Amazon plans to close AmazonSmile, launched in 2013 to let customers donate 0.5% of eligible items' purchase prices to a charity, on February 20, 2023
Amazon will be closing its charity program, AmazonSmile, in the coming weeks in order to “focus its philanthropic giving to programs with greater impact.”
Amazon says it will concentrate philanthropic giving in programs with greater impact, replacing a distributed model in which eligible purchases generated donations for charities chosen by customers.
First-order effects
Charities enrolled in AmazonSmile lose the 0.5% contribution tied to eligible customer purchases when the program ends on February 20.
Amazon no longer has to administer purchase-linked, customer-directed donations through AmazonSmile and can direct its philanthropy through selected programs instead.
Second-order effects
Nonprofits that used AmazonSmile as a recurring, low-friction fundraising channel must shift donor outreach to other channels; Amazon's FBA Donations addresses donated inventory rather than replacing cash contributions.
Amazon's remaining giving tools become more distinct by function: Alexa Donations supports direct gifts, while FBA Donations moves unsold seller stock to charitable recipients.
Third-order effects
The change points toward platform philanthropy being organized around centrally chosen programs and in-kind logistics rather than small, transaction-level allocations across a broad set of customer-selected charities.
If other commerce platforms follow Amazon's emphasis on concentrated impact, charitable organizations may face less access to embedded checkout-style fundraising and greater dependence on direct donor relationships.
The trend: Amazon is moving from customer-directed purchase donations toward more centrally managed philanthropic programs and logistics-based giving.
I can see why (profits > all else) but it's sad to see AmazonSmile sunset. I had sent my smile donations to my kids' schools and now I will have to send cash :)
Amazon is ending its AmazonSmile program in which you could designate a charity to receive a small percentage of all your Amazon purchases (I have used this for years) https://twitter.com/...
I'm sure a lot of smaller non-profits in America are beneficiaries of the Amazon Smile charitable donation platform...they're likely the ones more hurt by its shuttering than larger charitable organizations https://www.cnbc.com/... (via @annierpalmer @cnbc) $AMZN
This is so rubbish. Amazon Smile was such an easy thing to do and even if it didn't raise as much money as it hoped for some orgs i reckon even that small income stream was a lifeline. I'd been donating to @aktcharity through it for eg. https://twitter.com/...
Amazon canceling its charity program = one less reason to spend there. The passive donation premium for consumers was a real bonus: https://www.cnbc.com/...
I'm sorry to see the deprecation of @AmazonSmile, which I've always thought was a clever customer-directed way to do some good while generating inexpensive referrals. It was originally conceived by @ianmcall.
Personal rant: Amazon winding down AmazonSmile is terrible. I'm no great Amazon fan. But the groups I've seen benefit most from this program—small nonprofits, arts programs, libraries—need every cent they can get. And this was an easy way to get a few bucks regularly.
Amazon shutting down Amazon Smile is hot garbage, but I'm in no way surprised. Even worse is the “we'll still give to these charitable organizations,” which all happen to ALSO be Amazon, which benefit them at least as much as any real people: https://www.aboutamazon.com/ ...
Amazon is ending its charity program AmazonSmile because “the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.” That sucks. We've used it to effortlessly and automatically contribute hundreds of dollars to our kids' school PTA. https://www.aboutamazon.com/…
Amazon is phasing out AmazonSmile, where a portion of purchases benefit not-for-profits, including @PAWSPendletonOR 💔 So disappointing... https://www.cnbc.com/...
Oh man that is going to hurt a lot of good nonprofits. Nice of Amazon to kick in a donation at the end but still. End of an era. Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile https://www.aboutamazon.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Amazon is shutting down AmazonSmile, the program where it donated a percentage of purchases to a users' chosen charity “The program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped,” the company said in a notice to customers https://www.cnbc.com/...
I should have known that #AmazonSmile was too good for this world. “...the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.” Sure as hell looks like it made an impact to me. https://twitter.com/...
In more sad tech news @amazonsmile has become an #AmazonFrown To increase impact perhaps they could have increased the percentage donated and set a default charity on all accounts vs cancelling the program. 🙁 https://twitter.com/...
The AmazonSmile program has ended. It was a great way to help charities via everyday Amazon purchases. Their explanation why they're ending the program is garbage. What a bummer. https://www.aboutamazon.com/ ... #amazonsmile do better @amazon
Amazon claims the Amazon Smile program didn't have an impact. I can tell you as an animal not for profit it made a huge difference to us. That $9400 meant the world. That isn't nothing to us. #amazonsmile #amazon @amazonsmile https://twitter.com/...
This is sad news as this program was an important funding source for many smaller nonprofits and certainly incentivized me to buy more through Amazon:Amazon closing AmazonSmile to focus its philanthropic giving to programs with greater impact https://www.aboutamazon.com/ ... #ama…
Amazon closing AmazonSmile to focus its philanthropic giving to programs with greater impact https://www.aboutamazon.com/ ... I know it sucks. I was helping FreeBSD foundation via AmazonSmile. It wasn't much but still it sucks.