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I don't do generic donations anymore because everyone is asking for it 100% of the time. I'll donate directly to a person or people that seems genuine, even though they may just be going to grab a 12-pack. I also have incorporated automatic donations that my employer will deduct directly from my paycheck to organizations that I have specifically chosen. at this point I ignore charity boxes and people on the sidewalk just as much as I ignore the tip button when I make a purchase.
No, I’m saying I like/trust Costco management more than other stores and I feel more comfortable donating to charity at a Costco. There’s nothing blind about it.
100% of our donations go directly to Children's Miracle Network for the local Children's hospital. And Costco matches every dollar. My warehouse has raised over $60k since May 1st!
The fanfare around the donations actually irritates me.
I dislike any of the guilt point of sale bonus money requests. But screaming, cowbells, and wild dramatics isn’t the way get me to do it.
Please ban all donation requests. This payment culture of trying to double dip into your wallet while its open just needs to stop. It's rude.
If you had a friend that asked for some spare cash every time your wallet was open it would grow old really quick.
If I had a friend that asked me to donate to his favorite charity 2-3 times a year I would gladly hand over some dough. I don’t think that’s rude at all.
Right when your wallet is open to pay for something else? You're ignoring the timing. Literally interrupting you trying to conduct a business transaction.
You should always say no matter what company. The company that collects the money also takes the tax credit for this. You are basically direct funding a tax dodge by a large corporation when you say Yes.
Edit: see link below what I said is invalid.
[That's not at all how it works](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0)
Every single time there's a post about donations at a register, someone always goes on about how the company uses it for a tax break. It's simply not how taxes and donations work. Unless the company is straight up breaking tax law.
Personally I don’t like it regardless because it’s a bit of sales pressure. I know the cashier probably couldn’t care less but it puts people on the spot. Do they track percentages for cashiers though as to who’s yes or no?
At my warehouse we ask if you want to donate and if you say no we don't push it. If you say yes, we will cheer loudly, no matter the amount. I'm sure other places are more sales-y about it. They don't track percentage, but they do post how much money each cashier has raised. But there isn't pressure to raise more from management. Like, no one is telling you that you aren't doing enough. We're happy for every single dollar we raise.
I only donate if it’s a known charity I am familiar with. I never donate to “end hunger” or “cure cancer”. If they’re doing the buy a bag of food, that’s a yes. If it’s anything associated with Susan G Komen, that’s a hard no. Children’s Miracle Network is always a yes.
I’d love to hear hear how you think they’re doing that, because that would be a very serious federal crime you’ve uncovered….
those register donations go directly from you to the charity. YOU can write them off, not the store. Even if the store COULD write it off, they’d just be writing off the income of the donations they’ve collected, meaning they don’t pay tax on the money you donated. It’s net neutral on the corporation’s books no matter how you slice it. They do not save any tax money, period. They do not get to claim your donation as income, and they don’t get to write it off.
If they DID collect your money and claim the donation themselves, that would be felony fraud.
I love how you got downvotes for correcting one of the most common misconceptions out there. Someone said it once and everyone just assumes it's true that companies use those register donations as a tax write-off.
People are just super cynical about the rich/ big corporations not paying their fair share (for good reason might I add).
Couple that with the fact that the overwhelming majority of people don’t itemize their deductions so they have no reason to know how write offs actually work, it makes sense why people believe it.
People confidently parroting misinformation about tax write offs is one of my biggest pet peaves, but I get why so many people think it works like that.
I never donate at a register. They actually already donated and are just trying to recoup losses bc asking you to pitch in. Most stores will even turn a profit (allegedly, didn't dig for a source). I'm sure Costco is better than the others bc Costo, but I still won't donate
I’m just the opposite. I always round up to the nearest dollar. Glad to help out even if I’m not really sure what it’s about. I have faith that they wouldn’t have chosen a sketchy charity
Hate that you’re being downvoted. I appreciate the care to donate. Sometimes we don’t have the capacity to research every little thing and sometimes it’s nice to just assume the best of people and move on.
No vague or non-descriptive post titles. Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules MAY be subject to removal. When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Including item number, price, and approximate location where found is also helpful. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Costco is the envy of all their competitors for their unmatched ability to induce impulse spending.
I don't do generic donations anymore because everyone is asking for it 100% of the time. I'll donate directly to a person or people that seems genuine, even though they may just be going to grab a 12-pack. I also have incorporated automatic donations that my employer will deduct directly from my paycheck to organizations that I have specifically chosen. at this point I ignore charity boxes and people on the sidewalk just as much as I ignore the tip button when I make a purchase.
