SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program
Page 1 2 
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program Login/Join 
Drill Here, Drill Now
Picture of tatortodd
posted
I received an e-mail from Amazon yesterday, and I'm pretty disappointed in Amazon's decision to cancel Smile. Smile has been a nice passive way to give more to a charity I already support. With the insane inflation rate this will be a double whammy for charities.
quote:
Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program

By Julia Musto FOXBusiness

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is closing its charitable donation program AmazonSmile. 

The company aims to focus its philanthropic giving on programs with greater impact and said it would continue to pursue and invest in other areas where it can make meaningful change. 

Amazon said it launched the program in 2013 to make it easier to support charities. 

"However, after almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped. With so many eligible organizations—more than 1 million globally—our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin," it said. 

The e-commerce giant said it will provide charities that have been a part of the program with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program to help them with the transition. They will be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes.

Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.

Amazon said it will continue to support other programs that help thousands of charities and communities across the country, including the Housing Equity Fund, Amazon Future Engineer, Community Delivery Program, Amazon Disaster Relief and community giving.

"We’ll continue working to make a difference in many ways, and our long-term commitment to our communities remains the same—we’re determined to do every day better for our customers, our employees and the world at large," it said. 



Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
 
Posts: 23816 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Shaman
Picture of ScreamingCockatoo
posted Hide Post
Yeah, they got HawkTalk too.





He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.
 
Posts: 39895 | Location: Atop the cockatoo tree | Registered: July 27, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Irksome Whirling Dervish
Picture of Flashlightboy
posted Hide Post
This is terribly short sighted by Amazon.

While Bezos wants to do "big ticket" charity, small non-profits are going to be hurt by this decision. $1,000 to a small,local charity that's suddenly gone adds up and makes a difference.

I can't help but believe that this is for social justice appearances or other highly visible causes. It's the same deduction to Amazon if they send money to smaller charities or these new causes.
 
Posts: 4287 | Location: "You can't just go to Walmart with a gift card and get a new brother." Janice Serrano | Registered: May 03, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
I got it, too, and my wife and I are both disappointed. Hope they change their minds, but....

Bob
 
Posts: 1692 | Location: TampaBay | Registered: May 22, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of lkdr1989
posted Hide Post
Sounds like Amazon didn't like a bunch of the charities people were donating to.




...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
 
Posts: 4401 | Location: Valley, Oregon | Registered: June 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
posted Hide Post
I'm disappointed, but, not terribly so. While we still shop at Amazon, they're mainly a vendor of last resort, anyway, so it's not like our purchases did much for the charity (our favorite cat rescue) we chose.

Comes at a bad time for that rescue, though. They're already struggling. We send them a monthly stipend and we just recently sent them a rather large (for us) single donation.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Shall Not Be Infringed
Picture of nhracecraft
posted Hide Post
Well, at least they'll be able to invest in other areas where they’ve seen they can make meaningful change, like the 'Equity Housing Fund'... Roll Eyes


____________________________________________________________

If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !!
Trump 2024....Make America Great Again!
"May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20
Live Free or Die!
 
Posts: 9552 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: October 29, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Exceptional Circumstances
Picture of dave7378
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Sounds like Amazon didn't like a bunch of the charities people were donating to.



This is what it sounds like to me too.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
 
Posts: 5951 | Location: Hampton Bays, NY | Registered: October 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of RichardC
posted Hide Post
"Your current charity
Judicial Watch, Inc.
has received $243,918.27
as of November 2022"


Let's see if Judicial Watch, Inc. makes their new "programs with greater impact" lists.


____________________



 
Posts: 16271 | Location: Florida | Registered: June 23, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Deal In Lead
Picture of Flash-LB
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by dave7378:
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Sounds like Amazon didn't like a bunch of the charities people were donating to.



This is what it sounds like to me too.


That could be. My money went to the AzCDL, the Arizona Citizens Defense League, a major force in pro gun legislation in the State.
 
Posts: 10626 | Location: Gilbert Arizona | Registered: March 21, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Sounds like Amazon didn't like a bunch of the charities people were donating to.
Perhaps. Could also be because business is down, lately?



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
quarter MOA visionary
Picture of smschulz
posted Hide Post
Could just be a business decision ~ maybe the goodwill from the social justice attempt wasn't paying off.
Kinda ironic that capitalism is actually in play here. Eek
 
Posts: 23309 | Location: Houston, TX | Registered: June 11, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by smschulz:
Could just be a business decision ~ maybe the goodwill from the social justice attempt wasn't paying off.
Kinda ironic that capitalism is actually in play here. Eek


It's one of two things, they didn't get publicity ROI or they were upset with people having an option to direct pennies to religious or conservative organizations.

Either way it is a bad thing for small charities.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 21252 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
blame canada
Picture of AKSuperDually
posted Hide Post
I'd like to thank sigforum members who over the years have supported my organization, and now the organization I work for, through their amazon smile accounts.

Thank you.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014 Big Grin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.rikrlandvs.com
 
Posts: 13996 | Location: On the mouth of the great Kenai River | Registered: June 24, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
quarter MOA visionary
Picture of smschulz
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:


It's one of two things, they didn't get publicity ROI or they were upset with people having an option to direct pennies to religious or conservative organizations.



I would say it's more business related ~ makes more sense than just hating conservative or religious charities.
 
Posts: 23309 | Location: Houston, TX | Registered: June 11, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
My guess is they looked at the cost of collecting, processing and administering donations to thousands of small charities and decided they could eliminate an entire department of people and a lot of related expenses that will bolster their failing bottom line.
 
Posts: 2540 | Location: WI | Registered: December 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His Royal Hiney
Picture of Rey HRH
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Sounds like Amazon didn't like a bunch of the charities people were donating to.
Perhaps. Could also be because business is down, lately?


In the same email, they talked about continuing to support a "Wide reange of other programs that help thousands of charities and communities across the U.S. For instance..." !0 Housing Equity Fund (equity being a key word for me), 2) Amazon Future Engineer (sounds good but I suspect a good portion of social engineering programs will get a piece of the pie, 3) Community Delivery Program (sounds okay), 4) Amazon Disaster Relief (sounds okay as long as disaster is disaster, and 5) Community giving (to build stronger communities.

I think like the others, they just didn't like where the money was being directed to.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
 
Posts: 20180 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of sig sailor
posted Hide Post
Not sure of the reason, but they got rid of the charity I choose and replaced it with the charity of their choice. Thanks for nothing!
Rod


"Do not approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." John Deacon, Author

I asked myself if I was crazy, and we all said no.
 
Posts: 1742 | Location: Between Rock & Hard Place (Pontiac & Detroit) | Registered: December 22, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Ozarkwoods
posted Hide Post
My take is also that they didn’t like our choices for charities.


ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
 
Posts: 4902 | Location: SWMO | Registered: October 20, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Thank you
Very little
Picture of HRK
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by smschulz:
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:


It's one of two things, they didn't get publicity ROI or they were upset with people having an option to direct pennies to religious or conservative organizations.



I would say it's more business related ~ makes more sense than just hating conservative or religious charities.


Little Column A, Little Column B
 
Posts: 24498 | Location: Gunshine State | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata Page 1 2  
 

SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program

© SIGforum 2024