A vending-machine style donation initiative that made its Tri-Cities debut last November is back for three weeks this year. 

The Giving Machine, an initiative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will return to the Queensgate Fairchild Cinemas at 2880 Lincoln Landing in Richland from Nov. 20-Dec. 10. 

The Giving Machine works like a vending machine, except instead of buying an item for yourself, you are paying to donate an item to a nonprofit. Patrons of the Tri-Cities’ two Giving Machine can support five local nonprofits: B5 Learning Center, Children’s Developmental Center, Communities in Schools of Benton-Franklin, Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels and the Salvation Army Tri-Cities. 

Visitors to the Giving Machines can also donate to two international nonprofits, the Red Cross and Entrepreneurs International. 

All donations through the Giving Machine go directly to the nonprofits, which will buy the specific items that donors paid for. Donors can buy items and services ranging in price from around $10 to $100, including a tank of gas to get a child to school, a hot meal for a senior, chess tournament fees, music equipment and more. 

Donors also have the option to put in a special code, 777, to buy one of every item in the machine for a total of $1,570. 

In 2025, the initiative raised $300,000 in donations to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, Grace Clinic, Grace Collective, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Safe Harbor and international nonprofits Care and Water for Good.

Tom Blodgett, city lead for the Giving Machines, said that the initiative was the most successful of any on the West Coast in 2025 and this year’s machines will be digital touch screens. The machines travel to Spokane after Dec. 10.