When it comes to fundraising, you can’t beat doing it on ‘big’ fast-food days like Wednesday and Thursday.
By Craig Allan, Business Manager
Donating to charity is a good thing, and these companies do deserve some credit for helping out charities in need, but one cannot overlook the feeling that these charitable donations often come across as very self-serving.
On September 22, McDonald’s will be having their annual charity day where a portion of the proceeds will be going to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. Seeing as this charity is named after the companies famed mascot Ronald McDonald, it must have a close meaning to them. That is why they are doing it on the busy day of Wednesday, September 22. This does bring up an interesting question though. If McDonald’s really wanted to raise money for this charity, why are they only raising money on Wednesday, a day that does not feel like it would be as busy as say a Friday or Saturday?
This is one of the main issues of charitable giving by companies. It feels less like they are wanting to do good, and more like they are wanting to boost their sales on what would normally be a slow day. McDonald’s is not the only company that does charities like this. In July, White Spot and Triple O locations did a charity drive where two dollars from every burger sold would go towards fighting the wildfires in the interior. This event also took place on the busy burger selling day of Thursday, July 29. This is even more inflated by the fact that they are only giving a portion of the profits and not the whole profit. Donating to charity is a good thing, and these companies do deserve some credit for helping out charities in need, but one cannot overlook the feeling that these charitable donations often come across as very self-serving.
There are other businesses like Tim Hortons, who offer a few days to help charities; but for that, you have to buy one of their smile cookies. Yes, one hundred percent of the proceeds go towards charities chosen by the franchise owners, but the amount of money seems a little paltry considering these cookies are not that expensive and are not as well known or established as their coffee or donut offerings. Also, doing this charity drive at this time could be due to Tim Hortons realizing that this week is a slower week for the company. It is a cynical way to look at it, but it does not feel out of place.
If these companies want to show that they care about causes, why do it by asking us for money? Why not just donate to the charity themselves? No spin, no proceeds. Just a straight donation on behalf of the company. Surely they have the money to do so, it just takes the will.
