I’ve used Amazon’s Smile ordering service to designate a charitable donation from my online purchases. It’s a passive way to donate to a non-profit organization, while still purchasing whatever odds and ends I can get from Jeff Bezos’ online marketplace.
And I’m sure many other people have used the Amazon Smile ordering platform for their own favorite charities as well. Animal rescue, food banks, homeless shelters, all of that.
Yesterday, I received an email from Amazon detailing changes to the Amazon Smile program.
Check out these changes.
Dear customer,
In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favorite charities. However, after almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped. With so many eligible organizationsโmore than 1 million globallyโour ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.
We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where weโve seen we can make meaningful changeโfrom building affordable housing to providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist broad communities impacted by natural disasters.
To help charities that have been a part of the AmazonSmile program with this transition, we will be providing them with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes in February. Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.
Yikes.
I mean … it almost sounds like the charities are receiving a severance package prior to a furlough.
I don’t know how to take this. But for me, it sounds like Amazon couldn’t get us to buy more things to pass the savings on to the charities, so they’re shutting down the program rather than, oh, I don’t know, increasing their donations on their end?
Yeah, I don’t know.
Don’t get me wrong – I donate to charities as often as I’m able. Whether it’s to major organizations or to the little jar at the diner or to that cardboard stand-up with the quarters embedded in it, I give. But man … this just sucks eggs.
Maybe Amazon will reconsider this program and increase its potential.
Right. Sure. I’ve got a better chance of Amazon NOT dropping my package off near the rain spout on my porch so that the box is completely drenched and soaked before I know it’s arrived.
I guess the old statement is still true. Charity begins at home.
Apparently it begins at home, and it doesn’t continue with the dark blue shipping vans. ๐ฆ
Chuck The Writer 
Yes, I had just seen this about Amazon Smile. VERY disappointing. But just in case amazon IS going to pursue supposedly more meaningful aid by donating larger amounts to charities of their own choice, any idea how to find out what they’ve done?
Thanks for all your good stories, for keeping your eye out. Let’s hope the world SOMEHOW has a better year this year, in spite of the bad start. Perhaps Biden’s classified document woes (which are SO disheartening) could lead to a better presidential candidate in 2024.
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Translation: “We weren’t making any profit from it. We thought it would be a good gimmick to entice people to buy more from us, but no. Our sales are going down as more people realize what a rip-off our company is, so to hell with it. Jeffy needs a new gold-plated toilet, and that’s all that matters.”
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I try to keep contributing local, and avoid any charitable organizations that get government funding. You know, from grants…read: our tax money, that we’ve already “contributed.”
And speaking of eggs as you were, for anyone interested: PICS jumbo eggs are $6.19 a dozen today at Price Gouger. No shortage, shelves were full, so…
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