Canada Cans the UNICEF Trick-or-Treat Box

While the US keeps the boxes and also promotes corporate tie-ins, a celebrity spokesperson, competitive fund raising, and a new line of greeting cards. 

Columnist Anthony Reinhart in the Toronto Globe & Mail breaks the news that the Canadian UNICEF Committee (BN 122680572RR0001 Information Return) has discontinued its long-running collection of trick-or-treat coin boxes.  Instead of coin boxes, the Canadian group promotes in-school fund raising events. 

The organization cites the logistical challenge of collecting the coins and the fact that the collection has remained stuck at C$3 million for several years, plus safety concerns.  Now, with a C$20 or more on-line donation (by October 23), the donor gets a reflective UNICEF collection bag in time for Halloween.

This makes a great deal of sense to me, rather than perpetuating a program of token contributions (like the McDonald's aluminum tab collection program).

In the States, the orange collection boxes continue, almost as a nostalgic gesture, with box collection handled by the Pier 1 Kids retail chain.  However, the box collection is no longer the primary focus of the campaign.  As with Canada, the United States Fund for UNICEF (EIN 13-1760110 Form 990) encourages fund raising events, but all the way up to December, with a bit of competition thrown in: the group that raises the most will have an additional $125,000 gift entered in their name by Proctor & Gamble. 

In this story from Direct Marketing News (Nicole Smith), this year for the first time Hallmark stores will be adding UNICEF Halloween cards.  And the US campaign includes celebrity spokesperson Sarah Jessica Parker.