December 11, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Thirteen banks have offered to encourage consumers to make a one-cent donation to United Way of America every time they use a charge or debit card.
Under the effort announced today, called Pennies for Change, people who use cards from the 13 banks in the program can opt to be charged an additional penny for every transaction they make. The banks and credit unions will pass the donations to United Way of America every month.
“It’s designed to be one of the simplest giving programs ever created,” said Alex Sanchez, senior vice president for community impact at United Way of America.
The United Way does not expect to raise much money this year, but hopes to eventually bring in as much as $40-million annually, as more banks are added and more customers hear about the program, Mr. Sanchez said. Consumers make 40 billion credit and debit card transactions a year in the United States, he said.
The United Way deliberately kept the per-transaction charge very small to attract as many donors as possible, and to ensure that the donations would not cause them to reduce their other charitable gifts, such as those made to local United Ways through annual payroll-deduction programs, Mr. Sanchez said.
“We tested the idea of giving a percentage, or other amount,” he said. “We found a penny won’t change other giving in any way.”
All of the money donated to United Way of America will be spent on programs that benefit the cities and towns where the money is raised. Fifty-five percent will be sent directly to United Ways in the region served by the bank, Mr. Sanchez says, while the remaining 45 percent will go to United Way of America where it will be used to develop or expand programs that can be adopted by local United Ways.