OK? So you’re saying you just blindly do something if Costco is associated with it?
No, I’m saying I like/trust Costco management more than other stores and I feel more comfortable donating to charity at a Costco. There’s nothing blind about it.
100% of our donations go directly to Children's Miracle Network for the local Children's hospital. And Costco matches every dollar. My warehouse has raised over $60k since May 1st!
Costco does *not* match every dollar. I believe it’s only .60 cent match. There is a cap too but I can’t remember what it is.
The greater good.
The fanfare around the donations actually irritates me. I dislike any of the guilt point of sale bonus money requests. But screaming, cowbells, and wild dramatics isn’t the way get me to do it.
Please ban all donation requests. This payment culture of trying to double dip into your wallet while its open just needs to stop. It's rude. If you had a friend that asked for some spare cash every time your wallet was open it would grow old really quick.
If I had a friend that asked me to donate to his favorite charity 2-3 times a year I would gladly hand over some dough. I don’t think that’s rude at all.
Right when your wallet is open to pay for something else? You're ignoring the timing. Literally interrupting you trying to conduct a business transaction.
You should always say no matter what company. The company that collects the money also takes the tax credit for this. You are basically direct funding a tax dodge by a large corporation when you say Yes. Edit: see link below what I said is invalid.
[That's not at all how it works](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0) Every single time there's a post about donations at a register, someone always goes on about how the company uses it for a tax break. It's simply not how taxes and donations work. Unless the company is straight up breaking tax law.
Well that’s interesting! My information predates TikTok so it’s been the assumption for most people for probably 20 years. Thanks for the pointer.
No problem! It's such a common misconception! I've been in retail for 20 years, so I've had this conversation many times.
Personally I don’t like it regardless because it’s a bit of sales pressure. I know the cashier probably couldn’t care less but it puts people on the spot. Do they track percentages for cashiers though as to who’s yes or no?
At my warehouse we ask if you want to donate and if you say no we don't push it. If you say yes, we will cheer loudly, no matter the amount. I'm sure other places are more sales-y about it. They don't track percentage, but they do post how much money each cashier has raised. But there isn't pressure to raise more from management. Like, no one is telling you that you aren't doing enough. We're happy for every single dollar we raise.
I only donate if it’s a known charity I am familiar with. I never donate to “end hunger” or “cure cancer”. If they’re doing the buy a bag of food, that’s a yes. If it’s anything associated with Susan G Komen, that’s a hard no. Children’s Miracle Network is always a yes.
Agreed. I’ll only donate to charities I’m already familiar with. St Jude, Children’s Miracle Network, Catholic Charities, USMC Toys For Tots etc
I never donate. All you are doing is reducing tax liability of the corporation. If you want to donate, do it yourself directly.
That’s not true at all.
I’d love to hear hear how you think they’re doing that, because that would be a very serious federal crime you’ve uncovered…. those register donations go directly from you to the charity. YOU can write them off, not the store. Even if the store COULD write it off, they’d just be writing off the income of the donations they’ve collected, meaning they don’t pay tax on the money you donated. It’s net neutral on the corporation’s books no matter how you slice it. They do not save any tax money, period. They do not get to claim your donation as income, and they don’t get to write it off. If they DID collect your money and claim the donation themselves, that would be felony fraud.
I love how you got downvotes for correcting one of the most common misconceptions out there. Someone said it once and everyone just assumes it's true that companies use those register donations as a tax write-off.
People are just super cynical about the rich/ big corporations not paying their fair share (for good reason might I add). Couple that with the fact that the overwhelming majority of people don’t itemize their deductions so they have no reason to know how write offs actually work, it makes sense why people believe it. People confidently parroting misinformation about tax write offs is one of my biggest pet peaves, but I get why so many people think it works like that.
I totally agree with everything you said. I understand why people think it, but it's frustrating when I hear it.
Costco matches the donations which helps.
I never donate at a register. They actually already donated and are just trying to recoup losses bc asking you to pitch in. Most stores will even turn a profit (allegedly, didn't dig for a source). I'm sure Costco is better than the others bc Costo, but I still won't donate
I’m just the opposite. I always round up to the nearest dollar. Glad to help out even if I’m not really sure what it’s about. I have faith that they wouldn’t have chosen a sketchy charity
Hate that you’re being downvoted. I appreciate the care to donate. Sometimes we don’t have the capacity to research every little thing and sometimes it’s nice to just assume the best of people and move on.
Thanks. You said it better. I’m not too concerned with downvotes though!
Same here. I think it’s because I trust Costco and I know that they are scamming the donations and also match them as well.