SIGforum
Amazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program
January 19, 2023, 03:32 PM
tatortoddAmazon shutting down AmazonSmile charitable program
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. January 19, 2023, 03:37 PM
ScreamingCockatooYeah, they got HawkTalk too.
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.
January 19, 2023, 03:47 PM
FlashlightboyThis 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.
January 19, 2023, 03:52 PM
straightshooter1I got it, too, and my wife and I are both disappointed. Hope they change their minds, but....
Bob
January 19, 2023, 04:04 PM
lkdr1989Sounds 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 January 19, 2023, 04:07 PM
ensigmaticI'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 January 19, 2023, 04:09 PM
nhracecraftWell, 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'...
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January 19, 2023, 04:14 PM
dave7378quote:
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.
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January 19, 2023, 04:15 PM
RichardC"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.
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January 19, 2023, 04:18 PM
Flash-LBquote:
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.
January 19, 2023, 04:31 PM
ensigmaticquote:
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 January 19, 2023, 04:56 PM
smschulzCould 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.
January 19, 2023, 05:14 PM
Skins2881quote:
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.
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 January 19, 2023, 05:14 PM
AKSuperDuallyI'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.
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"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
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January 19, 2023, 05:24 PM
smschulzquote:
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.
January 19, 2023, 06:00 PM
bigwagonMy 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.
January 19, 2023, 10:53 PM
Rey HRHquote:
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.
January 20, 2023, 11:16 AM
sig sailorNot 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
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January 20, 2023, 12:47 PM
OzarkwoodsMy take is also that they didn’t like our choices for charities.
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January 20, 2023, 12:59 PM
HRKquote:
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.
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