What to know about checkout charity
Learn about checkout charity, including how this form of impulse giving works, which donors give most often to checkout charity campaigns, and how nonprofits can benefit from over half of the U.S. public who donates in this way.
You’re probably familiar with “checkout charity”—when people are asked at a retail store checkout to donate money to a designated organization. They have only a few moments to decide. We consider this “impulse giving,” making a split-second decision to do something altruistic for others.
But how does it work? Who says, “Yes, I’ll give!”? And what makes a campaign successful? We surveyed nearly 1,400 adults living in the United States about their experiences with checkout charity. Here are some of the insights we gained.
How does checkout charity work?
Checkout charity campaigns are fundraisers run by businesses in partnership with nonprofits. You may remember seeing checkout areas decorated with tokens—cut-out shamrocks or balloons, for example, with the names of people who’d donated. As point-of-sale machines have become more advanced, today people are more likely to see on-screen options to round up their total amount to the nearest dollar or to make a separate donation of a few cents to a few dollars.
In our survey, over half (53%) of respondents reported impulse giving at a store checkout. Among those who gave at the register, rounding up to the nearest dollar was the most popular choice (85%), followed by adding a set amount to their purchase (69%).
One salient characteristic of checkout charity is that people have only a few seconds to decide whether to skip the request or donate. They may decide not to hold up the line behind them. They may round up their total by a few cents because they recognize the charity. These quick decisions rely on intuitive and socialized mental shortcuts.
Who’s giving to checkout charity?
In our sample, women, middle-class individuals, and those who were married or divorced were all more likely to give at the register. In contrast with formal giving, education levels had little relation to a person’s likelihood to give, and those approaching and over age 50 were less likely to give. So, the old-school donor profile of a moneyed, educated, older donor doesn’t hold in this setting.
Why is the checkout charity giver’s profile so different? One theory is that this quick ask for less money makes the average person more open to parting with their change. Ultimately, checkout charity relies on time-limited decisions where customers may feel pressure to “do good.” We did find one consistent pattern between impulse giving and formal giving: Studies have found women are generally more willing to donate to charity, and that holds with our sample.
What factors affect the amount of money they give? We found two: familiarity with the charity and being Black or African American both correlated with greater amounts donated. Black or African American customers gave about $100 more per year than other checkout charity donors. More research is needed to better understand these findings.
How can checkout charity help my organization?
Retailers select and run checkout charity campaigns, so if you have a good relationship with a local store or restaurant, you could ask them if this might be a good fit. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind.
- People who were familiar with the organization gave more, so take the opportunity to share the good work you’re doing. As Booker T. Washington said, one of the great rules of fundraising is to make your work known. For example, your retail partner might place a small standee with the name and mission of the organization on top of the self-service checkout machines. Remember, people make up their minds in a very short time—usually about five to 10 seconds—so use images and keep your message short, sweet, and memorable.
- Make the most of the campaign by raising awareness of your nonprofit outside the store, too. Use whatever PR or marketing channels your organization has available—emails, advertising in digital or print media, billboards, etc.
- Make sure potential donors know their money will actually support your work. Transparency is important. Businesses need to show customers that while they run the campaign, customers fund the donations and can get a tax deduction if they save their receipts. They can include this on the register display or on the PIN pad or train cashiers to share this information.
Across the country, more than half of the public we surveyed participate in checkout charity. These campaigns have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charitable organizations—$749 million in 2022, according to Engage for Good. Understanding who engages in this form of giving and how to maximize fundraising through these campaigns can be a win-win for nonprofits and communities.
Photo credit: Jack Sparrow via pexels
