2017 America's Charity Checkout Champions
Four years ago, Engage for Good (formerly Cause Marketing Forum) launched a first-of-its-kind biannual survey identifying million-dollar-plus point-of-sale fundraising campaigns, in which companies asked consumers to donate to a cause when checking out. In 2014, 84 million-dollar-plus campaigns brought in $422.3 million. This year’s survey reveals that in 2016, 73 initiatives brought in $441.63 million, an increase of 4.5%.
The absolute dollar increase in funds raised is striking given the turmoil in brick-and-mortar retail, the channel responsible for the lion’s share of checkout fundraising dollars. Announcements of store closings and precipitous sales decreases are commonplace among department stores, clothing retailers and big box chains. While online retailers’ share of shopping dollars increase, our research has not found a corresponding increase in their development of checkout charity initiatives.
Many companies and charities interviewed for this report have a close eye on the future of payment technologies at point-of-sale and agree that technology will change how people are asked to donate in the future. Mobile payments, whether through mobile POS systems, custom mobile payment apps (like Starbucks) or third-party options like Apple Pay, are expected to become more common and will be an important consideration for future fundraising efforts.
