"Would you like to round up for [ ]?"

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A few years back but only from time to time, my local co-op grocery store would have their cashiers ask you the following when they rang up your purchases: "Would you like to round up to (the next whole dollar) for [ fill in a local charity or non-profit here ]?" This question would throw me and then irritate me. It would throw me because executive functioning for me includes the multi-stage act of grocery shopping and paying for my groceries. It's something that I'm used to doing after all of these years. Throw a new question at me like that and expect that I literally make an instant decision related to my money, even if it is a small amount is confusing and irritating to me.

I then read an article somewhere that shed light on this more common practice. I assumed that the co-op was collecting this money and giving whatever they collected straight to said charity. This is not the case. The co-op collects the money, donates it, but then deducts it off of their taxes as a charitable donation, not from me or the other patrons, but from the co-op. Then the co-op touts it's charitable giving in its advertising: "We've given $XXXXXX to charity so far this year!" No, you have not given that amount. You've COLLECTED donations from your patrons and your PATRONS have given the money for the charity.

I've since decided to answer such a question with: "No, thank you, not today." I'm not good at reading people, but I can't help but think that sometimes the cashier judges me based on their facial expression.

This practice has since expanded to include the regular local for-profit grocery store by where I live. Part of the reason other than the snap answer executive functioning issues I have with this, I also have no idea who or what some of these charities are. I donate to charities on my own and of my own choosing. I'm not going to say OK to giving my money to things that I'm not even familiar with just because someone asks me to. I just want to go to the grocery store like I always have and pay for my things like I always have and leave. I guess this will be the "new normal".

I find that really inappropriate TBH. It's almost a scam when it's not their own donation. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I don't even get why people should get their own donation tax deducted. That's not much of a donation then IMO, if you should gain something from it. To me that's phony. One of the things that makes no sense to me, although the above is even worse as it's not even theirs.


I wouldn't donate and I don't care one bit if the cashiers judge me for that. I choose what I want to donate to for myself, thank you very much.

I always answer that question with "Not Today" cuz I don't have much money & we have a lot of debt. At least the process to say No isn't this difficult

I don't mind rounding up or giving alittle more if the company is willing to match my donation. I also sometimes buy things I would buy anyways if some of the proceeds are being donated; I might decide to get it now instead of waiting till I had extra money or I might decide to get it from that specific place instead of somewhere else.

The fact that they do this in a loud voice with 3 or more people in each check-out line is particularly annoying. It's as if they're trying to publicly shame me into giving MY money to some fake charity.

I agree.

Another grocery store further away from me does it best as a compromise:

They allow groups looking for donations to set up a few tables by the exits. Usually the groups consist of school sports teams earning money for a class trip, etc. Members of the group will then ask you politely if you'd like them to bag your groceries. You're free to drop a monetary donation in a big jar at the table on the way out if you'd like...or not.

One of my first jobs when I was a kid was bagging groceries. I like to bag my groceries. I do it in a certain way. I'd rather bag my own groceries than have someone else do it. In in the above situation I just tell them "no thank you" and I saw I bagged groceries as a kid and that it brings back memories. Everybody's happy.

I don't like being compelled to donate to something. I donate to causes I believe in and find it really annoying to be asked to donate to something at the store. I want to make my purchase and get in and out as quickly as possible.