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The 92 checkout campaigns tracked during 2024 generated an average donation of $1.13 per completed interaction. Small change, perhaps, but it added up. During 2024, the total raised surpassed $275 million, according to a new report.
Around 40% of the campaigns – 37 individual efforts – pulled in more than $500,000. Two nonprofits — CMN Hospitals and Feeding America — were the most significant beneficiaries. Five retailers — PetSmart, Taco Bell and Walmart supporting CMN Hospitals and Petco Love and Walmart boosting Feeding America — pulled in $190.6 million, per America’s Charity Checkout Champions: Small Prompts. Big Impact.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the nature of the participating retailers, animal-related causes generated the highest contributions total, at right around $78 million. Other high-ranking causes included mental and physical health, which pulled in $69 million, food security and hunger ($36 million) and disaster and crisis relief ($18 million).
The 2025 edition of the report marks the seventh biennial edition of the research. This year, Engage for Good reported several trends regarding checkout campaigns. For instance, set-dollar amounts showcased their effectiveness. During 2024, campaigns that asked shoppers to donate $1, $3 or $5 raised tends of millions of dollars. According to the report authors, the results proved “…people are willing to give beyond just rounding up. While round-up dentations have dominated the conversation, our researched shows that when the message is simple and the impact is clear, people will give.”
One reason why set-dollar amounts might be more effective is they require less thinking on the part of the shopper. A round-up request requires the shopper to stop, figure the math and make a decision. A request for a simple dollar amount, even if that dollar amount is more than what a round-up ask would be, doesn’t require a break in action (such as loading up a shopping bag). All the shopper needs to do is push an on-screen button.
If making donating easier for the customer is step one, increasing the complexity of the retailer-nonprofit relationship is step two. Fundraising increased when nonprofits provided messaging toolkits that clearly articulated the campaign’s impact, marketing assets such as social media content, in-store signage and other creative and retailer employee support plans.
The benefits of increased collaboration were not one-sided. When there was greater collaboration, retailers reported positive brand identity for themselves, along with a sales lift during campaigns, according to 25% of the participating companies.
Nonprofit leaders are becoming more sophisticated in what they might yield from these campaigns. In addition to the funds, nonprofit coordinators are requesting earlier planning, increased visibility and better access to campaign performance data.
Other findings included:
* A sense of urgency prompted by shorter, timely campaigns yielded stronger results than more nebulous efforts.
* Campaigns rooted in current events, seasonal moments, or immediate needs such as disaster relief boosted fundraising.
* Campaigns aligned with cultural moments such as Black History Month, Gay Pride Month or Women’s History Month saw strong engagement.
* Causes or nonprofits local to where shoppers live or work are gaining momentum as funding recipients.
The next growth area for checkout campaigns might involve incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Currently, 88% of companies do not use AI in their checkout giving strategies, and none used personal or dynamic donation prompts, such as recognizing shoppers or basing asks on previous shopping or other demographic information, if the shopper belonged to a loyalty program. Fewer than 5% of retailers even mentioned exploring AI assistance in campaign optimization, content creation or donor segmentation.
A full copy of the report is available here: https://engageforgood.com/meet-americas-charity-checkout-champions-2025/
