Von's donation collection tactics. (Lucerne: unemployed, to buy, taxes)

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Give what you can, but my thought is not to feel threatened if you can't give or don't have the desire to give. I get it. Everyone is out there asking for a donation. Most of us are feeling the pinch of this current economic situation. we are all in this mess together including the not for profits.

what works for me is I donate through my Church and I let them know that. You just can't give to everyone and should not be expected to do so. I do get the point that for many they feel threatened when someone is asking for a donation. Maybe Vons is not handling it the right way. Then again if they don't ask, they won't get anything.

[SlowMotionApocalypse]

I don't give.

I HATE Von's which I am usually stuck shopping since it's closest.

[ZenMaster2008]

My favorite is at ikea "would u like to donate a dollar to plant a tree?"

lol it cracks me up everytime

[LArenter]

Several years ago, I read this article regarding charitable contributions and I've been following the same advice each year.

Basically, the premise is you set a budget of how much you plan on donating per year. From there, you pick a few organizations you find worthy and to which you want to contribute; perform your due diligence at Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator | Home . Review their operations, where the money gets directed to, the salaries they pay to their officers, etc. From there, give away! It's easier for IRS tracking purposes, your larger contributions make a sizable difference, and several organizations are charged transaction fees "per contribution"; therefore the lump sum minimizes such fees.

I choose an organization, my wife chooses one, and we both choose one together, then we split our annual fund 5 ways with the three organizaitions and our seperate alma mater.

[LArenter]

Oh, and I forgot the topic at hand. I still find it hard to verbally say "No, thank you" at Vons, Blockbuster, etc.... I always feel like they look at me and are thinking, "....really, just one dollar?"

But I obviously got confidence and self-worth issues that I need to deal with

[Cubancoffee]

No one's forcing you to shop there. If you don't like solicitations, take your business elsewhere. But first stop and tell the manager and why.

[dan emer]

Does anyone know if Vons (Safeway) is compensated for collecting for the charities? Do they get a
tax break for their charitable contributions?

[Another Lost Angel]

I just politely decline or I choose to donate. It doesn't annoy me because I realise the cashier doesn't have a choice in the matter, really. At the Vons I go to, there is a sign that says if the "clerk doesn't ask you to donate to charity, you get [enter an item] for free." So I imagine that if a clerk were to not ask/forget to ask and a customer were to point it out and they had to give that bottle away, the clerk is going to get verbally torn into by the manager for not asking a customer to donate. I also wonder if there are other ways that they keep track of how much donations a cashier takes in and if management pressures them at all.

One of my friends used to work at Sears and always had to ask if they wanted to sign up for their credit card or whatever it was. She never got enough people to sign up and she ended up having to go to remedial training and extra meetings because of it - despite the fact that she was an upstanding employee besides that one issue. She was under a lot of pressure from management to push those cards and get as many people signed up and she got "punished" for it because she didn't meet their expectations.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by dan emer

Does anyone know if Vons (Safeway) is compensated for collecting for the charities? Do they get a
tax break for their charitable contributions?

Not sure, but it makes them look good. Those big checks the executives are photographed giving to the charity is usually from money collected from the customers.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by Another Lost Angel

I just politely decline or I choose to donate. It doesn't annoy me because I realise the cashier doesn't have a choice in the matter, really. At the Vons I go to, there is a sign that says if the "clerk doesn't ask you to donate to charity, you get [enter an item] for free." So I imagine that if a clerk were to not ask/forget to ask and a customer were to point it out and they had to give that bottle away, the clerk is going to get verbally torn into by the manager for not asking a customer to donate. I also wonder if there are other ways that they keep track of how much donations a cashier takes in and if management pressures them at all.

One of my friends used to work at Sears and always had to ask if they wanted to sign up for their credit card or whatever it was. She never got enough people to sign up and she ended up having to go to remedial training and extra meetings because of it - despite the fact that she was an upstanding employee besides that one issue. She was under a lot of pressure from management to push those cards and get as many people signed up and she got "punished" for it because she didn't meet their expectations.

I understand the cashiers don't have a choice, my complaint is with the management. The little card machines ask you if you want to donate, but then the clerk is forced to ask you in front of the other customers? I've already told the little card machine no, now I have to tell the clerk also? This is on top of the solicitors hounding you at the front entrance. enough is enough.