Public: Charity: Small Change
Vending Machines for Charity   (+3)  [vote for, against]
For the price of a can of soda...

Fill vending machines with Donation Cards instead of Candy at various levels. You can put your spare change in the machine, and Save the Whales, Feed the Poor, or Protect Your Constitutional Right to Bear Arms, just by pressing B1, C3, or D7...

A Clearinghouse Charity empties the machines and keeps records. And you can keep the cards, and deduct them from your income Tax (in the US, Your mileage may vary)...
-- dbsousa, Jan 30 2003

Anti-Lottery http://www.halfbake.../The_20Anti-Lottery
A companion to the Vending Machine for Charity [dbsousa, Oct 21 2004]

Automat for the People http://www.halfbake...0for_20the_20People
Is this the contrapositive of the above idea? [dbsousa, Oct 21 2004]

can i donate to the disabled snickers fund? and receive a chocolate bar as reward?
-- sambwiches, Jan 30 2003


seriously, though, good idea.
-- sambwiches, Jan 30 2003


I like this idea, I don’t always have 10, 20, 50, or 100 dollars to give to charities that I would like support, but I almost always have a handful of change (+).
-- Isis, Jan 30 2003


[sam] you can go back to your annotation to add something. click edit. I do it all the time to edit my spelling mistakes.

sp. sandwiches? shirley. .
-- po, Jan 30 2003


duly noted, po. but don't call me shirley.
-- sambwiches, Jan 30 2003


sam - its an affectation thing..believe me,,,
-- po, Jan 30 2003


In a lot of European airports' arrival terminals there are collection containers for leaving foreign currency to good causes, probably not so well-filled after the euro introduction. +
-- FarmerJohn, Jan 31 2003


Im totally down with this idea. Zero
-- Zeroreverb7, Jan 31 2003


Some CoinStar machine offer this. Just toss in all your change and it will tally it up and submit it to the charity of your choice (among those listed, which unfortunately have not to date included any charities I actually wanted to support).
-- supercat, Mar 07 2003


I can just see it now...

CHOOSE one from Your FAVORITE charities!
[] War Fund
[] Abolish Same Sex Unions
[] Subsidize Big Business
[] Right Wing Candidate Campain Fund
-- snarfyguy, Mar 07 2003


That doesn't make sense. Why would they loiter at these vending machines as opposed to any other vending machines?
-- snarfyguy, Mar 07 2003


Ah, so.
-- snarfyguy, Mar 08 2003


Generally, I don't see a lot of Vending machines in places where street people congregate. They tend to be inside office buildings, cafeterias, and schools. It gives me an idea though. Check back for a link...
-- dbsousa, Mar 08 2003


Essentially baked. gumball machines with proceeds to March of Dimes etc. are not uncommon.
-- belg4mit, May 06 2003


Variation on the theme: a standard vending machine that dispenses what you want, but gives you the option of donating the change to the charity of your choice. This machine would only accept quarters and dollar coins. Prices are odd, ie. 73 cents, 92 cents, etc.
-- Cedar Park, May 06 2003


Belg4mit, there are three differences between this idea and your annotation.

1. There is no tangible product in these machines. Other than a donor card 2. You have a choice of charities. 3. You get a reciept for your charitable donations.

Cedar Park, I like that idea better than my own! I think you could mix and match these and offer twinkies, gum, and an opportunity to save the whales in the same machine...
-- dbsousa, May 06 2003


I love this.
-- Maeve, May 06 2003


If you love it so much go use the internet as you clearly have access to it and donate. In the mean time I would prefer if the vending machines integrated a bit with the ones in the WC and started selling useful stuff like tampons, condoms and clean shirts and small packs of tissue paper.
-- PainOCommonSense, Mar 30 2004


Some charities give you a badge or sticker when you make a donation (it's more like they sell the badges, but you know what I mean). Maybe the vending machines could dispense stickers for small donations, and badges for larger ones - nice, small, non-perishable items.
-- Detly, Mar 30 2004



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