Donating to charity is an excellent way to extend a helping hand to others. We often like to pay it forward during the holiday season or amidst times of tragedy, but making regular donations can be expensive and generally slips the mind. However, thanks to AmazonSmile, giving back to your favorite charity can be both easy and inexpensive. All you have to do is shop.
The premise of AmazonSmile is simple; buy things from Amazon’s sister site smile.amazon.com and Amazon will in turn donate 0.5% of your purchase price to the charity of your choice at no extra cost to you. The AmazonSmile store offers the same selection of products and prices as their regular store. It also shares the same account information, shopping cart, wish lists and other setting with your regular Amazon account. The only difference between them are the charitable contributions that Amazon only makes for AmazonSmile purchases.
Getting started at AmazonSmile is quick and easy. All you have to do is visit AmazonSmile’s website and pick a charity to receive your donations. Amazon claims to have nearly a million charities to choose from. You can send donations to organizations as large as The Wounded Warrior Project, or opt for a smaller more localized group like your neighborhood council. Even church groups, animal shelters, universities and theater groups are represented. After deciding on a charity, all you have left to do is shop.
While AmazonSmile is easy and convenient, the program does have its limitations. For instance; you can only select one charity at a time. While you can change your charity whenever you like, AmazonSmile will not let you spread your donation across multiple organizations at once. Also, the donations are being made by the AmazonSmile Foundation, rather than coming out of your own pocket. Because of this, AmazonSmile donations are not tax deductible. Finally, Amazon won’t make a donation unless you remember to specifically shop at the AmazonSmile store and some products simply aren’t eligible for donations regardless of where you shop. Thankfully, Amazon made things easy by clearly marking each product’s eligibility status on their product page.
Giving back doesn’t have to be reserved for the holidays anymore. The next time you’re in the mood to splurge on that hot new phone and that sexy designer bag, make the most of your money with AmazonSmile. Just a little bit of effort goes a long way.