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shepd

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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I don't donate unless I intend to. I never intend to make a donation when I am buying something, and that means I instantly say \"no\" whenever asked. This also applies to the telephone, door-to-door, at the grocery store in-doors and other similar situations.

It's an easy life rule to make.

2 replies

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apd09

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@shepd: I am the same way, no on the spot donations. I will happily accept some literature about their cause to decide if it is something I want to do, but I do not give money to anyone on the spot when they ask me to donate.

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h3llc4t, breaker of office dress codes

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@apd09: After inadvertently donating to a radical, violent animal rights group, I ask for literature and then go home to do research. If I like what I see, they get a check later.

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ReaveT

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@h3llc4t, breaker of office dress codes: It's ok, you can say PETA here. We won't judge.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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Well clearly the antenna balls aren't free...No matter what charity you donate to, not all your money is going to help people/animals/aliens directly...some of it goes to overhead. Consider the antenna ball \"overhead.\"

3 replies

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Scoobatz

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@morganlh85: No, that's not overhead. Jack in the Box took 30%, and 70% went to Big Brothers. Of that 70%, there could be as much as 25% overhead. So, in the end, the $1 donation contributed probably no more than 50 cents.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@Scoobatz:
That's better than some. I got cold called by some \"donate to cancer research\" outfit and the guy hung up on me when I asked what percentage actually went to the charity. I looked it up... turns out that it was less than 10%.

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RPHP

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@morganlh85: Yea but if you make a donation you do not pay tax on that donation no matter what the overhead is. In fact you get a tax deduction on donations.

There is definitely a way to make a donation and receive some sort of thank you \"gift\". Usually if the gift is significant they tell you how much of the \"donation\" can be deducted from taxes. However, I do not believe you pay any sales tax on the transaction.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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When you get asked at the grocery store if you would like to donate to whatevercharity...does the store collect the money and write it off in there books as a donation in the stores name? Can you write those kind of donations off on your taxes?

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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I'm no tax lawyer, but I believe you can write off any donation to a tax exempt entity, and you don't even need a receipt for donations under $250.

That's assuming you itemize deductions in the first place.

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jacques

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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Best advice it to donate directly to charities you want to donate to. Don't do it just because you're asked at work, at stores, from other groups passing by, etc.
1) You control how much the charity gets (as opposed to United Way)
2) You can keep track of it for tax reasons

1 replies

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gStein_*|bringing starpipe back|*

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@jacques: 3. the charity you want to donate to gets the money - in Charlotte, United Way went through a scandal over the past year or so when it was revealed that the CEO was making an inordinate amount of money ($600k/year, iirc)

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diasdiem

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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Sneaky bastards get $.30 for probably $.05 of foam rubber, and get to write off the other $.70 as their own donation.

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Bob Lu

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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Considering many professional fundraiser only give 10% or less to the charity, 70% is not too bad.

However if you really want to make best use your your money, donate the money directly to the charity.

If you want to donate item, only donate what you already have. Don't buy things for donation.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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An antenna ball? What cars even have antennae anymore?

1 replies

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Gruppa

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@Laura Northrup: Mine does. In fact I have a glovebox full of different Jack antennae balls.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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I always wonder how much is going into the managers pockets when asked to donate at a store. How much is the charity getting, and how much is the store in question getting as a bonus if they reach a certain donation goal? Might explain why they are extra pushy about donating that dollar.

Frankly since I get asked at every store I go into these days, and since I go into multiple stores a week, I would be very broke if I donated a dollar every time I was asked.

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stranger than fiction

November 23, 2009 5:31 PM

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@Outrun1986: DING DING DING! A server at a restaurant was honest enough to tell us one night that the manager was hot on them to get donations for the cause du jour so he could win some bonus contest. He had them using a coupon code from a separate promotion to \"reimburse\" the customers.

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November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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I work part-time at a major sporting goods retailer.

Two comments:
1. We have a yearly fundraiser at the cash register's for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Surely a worthy cause, but we are pushed pushed pushed to ask and get a donation at every transaction. I'm also pressured as an employee to make a donation every time I buy something (like a soda, snack, etc). It's frustrating to me, and I'm sure every customer, because I make my own contributions to charities each year, too.

2. Similar to the OP, we were pushed one week to sell the yellow LiveStrong bracelets- they were our \"item of the week\" and needed to sell a lot, apparently. Many cashiers asked customers to make a $1 donation to the LiveStrong Foundation, and instead were sold a bracelet. With tax. This came from individual cashiers who took it upon themselves to sell some bracelets, not from corporate. So maybe Jack-in-the-Box cashiers were going rogue with their own script?

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dangerp

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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My favorite line at a grocery store:

Clerk: \"Would you like to donate a dollar to Breast Cancer?\"
Me: \"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I hate Breast Cancer!\"

Followed by a puzzled expression on the clerk's face.

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h3llc4t, breaker of office dress codes

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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@dangerp: At my office, we had packets of cookies for sale in the cafe. They were 50 cents and labeled \"Breast Cancer Supporters\".
1. I don't want to support breast cancer, it killed my aunt and it's a freeloading jerk.
2. I couldn't get that line from Grease out of my head: \"If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!\"

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TCama

November 18, 2009 4:53 PM

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So isn't it misleading, and possibly illegal, for the drive-thru attendant to call it a donation?

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