General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf you shop via Amazon Smile and/or receive funds from Amazon Smile... they are ending it.
Got this email. I run a 501c3 and this is NOT good news:
Amazon to focus its philanthropic giving to programs with greater impact. Stay updated.
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 organizationsmore than 1 million globallyour 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 weve seen we can make meaningful changefrom 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.
As a company, we will continue supporting a wide range of other programs that help thousands of charities and communities across the U.S. For instance:
Housing Equity Fund: Were investing $2 billion to build and preserve affordable housing in our hometown communities. In just two years, weve provided funding to create more than 14,000 affordable homesand we expect to build at least 6,000 more in the coming months. These units will host more than 18,000 moderate- to low-income families, many of them with children. In one year alone, our investments have been able to increase the affordable housing stock in communities like Bellevue, Washington and Arlington, Virginia by at least 20%.
Amazon Future Engineer: Weve funded computer science curriculum for more than 600,000 students across over 5,000 schoolsall in underserved communities. We have plans to reach an additional 1 million students this year. Weve also provided immediate assistance to 55,000 students in our hometown communities by giving them warm clothes for the winter, food, and school supplies.
Community Delivery Program: Weve partnered with food banks in 35 U.S. cities to deliver more than 23 million meals, using our logistics infrastructure to help families in need access healthy food and we plan to deliver 12 million more meals this year alone. In addition to our delivery services, weve also donated 30 million meals in communities across the country.
Amazon Disaster Relief: Were using our logistics capabilities, inventory, and cloud technology to provide fast aid to communities affected by natural disasters. For example, weve created a Disaster Relief Hub in Atlanta with more than 1 million relief items ready for deployment, our Disaster Relief team has responded to more than 95 natural disasters, and weve donated more than 20 million relief products to nonprofits assisting communities on the ground.
Community Giving: We support hundreds of local nonprofits doing meaningful work in cities where our employees and their families live. For example, each year we donate hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations working to build stronger communities, from youth sport leagues, to local community colleges, to shelters for families experiencing homelessness.
Well continue working to make a difference in many ways, and our long-term commitment to our communities remains the samewere determined to do every day better for our customers, our employees, and the world at large.
Thank you for being an Amazon customer.
hlthe2b
(102,376 posts)and totally unbelieving in their claims.
jimfields33
(15,965 posts)OAITW r.2.0
(24,610 posts)One less reason to shop Amazon.
Glorfindel
(9,736 posts)I think it's just another instance of corporate greed.
NullTuples
(6,017 posts)Methinks Amazon just got tired of seeing extra potential profit slip through their fingers.
Corporate leaders knows it doesn't have to care about its public image any longer, because people will continue patronizing Amazon. Especially now that the company has wiped out so many small local vendors.
On Monday, the power supply on my daughter's PC died. There are no local companies that carry them in stock any longer, thanks to Amazon. So I had to order prime next day. They said it would be there yesterday. It's still not here.
Simply put, Amazon knows it doesn't have to care any more.
moonscape
(4,673 posts)support an important cancer org, and supportive friends buy using my charity as well.
Their 0ver-explaining/justifying and defensiveness ring hollow.
Polly Hennessey
(6,806 posts)Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada.
mcar
(42,375 posts)We run a non-profit also. Not happy about this at all.
Liberal In Texas
(13,576 posts)Figured they could use some help.
Ms. Toad
(34,092 posts)There is no medical treatment for it, and the surgical treatment (transplant) both trades one chronic condition for another - and the trade is temporary. I know people with her condition who are on their 5th transplant, since the disease frequently returns.
The charity for her disease has received approximately $25,000 through Amazon Smile. The charity funds pilot research programs into causes of (genetic research) or treatment for (medications) the disease. When these programs show promise, they are often leveraged into much larger research projects for which there is other funding available. Without the proof of concept our funding provides, the more significant funding will be unavailable. Because this is such a rare disease, there is little motivation for the pharmaceutical companies to fund research.
The $25,000 is the average amount of a 1 year grant for one such pilot reseasrch program.