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Customer Giving
How-To Guide
RestoringVision is partnering with companies to increase customer giving at the point-of-sale, including in-store, online, at the self-checkout or via an app.
Our customer giving partnership with National Vision, Inc. has successfully accelerated their social impact over the last two years by engaging their customer base as a partner in solving the global vision crisis.
Here, we provide you with 3 reasons why helping to solve the vision crisis by initiating corporate social responsibility and customer fundraising is good for business, along with 8 simple steps you can take to engage your company in customer giving today!
Why this cause.
Working to end the global vision crisis is a cause that is authentic to the optical sector’s core products and therefore well received by consumers.
1 billion people suffer from uncorrected vision impairments and 91% need eyeglasses to correct their vision. (WHO World Report on Vision)
It changes lives: customer giving and your efforts will give the gift of sight to people without access to vision screenings and eyeglasses worldwide. It takes all of us!
Why CSR at all: being a force for good with your customers is good for business.
- Now more than ever, customers expect companies to lead with purpose and are rewarding companies that do. 75% of US-based customers believe companies must do more than just make money, they must positively impact society as well. 69% say they are less likely to support companies that are clearly only in the business of making money. (Porter Novelli Premium Index)
- Employee retention and satisfaction are deeply tied to an employer’s corporate social responsibility programs. 69% of people say having a societal impact is a strong expectation or deal breaker when considering a job. (Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer) The retail industry sees a 60% reduction in staff turnover for employees with a tenure of 2.5 years or less when they are engaged in their company’s social purpose efforts. (Benevity’s Talent Retention Study)
- A company’s overall annual performance improves when they engage in social purpose programs. Brands with a purpose set on improving our quality of life outperform the stock market by an astounding 120%. (Interbrand’s Best Global Brands)
Why point-of-sale fundraising:
customer fundraising can accelerate impact.
You are in good company. In 2020, over $605 million was raised by 76 retail point-of-sale fundraising campaigns. And that’s just programs that raised $1 million or more! (Charity Checkout Champions Report)
Consumers have embraced point-of-sale fundraising as part of the retail experience. 79% of consumers like or feel neutral about being asked to give at the register. (2022 CMN Hospitals POS Study)
Allowing customers to feel heroic increases loyalty, and matching donations boosts giving. 84% surveyed say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered. (The Big-Give Research Initiative)
Case study: what did customer giving look like at National Vision, Inc. and was it successful?
Communications at the point-of-sale:
In 2022, from pilot to scaling to all stores:
- Donations were added to more than 575,000 customer transactions at the register.
- Customers and patients donated more than $1.4 million at the register.
How do you get there?
Take 8 steps to change the world.
1. Connect to a Nonprofit Entity or Utilize Your Own Foundation
- If you do not have your own foundation, determine which 501c3 nonprofit partner, like RestoringVision, you will partner with to add credibility to your customer fundraising and that already has the infrastructure to accept donations and use those funds to get resources to those in need.
- Resources: ACCP, CECP, Benevity
2. Legal and Compliance: Complete Charitable Registrations as Needed
- Legal compliance or state registration can seem daunting, but with the right legal resources, it can be easy to navigate and integrate.
- Companies like Perlman & Perlman, LLC, Labyrinth and Cogency Global are excellent resources.
3. Finance: Coordinate with Your Finance Department
Set up your financial infrastructure to ensure charitable donations completed at the point-of-sale are properly identified, held, and dispersed either to your foundation or to your nonprofit partner.
4. Technology: Engage Your IT Department to Adapt Your POS and Merchant Account Systems
- Your tech team may need to engage to adapt systems as necessary to ensure the right connectivity. The goal is a positive experience for the customer while donating either online, in-store, at the self-checkout, or through your app.
- Options include but are not limited to:
- A donation round-up
- A donation amount ($1, $3, $5, or $10 for example)
- Other options/amounts that work better for your customer journey
- Include your nonprofit partner’s name, logo, and mission if possible, for transparency and to motivate giving.
5. Retail Operations Launch: Inspire Your Employees
Formalize a kick-off to inspire employees around your customer giving campaign and get them excited to engage, including things like participation incentives, store captains, store-by-store competitions, inspirational videos from the nonprofit about those being impacted, fact sheets about the cause/nonprofit beneficiary to answer customer questions, inspirational signage in breakrooms or on the intranet, and more. Get creative!
6. Marketing: Get Loud and Proud
- Collaborate with your marketing department to communicate externally to customers and the public that you are launching a social impact campaign with the goal of addressing the global vision crisis with their participation.
- Create and implement signage aimed at informing and engaging customers at the pin pad, at store entrances, and any other appropriate real estate online, at your self-checkouts, while using your apps, or in your retail outlets.
- Don’t forget to create a marketing plan to thank your customers across multiple platforms once the campaign is completed. It’s important to thank them for their generosity and inform them of the impact of their collective donations on the cause.
7. Launch Your Campaign!
Now that your staff is trained and excited and you have engaged in external marketing to the public, launch your campaign with enthusiasm! For employees, a special kickoff note from your CEO (and store manager) to thank them for their excitement and involvement will inspire success.
8. Track Your Success
Collect data on engagement stats, overall and average giving, and mission impact to not only strengthen your next customer giving campaign, but to have the measurement you need for your social good and ESG reporting.
The world needs more vision champions.
Millions of people in communities around the world are struggling with blurry vision – a solvable problem. Restoring vision for people in impoverished communities means creating the resources to simply provide them with a vision screening and a pair of eyeglasses, restoring their ability to work, advance their educations, wages, and so much more. A pair of eyeglasses provide freedom, hope, and opportunity. Your customers and employees can be the vision champions for people in need today.
More resources.
Engage for Good:
Point of Sale Fundraising
Porter Novelli:
Purpose Premium Index
Edelman:
2023 Trust Barometer
Benevity Labs:
The State of Social Purpose 2022
Ace Hardware:
Ace Foundation raises $20.8M in 2021 for charitable partners
