Because Bezos isn’t wealthy enough. I hate hearing this.

We use Amazon Smile and recently received an email about the changes. They will still be supporting charities, etc.

The company, which ranks among the top corporate philanthropists in the U.S., will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where it can make meaningful change—from building affordable housing to providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities.

Read more here: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-closing-amazonsmile-to-focus-its-philanthropic-giving-to-programs-with-greater-impact

I'm sorry to hear this. I'd selected a charity I already give to, so I'll just have to up my direct giving a little more.

Sad to hear this. My charity received a good amount of money from the program.

I got that notice too, it makes me very sad. I believe that the program raised a lot of money for so many small non profits. I know it did for the one that I chose.

I haven't used Smiles in a very long time, but I did see that news and it made me a bit sad.

Yeah, the excuse was that it wasn't having the impact that was hoped. So how about increasing the donation to something less miniscule?

Ok, so what? I can't imagine anyone chose to shop that site JUST because of the donation. It was a non factor IMPO. I did make a point of using smile vs the not smile when shopping that site but as said above I already gave to these charities. I have to agree with smile it was a non factor when one looks at what was received due my shopping.

I have no idea what is being talked about. I did figure out it was about ????

Yes, but threads that mention by name usually get deleted by Houzz.

I saw that too and was disappoinated. I have read (more than I expected to) quite a bit of negative reaction to this.

The only reason I could think of to justify stopping it was maybe the amount of work involved? I know I know it's automated but I wonder.

The reason as given, just doesn't make much sense.

A lot of small charities ( I know especially animal rescues) really relied on them.

I will go to great lengths to avoid buying from A-----, and will probably go to greater lengths.

Well I started a project with my recipes. I like a printed copy. I bought notebooks, plastic page covers, and extra wide tab dividers.

I needed more of the dividers, that I had bought instore at WM. They didn't have them. They didn't have them online. I went to both office supply stores. They both showed them in the store. Not there! Not available to order.

Went online to A. They will be here Friday. The folding recipe cards that I haven't seen in years in a store will be here today.

I live in one of the largest cities in the area, but more and more is not carried in the stores.

I noticed that A had made it harder to get to the Smiles site. I had it set as my defaultbut I haven’t ended up,there for amlong time. Too bad, it was a nice thing to do.

If you read what I posted/linked, they are not giving up on charitable giving, just changing how/when they do it. I wonder how well the Smiles program was working and how many customers actually used it. I've never had a problem posting AMAZON here.

I was disappointed to hear this, too. I follow and contribute to a number of animal and people welfare organizations, and many of them expressed disappointment in this development. It's true, my own Smile pennies didn't add up to much, but when added to everyone else's, it was quite a chunk of change. It was significant enough that charitable organizations will very much miss those donations - they need every last penny they can get their hands on.

I am ashamed to say I buy way too much from them. It has become reflexive. I used Smiles all the time.

My experience was like ded's - I had to log out and log in on the Smiles platform, and after awhile, it just didn't show up, so I forgot. It didn't keep you signed in. If the goal was more participation, once you signed up, it should've been default, not opt-in every time.

My 'charity' was our church.

Our nonprofit receives AS but not a significant amount, less than 1%.

The miniscule match is eaten away by the time that it takes for a non-profit to process it.

That is when the nonprofit actually receives it which could be the following quarter or once a year if it doesn't mean Amazon's threshold.

It is passive income because we don't have to work for it however some nonprofits rely on it and spend a lot of time marketing it. Hopefully this helps some nonprofits think about more productive revenue streams.

There is zero relationship building between the donor and their non-profit. Donor engagement and relations are imperative to increased giving.

Donors thought they were making a difference when they were sent those emails saying 'your gift along with 10,000 other gifts donated to your nonprofit a whole $500'.

And because donors thought they had an inflated sense of impact they were not giving otherwise or directly to the nonprofit.

Amazon is big enough to have a better giving scheme. But now they'll probably retreat into the typical corporate foundation with a complicated grant application process that further reduces the ROI of any grant received. This in turn will keep smaller nonprofits from applying because they don't have the resources to manage grants.

We're Feeding America Food bank partners so we receive cause marketing/roundup dollars from various brands around the country. But those gifts are a lot more than what we get from Amazon.

I had two Smiles I could choose from, both local that I am/was involved in, but not on the money side. Oneof them. I suspect had more participants, families who I suppose buy plenty from A, with some frequency, and perhaps some pricy items. I think it is still going.

The other, I don’t think had enough participants to be worthwhile, because they made so little on it, and they exited the program. Those participants were likely older adults, fewer $/less frequent ordering.

Sorry to hear this...my spend was little so probably of little help, but in the aggregate, it probably made a difference.

I'm sorry to hear this program is ending. My chosen charity received millions of dollars over the years. My contribution has been small, because not everything purchased on the site contributes to charity.

I'm not concerned about the site, or how much Bezos is worth, but I am thankful that it helps many small sellers and provides employment for thousands of people. I hope this thread doesn't devolve into complaints about how they treat workers. The only personal knowledge I have is from people who liked their jobs.

I don't have any problem getting to the smiles site. I have it bookmarked and it always takes me directly to the site.

I have shopped on Amazon since it was just an online bookstore. It sold nothing else. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ALL OF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! I asked before. I got no answer. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SMILE?

ETA: I do have prime.

smile.amazon dot com. Then you select the charity you want a percentage of your purchases to benefit.

I have it bookmarked and no issues. I was glad they finally added smile to their app last year.

This is the total my orders have generated since I changed to my current charity 5yrs ago.

I still cannot find anything. No wonder it doesn't work.

Because that's the problem - shoppers think they're doing a good thing and forgo other direct donations.

Did you know that Amazon gets to take a tax deduction for all the accumulated donations they hold until they meet the distribution threshold? Does Amazon really need that charitable deduction which lowers their tax liability?

Some nonprofits don't meet the threshold for a whole year and then they get a check with nominal donations in it considering that they probably pushed it on their social media doing free marketing for Amazon.

We're better off donating directly to our local nonprofit, getting the tax deduction even if you don't use it, and making an impact without the middleman.

Do not get me started on donor advised funds.

@Sherry8aNorthAL go to the Amazon.com home page. Scroll to the bottom of page. First column says "Get to Know Us" under that heading is says "about amazon smile". Click on that and it will tell you all about the Smile program.

Jen K, I doubt anyone buys XYZ at A just so charity gets something. I shop for prices, inventory and sometimes speed of delivery. It's just a "bonus," if you will, that my buying something helps a charity of my choice. Even if just a tiny bit. Also, I don't think anyone would balk at the $300+ "bonus" money that went their way while I was buying chai, toys and more. Donating directly is always done as well, with no middle man.

Not happy to see this today:

Tina Marie,

Get to Know Us

• Careers
• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science