If you're a regular at Falletti Foods on Broderick Street, chances are that you've been handed a wooden $0.05 chip when checking out. The chips are handed to those customers who either don't need a bag, or have brought their own. Drop the chip into one of four donation boxes as you leave the shop, and voila—a feel-good bonus to your shopping experience.
But while dropping a donation chip in a charity's box might feel good, we were curious about how effective the practice actually is. Does $0.05 per customer really add up to any significant amount? We reached out to Falletti for more information, and as it turns out, the answer is yes. Since Falletti began the donation program in 2013, it has raised over $36,000 for citywide charities.
At any time, Falletti offers four charities for customers to choose from. Organizations are rotated out every four months, and lots of thought is given to which ones make the cut.
"We like to focus on smaller, local charities," says Dominic Falletti, whose grandfather founded the grocery. "By choosing them, we feel our donations can do more direct good for those who live around our store."
The amount each individual organization receives varies, based on customer popularity, but each averages about $850 over a four-month run.
The earnings are not just dependent on chips—cash donations are taken as well." Although the program is designed around the chips, we often find people have slipped cash into the slots as well," Dominic Falletti told us. Sometimes, employees will find $20 bills in the boxes, which they then add on to that charity's donation tally.
So which charities perform best? It fluctuates. Muttville and Wonder Dog Rescue both performed well recently, and animal rescues generally come in towards the top. But it's not just the cause that catches customers' eyes—it's also the presentation of the small paper placard at each box. "Once or twice we have reached out to charities that weren't performing well to redo their cards, and found they caught up substantially," Falletti said.
One of the recent neighborhood charities to receive funds from Falletti's program was the Hamilton Family Center, which has a location a few blocks away from Falletti on Hayes Street.
"Not only does the generosity from Community Partners like Falletti’s make a direct impact on supporting our work to end family homelessness, but it builds our community, creating an even greater impact through a snowball effect of giving," said Nicolle Gameiro, Senior Development Associate at Hamilton Family Center.
"Last week, we received a donation from a new individual. When asked how she heard about us, she said that after learning about Hamilton through the bag chip program, she was inspired to make a donation directly to us—and even arranged for an additional donation through her employer matching program!"
The current lineup of nonprofits featured at Falletti are the Haight Ashbury Food Program, The Children's Book Project, Clausen House and Family Dog Rescue. A new round of charities will be chosen in May, with donations running from June through September.
If you have a suggestion for a charity (particularly one in the neighborhood) that would benefit from Falletti's program, email them at Charity [at] FallettiFoods [dot} com.
"It is always humbling to learn of undiscovered organizations doing good, often within blocks of the store," Dominic Falletti told us. "We like being ambassadors for the charities, spreading their good works to those who can support or utilize them well after we've introduced a new set of organizations."
