Often, while checking out at a store I’m asked, “Would you like to donate a dollar to ______?”

For the longest time, I said “yes” to almost every one because I felt too bad to say “no” and I truly want to help everyone…until I realized I was donating a small fortune each year, so I stopped (for the most part).

However, while at Kroger last week, I said “yes”…because I found their strategy to be incredibly smart (and they really sold me). And for that reason, I’d like to highlight it in this post.

Instead of donating a dollar, I was asked if I wanted to round my change up to the nearest dollar and donate it. Amazingly simple concept yet so ingenious!

If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant business, you know people *LOVE* whole numbers. How many times have you gotten a tip of $5.32???

Plus, a dollar can sometimes seem like a lot, whereas $.57 might be a little easier to give up.

So while each person actually donates less than a dollar, I’m assuming that more people agree to donate…and thus, more money for the charity! Love it!

So visit your nearest Kroger and “round up”! Did I mention the money is going to help the victims in Haiti? Great cause, great strategy. Well done, Kroger!

If you live in Knoxville or plan to visit the area on Thursday, September 10, I encourage you all to check out Knoxville Twestival! It’s only $25 to attend and it’s sure to be a good time! PLUS, all ticket sales will be donated to the Salvation Army of Knoxville!

As many of you know, I’m heavily involved with the first annual Knoxville Twestival on September 10, 2009. So far, we’ve gotten a lot of great charity submissions, but we’re still taking more (until Friday, August 7 at 11:59pm)…so please get yours in if you’re interested in being the beneficiary charity of this big event!

What’s Twestival? Well…Knoxville Twestival is part of a charitable event taking place in communities all around the world. Twestival uses the power of the local Twitterverse to encourage community members to come out in person to a fun event to be held in Knoxville on September 10, 2009, and to donate money to a designated local charity.

Knoxville-area, non-profit organizations interested in benefiting from the event should tell us why your charity should be chosen as the designated charity for this year’s Knoxville Twestival. The first 100 entries received by Friday, August 7 (at 11:59pm) will be published on the Knoxville Twestival blog on Saturday, August 8, where readers will be able to vote for their favorite charity. On August 11, Twestival organizers will choose one winner among the top three vote-getters.

As soon as the winning charity is announced, our Twitter-powered fundraising will begin on that organization’s behalf, culminating in the September 10 Knoxville Twestival event.

We haven’t announced the event details yet, but I can promise it’ll be an awesome event you won’t want to miss!

For more information, check out the Knoxville Twestival homepage!

Did I mention we’re also looking for sponsors and volunteers? For information on how you or your company can be involved, visit http://knoxville.twestival.com/get-involved!

Yesterday, Mashable reported that Twestival is back!

In February 2009, Twestival leveraged the Twitter audience to raise more than $250,000 in the most ambitious Twitter fundraising event to date.

Last night at #140conf (the two-day Twitter conference in New York), Twestival organizer Amanda Rose announced the launch of the group’s next event: “Twestival Local” takes place on September 12th and encourages local groups of Twitter users to host events in aid of their favorite charities. Registration will be open from July 1st.

As a co-founder of Social Media Club Knoxville, I’d really like to get involved. So if you’re interested in helping, head on over to the SMCKnox blog and join the conversation!