For seven years, shoppers at PocketSpring Markets have been asked whether they would round up their grocery bill to support small businesses. Former finance analyst Amanda Miettinen says the quiet success of the scheme was bigger than its advertising suggested: the retailer matched every customer contribution, dollar for dollar, creating a A$3.4 million pool that has backed 286 businesses.
Miettinen, who left the Melbourne-based chain in May, brought a spreadsheet reconciliation to an interview with The Plausible Post and says she came forward because customers deserved a clearer account. PocketSpring confirmed the figures, saying A$1.72 million came from shoppers and the same amount from the company. Its website had described the total as money customers had “helped raise”, without spelling out the match.
The small change adds up
The programme began in 2019 with a A$100,000 company pledge and a simple till prompt. Miettinen said staff expected a modest local fund; instead, customers rounded up 14.8 million purchases, usually by less than 50 Australian cents. Grants averaging about A$12,000 have gone to independent grocers, repair shops, cafés and other firms in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
“The generous part was not just the coins; it was that the company kept matching them, year after year,” Miettinen said. She said the scheme’s books balanced, but the public wording made it difficult to distinguish customer donations from PocketSpring’s contribution. The company has since updated its website and added a running split of customer gifts and matching funds.
People thought their spare cents were doing all of it; the hidden half was the company quietly keeping pace.
Amanda Miettinen, former finance analyst
PocketSpring chief executive Paulina G. Pena said the retailer had never intended to claim that shoppers supplied the entire sum. “We should have made the match much easier to see,” she said in an interview. The chain will publish quarterly totals and has committed to matching customer round-ups through June 2028, with a A$600,000 minimum contribution each year.
The programme’s reach is clear at the other end of the till. Nicolas Medina, who runs a two-person bicycle-repair shop in Geelong, received A$9,500 last year to buy a wheel-truing machine and expand weekend opening. He said the grant let him keep prices steady while taking on more local repair work; his shop now sees about 30 extra customers a week.
Grants with a local touch
Applications are assessed by a six-person panel that includes small-business owners and PocketSpring staff, Pena said. The company received 1,940 applications in the latest round and funded 74. Applicants must have traded for at least a year, employ fewer than 20 people and explain how the money will support a practical business need.
Miettinen said the spreadsheet she shared was a reconciliation she had prepared for the programme’s annual accounts, not evidence of money going missing. A company-appointed external accountant checked the reported contributions against payment records, PocketSpring said. The retailer declined to publish applicants’ private financial details, but said grant recipients and award amounts would remain listed on its public portal.
For Medina, the most useful surprise was not the size of the cheque but the absence of a complicated pitch. “I wrote down what the machine would do for the shop, and they understood it,” he said. PocketSpring plans to open the next application round in February, while its revised checkout prompt will show both the shopper’s gift and the company match before payment.
