.
 
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Publix is the worst b/c you have to go there so often. There's no way to avoid it.

I don't go to many other businesses w/any regularity, but I might go to Publix 2-3x a week.

Has anyone ever gone so far as to say something to a manager? Or write a letter/email about it? I haven't but I'm tempted to sometimes. But then I think, "nah...you'll just look like an a-hole if you do."
 
LesClaypool said:
Publix is the worst b/c you have to go there so often. There's no way to avoid it.

I don't go to many other businesses w/any regularity, but I might go to Publix 2-3x a week.

Has anyone ever gone so far as to say something to a manager? Or write a letter/email about it? I haven't but I'm tempted to sometimes. But then I think, "nah...you'll just look like an a-hole if you do."
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I guess that's the problem. People feel uncomfortable either way.
 
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The round up to the next dollar are the ones I don't mind. I don't like the firemen standing in the intersections or the publix/gate employees trying to get you to give. a lot of times they're either giving indirectly to a company I work for or one of its competitors.

edit: and I don't appreciate the fundraising companies calling my cell phone on behalf of the firefighters, etc. they've started doing this multiple times per year.
 
I don't like it. It is everywhere as well. When I go to the petstore, the phrasing also bugs me. "Would you like to save an abandoned animal?" "I just adopted another, how much do you want from me?"

My understanding is that many of the companies that collect, then make the donation of "our" money as tax deductible for themselves. Just irks me, big business taking advantage of the uninformed public. I never give my change etc. If I want to donate it is through tax deductible means directly to the org.
 
I don't mind those. I just say no and go on. The ones that irk me were the almost forced donations to United Way when I've worked for some other companies who "committed" to donating x amount. That's fine if they want to donate, don't force your employees to feel they have to support a charity or it could affect them at work.
 
LesClaypool said:
Publix is the worst b/c you have to go there so often. There's no way to avoid it.

I don't go to many other businesses w/any regularity, but I might go to Publix 2-3x a week.

Has anyone ever gone so far as to say something to a manager? Or write a letter/email about it? I haven't but I'm tempted to sometimes. But then I think, "nah...you'll just look like an a-hole if you do."
Click to expand...

I never complained about that. I did complain about one thing at a publix though...one day I was waiting for something at the deli, another woman was as well, and the employee of whatever bank is in there came over and tried to sell us on opening up a credit card. He was polite, but VERY persistant, and we're captive because we're waiting for our food. We were both getting annoyed at him not taking our polite brush offs, and finally I turned to him and told him "Please, stop talking to us. I appreciate you are doing your job, but we've already said we're not interested and we don't come to Publix to be solicited for credit cards. Please just walk away." I was not rude or nasty, just very blunt.

After he left, I just told the woman that works in the deli, "Please pass this on to your store manager...I've been coming to this Publix twice a week for over ten years. If I ever get solicited by the bank again, ever, I will never step foot in this Publix again. Never."

Obviously, what's one person's groceries, but the truth is, with the Yelp and Nextdoor etc, companies actually have to be a lot more responsive of "just one person."

Never had it happen again. Most likely it was just an overzealous bank employee and it was never specifically sanctioned.
 
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