CHICAGO – Last year, 77 of the country’s most elite retailers and restaurants successfully raised more than $1 million each, for a total of more than $388 million in point-of-sale donations, according to the Cause Marketing Forum. Convenience retailers ranked among the top retailers that support checkout charity campaigns in 2014, according to the report, which also indicates that the top beneficiaries of charitable donations in 2012 were children’s health charities, as has been the case for several years.

“At cash registers and online, companies and consumers are banding together to raise tremendous amounts of money for good causes,” said David Hessekiel, president of Cause Marketing Forum Inc., the leading authority on business initiatives designed to do well by doing good. “We expect companies will raise significantly more in the next couple of years by better integrating technology, deepening employee engagement and working more closely with nonprofit partners."

The largest in-store campaigns in 2014 were Walmart and Sam’s Club’s Miracle Balloon program to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which raised $40 million. McDonald’s restaurants raised $27.1 million over the course of the year for their Ronald McDonald House Charities.

As stated above, convenience retailers ranked among the top retailers that support checkout charity campaigns in 2014, according to the report:

• Speedway has donated $68 million over the past 24 years and raised $7.8 million last year.
• Corner Stores donated approximately $1.8 million each to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Muscular Dystrophy Association and has raised more than $45 million for those causes since they began their charity campaigns.
• Stripes raised approximately $1.2 million each to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
• Circle K donated $1.3 million to the American Red Cross and $1 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
• Love’s Travel Stops Country Stores donated $2.4 million to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and more than $12 million over the past 15 years.

According to NACS data, 78% of NACS member companies support five or more charities in their communities, and 83% have been involved in charitable giving for more than 10 years. Thank you to all convenience retailers who do such good work for philanthropic causes!