Round-Up Donations: How Store Apps Let You Give for Free
See which store apps round up your total and which fund charity gifts at no added cost to you.
Round-up donations let you give through a store app, either with your spare change or with company money at no added cost to you. A checkout round-up is a point-of-sale gift where your total rounds to the next dollar and the difference goes to a nonprofit. A spare-change gift adds cents from your payment.
A store-funded gift directs company money based on your choice. Knowing the difference helps you pick the right setting.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 02, 2026.
How spare change becomes a donation
According to Walmart's Spark Good FAQs, Walmart.com and Walmart app customers can round their total to the nearest dollar and donate the change to a chosen nonprofit or NCES school. You choose the recipient once, then the extra cents attach to checkout. The amount is small on one trip.
It grows when you leave the setting on across trips.
Where giving costs you nothing extra
According to Kroger's Community Rewards page, shoppers link a Shopper's Card to a chosen organization, then Kroger donates annually based on the member's share of participating spending at no added cost to the shopper. You shop as usual and Kroger funds the gift. According to Target's community giving update, Target Circle members earn one vote per eligible Target trip and cast votes in the app or at target.com/circle to direct Target-funded grants to local nonprofits by vote share.
Your votes steer company grants, not your payment.
- Link one Shopper's Card to one organization for Kroger gifts.
- Earn votes from eligible Target trips, then cast them for local nonprofits.
- Use store-funded choices first if you want no checkout increase.
What should you verify before you tap yes
According to the FTC's giving-portals guidance, online giving portals should clearly disclose how donated money is allocated and who distributes it. That disclosure lets you verify the store or platform passes funds to the named charity. Read the checkout prompt and linked terms before giving.
Look for the recipient name, the amount, and the distributor. Skip prompts that hide those details.
How to keep round-ups simple
Pick one cause for each app and leave it set. Review the choice when your store, school, or nonprofit preference changes. Turn spare-change giving on only when small increases fit your budget.
Check your app choice before your next pickup or delivery order.