What is Embedded Giving?
Embedded giving is a form of charitable donation in which an act of philanthropy is built into a larger financial transaction. There are a number of ways in which embedded giving can work; proponents of the practice claims that it makes charitable donations easier for people, encouraging people to donate to a wide range of causes. However, opponents of embedded giving have pointed out that it is difficult to track, and in some cases may actually be a scam designed to make a company look good while also allowing it to quietly turn a profit from other people’s good intentions. You may have seen an example of the most common form of embedded giving; many grocery stores encourage customers to add a small sum to their bills to help local causes, ranging from food banks to battered women’s funds. Other stores offer tokens to people who bring their own bags; the tokens can be dropped into containers which represent various charities, and the store claims to add up the tokens monthly, donating
