Amazon is now an integral part of my life. Everything from baby formula, hats, sunscreen, protein bars, socks, etc., can be delivered to my door in two days or less. It’s quite amazing. But did you know that Amazon is a major player in the philanthropy space? AmazonSmile is the future of Box Tops for Education and eScrip. If your school, church, nonprofit or foundation is looking for an effortless and free method of fundraising then AmazonSmile is for you.
How it Works
AmazonSmile is a program that allows a small percentage of all Amazon purchases to kickback to the nonprofit of the Amazon customer’s choice. The AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5 percent of the total purchase price.
Why Your Nonprofit Should Use AmazonSmile
The sign-up process is super easy. It takes virtually no time at all. Your donors just have to select your organization and start shopping.
Millions of people are already shopping through Amazon, including your donors. Why not capitalize on it?
The Details of AmazonSmile
When signing up for AmazonSmile, donors can only choose one charity to receive the donation at a time. They can, of course, change this charity at any time but most donors are unlikely to go through the trouble. Typically, Amazon shoppers are going to select their charity once and then forget about it.
As a nonprofit you should know that the money donated comes directly from The AmazonSmile Foundation, not from the individual donors. And your organization only receives one check per month, no matter how many of your supporters shopped with AmazonSmile that month. Amazon aggregates all the money donated from all purchases and then cuts each organization one check. Also, because the money comes from The AmazonSmile Foundation it is not tax deductible for your individual donors.
If your organization does get donations from AmazonSmile, be sure to list The AmazonSmile Foundation as a donor in your DRM as hopefully you’ll be receiving checks on a monthly basis from them.