The Season of Charitable Consumption

: Image via Wikipedia

More like the season of buying stuff that you don’t want in order to appear charitable. But is it generosity, guilt or something else that drives this giving? Did you really need that 3lb tub of cookie dough or gallon size tin of kettle corn that your coworkers were selling for their kid’s school fundraiser? Did you buy out of obligation or to invest social capital which you’ll redeem for your kid’s soccer team’s candy bar sale next month?

This and NPR’s story, ‘Selfish’ Giving: Does It Count If You Get In Return?, are the impetus for this post.

I would love to help your kid’s school buy new textbooks, offset the costs of a trip to Washington, DC or provide the soccer team with new uniforms. Since I don’t want anything in return, I am not willing to buy something that I don’t want. I’d be happier to just give you the portion of the proceeds of the purchase designated to the cause. What could it be, $1, $2, or even $3? I have a better idea.

Affiliate Aggregation

WBUR sort of does this when they ask you to “start your Amazon search” from their website. As an Amazon affiliate, a percentage of your purchase of the Twilight Series, a Digital Camera or a Kindle is paid to WBUR. They didn’t try to sell you any of these things. You bought them on your own while also supporting something that you care about. One way they are trying to increase membership is by partnering with Azigo, which will alert you of member discounts while you are surfing the web.

eScrip is one of several companies that run school or group fundraisers. They have hundreds of retail affiliates offering cash-back on purchases to your charity.

Combining Azigo’s tools and eScrips affiliate channels, a charity could allow me to donate to their cause by buying anything I want from wherever I want.

Given our post-crisis consumer behavior, this is bound to be a more effective way of fundraising through charitable consumption. Consider this, 10% commission on a Kindle is $26. That’s quite a few tubs of cookie dough.