• MobileSuitBagera@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Remember kids, they also get to use the money they guilted off of you to reduce their tax liability because they get credit for donating your money!

      • Piramic@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I used to work for a retail chain many years ago and I do not think this is true for everywhere.

        When we were asking for donations it was tracked and if our location didn’t get enough donations our store manager would get talked to by his district manager. I don’t know exactly what happened to the money once it was donated, but I don’t think they would have been so adamant about getting the donations if they didn’t make anything from it.

        This was like 20 years ago though, maybe its different now.

  • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My favorite one is when our utility company asks me to donate to help pay for people’s utilities like they aren’t raking in record amount of cash.

    • neanderthal@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Here me out before accusing me of being a billionaire toady.

      Not really, at least not in the US. Charitable contributions are a deduction from taxable income, not a credit, so it is still a net financial loss to donate.

      Where the benefit comes is the PR and power over the organization they donate to and its sphere of influence.

      • git@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It is a net loss if you donate your own money, in this situation Company isn’t donating from its own revenue. It is donating customers money.

        If I donated 1000$ and claimed tax deductible it would be a net loss. But if I asked everyone for donations, raised 1000$, donated that and claimed tax deductible that wouldn’t be a net loss.

  • fsk@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Those charities have huge overhead. Very little money goes to the actual cause.

  • Spacecraft@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I hate when they pull this shit at drive through fast food. “Would you like to round up to donate to our charity?”

    Who knows what the person taking my order thinks about this charity, and what they might do to someone’s food who says no.

    Edit: The fact that merely implying a fast food worker wouldn’t be a complete perfect human being gets so many downvotes says a whole lot about this community.

    • sirkook@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I can assure you that nobody working at the fast food restaurant gives a shit if you donate to charity.

      • Spacecraft@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How can you assure me of that lol.

        You think nobody at a fast food place is capable of thinking someone is an asshole for declining to donate to charity? And then acting on that?

        • TskUghPfftUhh@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I used to work fast food and retail, both which forced employees to ask customers to donate at the till. We hated doing it. It is awkward for both the customer and the worker. I would get anxiety when donation drive time of year would come round, and I’d feel relief when the customer either just said no or yes, and didn’t yell at me for asking. The cashier REALLY does not care if you donate or not. And the cashier usually does not make your food, it’s usually someone else doing the cooking, and the cooks aren’t paying attention at all to whether you donated or not.

  • zombuey@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Just FYI this is a sort of scam. The company donates the money on your behalf and they get the tax write-off for your donation while also appearing philanthropic for PR purposes. that’s why they do it.> e fair, I bet these companies strike deals with the charitable organizations to in turn raise visibility of those charities among the company’s customers. Furthermore there is no contractual obligation they actually donate that money or how. They could just be lying to you.

    • Sendbeer@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      @zombuey I’ve heard that a lot, but it is apparently not true unless the company claims your donation as a profit and then writes it off, which negates any tax benefit. I think it’s more just a PR thing to make you feel good about that company while using your own money.

    • seang96@spgrn.com
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      1 year ago

      They also store it in a bank before donating to collect interest on it cause why not?

      • zombuey@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Furthermore, there is no contractual agreement on how or when they donate that money. So for example those companies might and likely will hold that money in trust to the non-profit. That way the company can use money as a hedge on taxes in future fiscal periods if they had an excess.

  • malloc@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    People that give money for those charities are giving those companies free tax write offs.

    You donate $10 or whatever. The company can then claim that $10 as a write off via donation to that charity. Campaign as a whole (either regional or national) collects $1M USD. Corporate accountants write off donation. Tax liability reduced.

    • stankmut@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That’s not how tax write offs work. The only way to claim that money in a write-off would be for the business to also claim it as revenue. That would even out, with no tax savings. Businesses also don’t handle donations that way, they usually serve as a collection agent that just passes your donations on without being able to claim it towards their revenue or their tax write offs. The only person who can write-off their donation is the person who actually made it.

      The reason businesses do it is for marketing. They get to put out a press release saying “They helped donate $10 million to puppies without borders.”

      • cod@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That’s not how tax write offs work

        Jerry: So we’re gonna make the Post Office pay for my new stereo now?

        Kramer: It’s a write-off for them.

        Jerry: How is it a write-off?

        Kramer: They just write it off.

        Jerry: Write it off what?

        Kramer: Jerry, all these big companies, they write off everything.

        Jerry: You don’t even know what a write-off is.

        Kramer: Do you?

        Jerry: No, I don’t.

        Kramer: But they do. And they’re the ones writing it off.

  • mcc@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Then they will say it is more efficient to merge the donations with regular revenue and make bulk donations every quarter or something.

  • terwn43lp@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    PSA: most Americans can get up to $300 deducted from their annual taxes through donations.

  • Lifecoach5000@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    And I will never ever give these fools my actual phone number for discounts. Just use any area code w/ 867-5309 to get around this.

    • jackoneill@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to? You give me something I can hold on to. I know you think I’m like the others before who saw your name and number on the wall

  • EmergingDystopia@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, this really bothers me. Because in reality, that company that you give money to at checkout is just going to bundle that all up and it’s a donation in their name, used as a tax write-off. You as the shopper might feel nice and warm and fuzzy, but you’re just giving a multimillion or billion dollar company a tax break. Just donate as yourself. If you want to help XYZ cause, do it on your own. My two cents.