For decades, retailers have had charity donation jars at checkout points, giving customers the option to quickly support a helpful organization with the change from their purchase. Now Lyft is looking to apply that same model to ridesharing, by letting passengers round up their fares with the extra money going to non-profit groups. [More]
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Lyft Adding Option To Let Passengers Round Up Their Fares For Charity Donations
By 3.27.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Girl Scout Troop Challenges Pot Dispensary In The Name Of Charity
By 3.10.17
Remember a few years ago when Girl Scouts in San Francisco made headlines for the obviously brilliant move of selling cookies in front of a marijuana dispensary? They’re still allies, and this year, the girls threw down the gauntlet in a charity duel. [More]
Apple Pay Will Now Let Users Donate To Charitable Organizations
By 11.14.16
As we head into the holidays, giving to charitable organizations might be something you’re thinking about. You’ll have another option for how you can do that, with Apple announcing today that Apple Pay now supports donations to non-profits. [More]
Americans Give More Than $1B To Charity Every Day
By 6.14.16
Usually, the stories we come across that deal with large amounts of money often detail the exchange of millions or billions of dollars between huge companies in mega-mergers and pricy business deals. But there are others shelling out cash every day, and they’re giving it to charitable organizations to the record-breaking tune of $1 billion per day. [More]
Telemarketer Tricked People Into Believing They Were Buying Cleaning Products To Help Disabled
By 6.9.16
Research has shown that shoppers may be more likely to purchase a particular product if they know that some of their money is going to a worthy cause, and some folks will take advantage of this tendency to trick people into purchasing thousands of dollars in household cleaning products under the guise of helping the disabled. [More]
Nice Person In Maine Taping Coats To Light Poles In Campaign To Help Keep Needy People Warm
By 12.1.15
Quite often at Consumerist, we hear stories that involve negative situations or feature consumers doing bad things. So when we read about people out there doing nice things for each other, we like to take note. To wit: a woman in Maine has started a campaign to help make sure all residents are dressed warmly against the cold this winter, by taping coats to light poles around town. [More]
Anonymous Donors Leave $500,000 Check In Minnesota Salvation Army Kettle
By 11.30.15
Anonymous donors in Minnesota’s Twin Cities were certainly in the giving mood over the weekend, slipping a $500,000 check into a Salvation Army kettle. Unsurprisingly, it’s snagged the record for the area’s biggest kettle donation to date. [More]
Group Must Pay $700K Penalty For Allegedly Profiting From ‘Charity’ Donation Bins
By 10.29.15
How do you turn a charitable donation into a scam? Take the donated item and sell it for a profit, instead of giving it to the needy. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office has reached a settlement with a for-profit company accused of doing just that, by way of more than 1,100 clothing donation bins scattered throughout the New York City area. [More]
Police: Pennsylvania Woman Faked Cancer For Two Years To Scam Thousands In Donations
By 8.12.15
Any scam that takes money from unsuspecting folks is bad, of course, but those that prey on people trying to help those in need seem to leave an extra nasty taste in the mouth: police in Pennsylvania say one woman took advantage of the kindness of others by pretending she had cancer for two years, allegedly raking in thousands of dollars in donations. [More]
New York Sues Leukemia “Charity” For Allegedly Raising $10 Million Through Deception
By 7.21.15
Most of us understand that not every dollar given to a charity is going directly to the people or causes that the charitable organization supports, but when the charity tells lies about how your money will be spent and instead wastes nearly every penny on enriching a handful of employees, a line is crossed. [More]
$14M Slots Jackpot Win Is All Going To Charity, Says Awesome Human Being
By 12.1.14
A fountain of liquid cheddar, burbling in a green and gold garden, wherein Aaron Rodgers awaits, ready with all the fondue fixings a heart could desire and the collector’s edition of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy all cued up and ready to go — that’s what I’d go for if I had $14 million. But alas, I am not the lucky gambler in Las Vegas who spent $20 and won a slot machine jackpot. Nope, he’s giving all his newly-won loot to charity. [More]
A Friendly Reminder: Check Furniture For Cats Before Donating It To Charity
By 4.3.14
It is a very good thing to donate to the charity of your choice. But unless that charity is looking for a furry friend, it’s best to check all donated items for the presence of your cat, especially if he has an affinity for hiding in places like say, that old couch you don’t want anymore. [More]
Thousands Of People Posting Makeup-Free Selfies Are Donating To The Wrong Charity
By 3.26.14
You might’ve seen British pals on social media posting selifes of themselves wearing no makeup with the hashtag #nomakeupselfie, as part of an effort to donate funds to Cancer Research UK. But a new report says many of those good intentions are going to UNICEF instead — or to polar bear adoptions — due to a texting mixup. [More]
What Happens If You Donate Your Car, Then Someone Steals It?
By 1.13.14
Let’s say that you have a clunker of a car that won’t sell for very much money, and there’s a charity you’d like to support. You hand over the car, they take care of selling it, and you get a charitable tax deduction. Seems delightfully simple…until someone steals your car off the lot where the charity was storing it until auction. [More]
Gillette Auctioning Off “Beard Balls” — Bundles Of Players’ Discarded Facial Hair — For Charity
By 11.21.13
We know what that hollow, empty feeling in the center of your chest is. You’re feeling bereft because you don’t own bundles of discarded facial hair, which previously resided on professional baseball players’ faces. It’s your lucky day, since Gillette has decided it’s a great idea to auction off shavings it’s dubbed “beard balls” from Boston Red Sox players David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Shane Victorino. It’s all for charity, but eww. [More]
McDonald’s Criticized For Using Ronald McDonald House For Cheap Publicity
By 10.30.13
A new report attempts to change the public perception of McDonald’s connection to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, claiming the fast food giant wraps itself in the good work done by the Houses while only providing a small percentage of the organizations’ funding. [More]
Worst Charities In America Give Charities A Bad Name
By 6.11.13 — Updated: 6.14.13
We might be experts on who the Worst Company in America is, but what about the worst charities in America? The Tampa Bay Times and the The Center for Investigative Reporting crunched on a bunch of data and figured out which American charities actually give the smallest proportion of their income out in cash aid. [More]
Oklahoma Tornado Survivors Need Your Help, Scammers Don’t
By 5.22.13
24 people are confirmed dead, and many are still missing after a massive tornado destroyed homes and lives outside of Oklahoma City. Don’t let yourself become an indirect victim of the natural disaster by giving money to a fake charity or social media account set up to take advantage of well-meaning and generous people who want to help. [More]
