Stepping into the self-checkout line, a weary woman living paycheck-to-paycheck shuffles her cart to the register. Starting to unload her groceries, she stresses over whether or not she can afford everything in her basket. Just as she’s about to swipe her card and spend a week’s worth of her pay on food, the PIN pad flashes a pop-up asking if she wants to round up her purchase for a charity she’s never heard of. A moral dilemma forms in her mind: Should she be a ‘good person’ and donate to the charity, since it’s only a few cents? Or should she just pretend she didn’t see the option to round up? 

Though the round-up fundraising strategy, or “point-of-sale” fundraising, was first introduced in the late 2000s, it has only gained widespread success in the past few years. In 2022 alone, checkout donations raised almost $750 million for charities and nonprofits across the globe, and the number continues to grow every year. 

Other fundraising strategies pale compared to round-up fundraising, and due to the method’s success, increasing numbers of nonprofits rely on round-up charities to raise money for their causes. From Taco Bell to Petsmart, a wide variety of corporations are partnering with charities to support children’s hospitals, cancer research, college scholarships and more.

However, the frequency of requests for money and ambiguity of where the donations are truly going has begun to stir resentment amongst consumers. A survey shows that 36% of all consumers dislike being asked to round up their purchases at checkout. 

Many shoppers are frustrated by the lack of transparency provided by round-up charities. At many registers, charities provide little to no information about their cause other than its name. Social media users have also spread misinformation about what corporations do with the extra cents, with some falsely claiming that corporate stores can write off customer donations as tax deductions. To strengthen trust with customers who donate, charities and their corporate partners should reform the round-up donation system.

While some businesses are upfront about which charities they partner with, most are relatively vague about the organizations. Some corporate websites don’t list specific charities, only highlighting their investments and company goals to give back to the community, such as supporting advocacy and education.

Some consumers have even expressed frustration towards the corporations participating in round-up charity work, upset that they ask their customers to bear the burden when they make money hand over fist. Additionally, rising grocery prices and post-COVID inflation make even more consumers wary of corporations asking them to donate their hard-earned money to ambiguous charitable organizations.   

While the monetary factor plays a role in whether people donate that extra few cents, social pressure to donate serves as a more significant factor among consumers. Research has proven that giving money to charitable causes can make the donor feel happy and fulfilled. For some buyers, giving a few extra cents while shopping makes them feel like they’ve done a good thing and are, therefore, a good person. For others, however, guilt is more prominent than personal satisfaction. In a checkout line, some consumers feel judged by others around them if they tell the cashier not to round up their purchase. 

Though the model has many flaws, checkout charity should not be abolished entirely. For busy customers who don’t have the time or resources to research charities and make large donations, rounding up a purchase is the perfect way for them to give back. However, corporations that utilize round-up charities have a duty to let consumers know where their money is going. Ride-share app Lyft’s round-up charity system exemplifies this well with their round-up charity system, which allows the rider to decide when opening an account which charity their spare change goes to.

Ultimately, customers should not be the only pathway for businesses to raise donations for partnering charities. Consumers are right to feel slighted by companies asking them to donate their money when multi-billion dollar corporations make up less than six percent of charitable donations in the United States.

Those with the time and monetary resources should research and donate money to charitable organizations, but for those without either, a checkout charity is a great alternative. Ultimately, donations will still go to an organization aiming to improve individuals’ well-being and general quality of life globally. Few things are more fulfilling than putting money towards a good cause — even if it’s just a handful of quarters once or twice a week.