At least with the Salvation Army bell ringers, Neil Crone can smile politely while power-walking past them. He can cross the road to avoid the fleece-vest-and-clipboard-accessorized street canvassers.
But he is never prepared for the charity ambush at the liquor store or supermarket cash register.
"Would you like to add $5 to your purchase to support [insert foundation here]"
Those requests have become a regular part of the checkout experience for the Sunderland, Ont.-based actor and writer.
The logic of Canadian charities partnering with retailers is simple: You're already spending money on yourself, why not cough up a little for the cause?
Charities have shifted their strategy in the past few years, in part to reach the growing number of Canadians who don't usually donate.
In November, Statistics Canada reported that 5.6 million Canadians donated to charity last year, down from 5.8 million the year before. That translated into a drop of almost three-quarters of a billion charity dollars from 2008, when donors rang up $8.19-billion.
As charities see it, $2 to $5 donations aren't much skin off the backs of Canadians who shell out big bucks for an espresso machine or trendy toys. In the end, that loose change can add up to millions.
But to many consumers, the pitch feels like a guilt trip. Turn down the request? Feel like a cheapskate. Ask for more information? Prepare for the stink eye from customers waiting in line behind you.
On a recent trip to an outlet of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the clerk asked Mr. Crone if he'd like to make a donation, and he tensed up: "It's like, oh my God, how much do I have to put in here?"
It's not that he didn't want to give, he just considers checkout solicitations "the lowest form of fundraising."
He donates to the SickKids Foundation, but prefers to do so directly and after knowing where his money goes, rather than throwing the charity a few dollars while buying a bottle of wine.
For years, the LCBO has placed donation boxes for 23 charities at checkouts. It found that the boxes for four children's hospitals attracted an overwhelming number of donations - so, in December 2007, it introduced donation prompts at checkouts. It also collects money for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, its "social responsibility partner."
The December campaigns have grown quickly. In 2007, the Crown corporation pulled in $337,000, to be split among the four hospitals and MADD Canada. In 2008, it raised $890,000 and last year brought in $1.8-million.
But Kate Bahen, managing director of Charity Intelligence Canada, a Toronto-based watchdog group, questions whether people make donations because they genuinely want to support a charity or because they'd feel guilty if they didn't.
"It's that arm-twisting and it's using peer pressure," she says. "What we always say is it's really important to stop and think before you give."
You may forget about that loonie or toonie an hour after you donate it, but combined with others' contributions, it could add up to millions to fund a charity that may not be managed well, she says.
"Do you really know where your money goes? Do you really know what your money does?"
Louise Armstrong, a Torontonian who works in public relations, says she's been pressed for a donation at nearly every major retailer she's visited in the past few months. She's tried to get information about the charities from clerks with disappointing results. Once, at a drug store, the cashier's answer to almost all her questions was "I don't know."
Ms. Armstrong often asks if the company receives a tax deduction for making the donation, which no employee has yet been able to answer.
In lieu of a tax receipt, Canada Safeway offers customers five Air Miles in exchange for a $2 donation to one of the charities it supports: Easter Seals, Special Olympics, Prostate Cancer Canada, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Canada. Safeway runs its campaigns during four months of the year but eases off around the holidays.
Mark Blumberg, a Toronto charity lawyer and partner with Blumberg Segal LLP, says retailers cannot turn over cash donations to charities and claim a tax deduction. "It isn't the company's money. The company is acting as a third-party fundraiser," he says.
There's still a clear benefit for retailers: They get to raise their profiles in the community.
To Mr. Blumberg, that's still not enough. He says if retailers are asking people for a dollar, they should at the very least match customer donations or contribute double or triple what consumers donate.
For each of its four annual fundraising campaigns (which take place in April, June, August and October), Canada Safeway tops up donations by $100,000. This year's campaigns brought in an average of $1.5 million each, which means Canada Safeway's top-up was about 7 per cent.
Indigo's Love of Reading Foundation meets Mr. Blumberg's matching standard. Last year, it received 41 per cent of donations from customers and 54 per cent from its parent corporation: Indigo Books & Music.
Instead of partnering with a major charity, Indigo started its own registered foundation, which functions as a separate entity. At some stores, clerks ask for a flat donation of $5 or $10; others ask customers if they'd like to round up their order and donate the extra dollars to the program.
Ms. Armstrong says she's in the giving spirit during the holidays, but points out that after paying a few hundred dollars for a purchase at the checkout, she isn't thrilled by the idea of being hounded for more money - especially when she feels so disconnected from the charity in question.
"At a time of year when families are incurring more expenses … I find it may annoy people more," she says.
Dakshana Bascaramurty