To not want to give to charities at the checkout or on the street.

No. Corporations do this so they can use customers' donations as a tax write off.

If approached in the street, I usually say something like,

"Oh no thanks, I'm saving to buy a penguin for the South Atlantic. They're running out of icebergs, you know. A penguin only costs £4 a month. I don't know why everyone doesn't do it. You can give it a name and everything. I'm going to call mine Feathers McGraw - unless that name has already been taken."

And then I move swiftly on...

Yup, that's their deliberate MO in being there and soliciting donations in that way.

Never mind if you don't want to give to that particular charity or you simply don't have any spare money, the 'solution' is to just hand over your cash anyway.

True charitable giving is made out if an active choice; not because you're deliberately made to feel awkward if you don't.

@DalzielOrNoDalzielAndDontPascoe I didn't mean Google it then and there while you're at the till paying 😂
Just if you are curious and want to know more just look it up later.
If you don't want to - you don't have to.
Oh and the staff really won't care if you say "no".

TBH now it's so common I don't feel bad about hitting no. I would imagine the assistant is used to people not donating and wouldn't think much of it.

Anyone work in a shop and want to tell us what proportion of people hit yes? I can't imagine it's that high.

It's still underhand to me. Why should people hold up the queue to research a request for a donation in an obviously inconvenient setting (assuming they have a smartphone which many elderly people don't) or otherwise have to press a button to decline?

Why can they not simply have a separate screen that tells you what the charity is and then asks you to donate if you'd like to, without making you unable to complete your transaction without responding?

I think it's actually a legal requirement when fundraising for a charity to display the name and registered charity number. And supermarkets will know this. Maybe it fell off that particular check out or something.

The ones in the street are salesmen. They're not volunteers. They get paid a percentage of their takings. In fact most legit charities no longer use 'chuggers' so they are more likely shady CICs.

The ones at the checkout if it's through a retailer must be legit. But I wouldn't be donating. I simply do not have a shred of disposable income.

If I was a multimillionaire I'd still have to refuse some of them else I'd be broke by next week!

@DalzielOrNoDalzielAndDontPascoe all the shops I go that support a charity has a sign with the name and charity number on the counter next to the tills.

Also I don’t feel guilty saying no, I often tell them I donate by shopping a lot in charity shops and donating items there too.

@DalzielOrNoDalzielAndDontPascoe a lot of cashiers and assistants will seemingly take it personally and judge if customers don't donate.

Really? Spotty youths on a minimum wage take personal offence, do they?

I hate it too and I hate even more when restaurants and hotels add a donation to my bill that I then need to ask to have removed, or reluctantly donate to a charity I don't support without even the benefit of gift aid. I'll be the judge of where my money goes thanks.

I don't give at the checkout or to charities on planes etc. as it annoys me that they will then brag about the amount they've given that year to charity and it's not their money so I'd rather donate independently.

what happened to the tokens you used to get in supermarkets to vote which local charity would benefit. I think the physical and visual aspect made it more tangible and motivating. You could combine that with the request to round up?

But they're still hoping to cash in by default, inertia or confusion rather than honestly asking for free donations from those who want to give.

There's nothing at all stopping them from putting up a sign giving the name of the nominated charity and inviting donations - rather than just relying on staff remembering to press 'No' every time and/or customers pressing the wrong buttons or feeling mean not doing so.

They're in the middle of an authorised transaction they're happy to make, so if they see a green button and a red button and are being asked to press one of them, many people would interpret that as green to confirm all OK or red only if there's a problem - especially if they have poor eyesight or don't speak English as a first language.

Also, you may not care if they give or not, but (as in the OP), a lot of cashiers and assistants will seemingly take it personally and judge if customers don't donate.

Nope, I find your attitude objectionable. Especially about mother's not feeding their babies in war zones. What the actual fuck.

Yes I have found that people who say charity starts at home are usually hypocrites. Maybe reform voters as well.

Giving brings people joy. You don't have to give. You can walk by. If you can't afford to give then don't. It's not difficult.

I quite firmly say "No thank you, I already donate regularly to my favourite charities and cannot afford any more".

@Haroldwilson many retailers do give support in other ways.
Sometimes they sponsor a local football team. Food shops donate to food banks/community fridges. Clothes shops sometimes donate unsold clothes.
Remember those vouchers we used to get from the supermarket for sports/art/books for primary schools. That's the retailers funding that.

Here's an idea: try donating instead

'I think the complaints about the decline in the use of cash are a red herring. There's nothing whatsoever stopping supermarkets or other premises having a sign on the wall, next to a card terminal where you can contactlessly donate either a set amount or the amount of your choice, should you want to, or otherwise walk right on by if you don't want to.'

@DalzielOrNoDalzielAndDontPascoe

Well, for a start there's the wiring and cleaning and WiFi and maintenance etc needed for a terminal.

The risk assessments for someone bashing into it.

And it would require a supermarket to commit to a long term partnership with one given charity to make the cost of installing it worthwhile.

What you're saying is you want charities to spend money installing something so you can ignore them without feeling guilty about it.

Don't feel guilty. Just say no if you don't want to. Why is the request somehow a terrible intrusion?

We’re asked to donate to war torn countries, and I see the poor little babies and children half starved in terrible conditions and the mother holding the child is looking far from underfed!
I've read some appalling comments on MN, but this is just ignorant.

@DalzielOrNoDalzielAndDontPascoe out of curiosity I went onto Poundland's website to see what the charity they support is now (as I mentioned it upthread).
It actually called the Poundland Foundation.
I then googled the website for that and it tells you what they do.
That took all of 2 minutes.
You have 2 choices if asked if you want to donate....
1 - say "no"
2 - ask what the charity is and if you want more information google it.