An update of a popular blog post from February 8, 2011

I read in a fashion magazine about the common practice of allowing employees to take home beauty product samples received from manufacturers hoping for free publicity. The editor of this publication decided to ask her staff for $1 per item, with all proceeds going to support women in need. This simple idea raised thousands of dollars, one at a time.

What could you do to contribute to a good cause in this way?  Is there an activity or product that you are giving away now that you could ask your employees or customers to pay a dollar or two for?  This would not only help the non-profit that you contribute to, but would also enhance your store’s status in your community.  Statistics have shown that knowing you contribute to good causes make shoppers much more enthusiastic about supporting your business. And while a single dollar isn’t much, your messaging could show how much you’ve raised and the impact it will have.

If you offer coffee or tea to your customers, a donation jar by the refreshment center would be certain to receive a steady stream of donations if you made it clear that the money went to a local non-profit.  You could change the beneficiary periodically, and ask for staff input in choosing the charity. A tip jar for gift wrapping or other services could be labeled with a charity recipient.

Another option is to choose a product and pledge that $1 per item sold during a set time period will go to a cause. It’s a good idea to donate generously when doing something like this, which means it isn’t essential that you track the sales precisely. The nice thing about this type of promotion is that the donation doesn’t require any buy-in from the customer – it’s automatic.

If you are OK with asking customers to donate, you could offer them the opportunity to round up their purchase when checking out.  This time-tested way to raise funds probably made more sense when people paid in cash and didn’t want to bother with change. An updated version would be to ask if they’d like to add a dollar (non-taxable, of course) to go to a certain cause. You may want to provide recognition – an honor roll, or cut-out heart – for those who choose to participate.

Pledging that the shop is going to match each dollar raised will increase the impact of whatever fundraiser you choose — but even $1 goes a long way towards buying a meal for a hungry child.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder