Do you shop on Amazon? Check.
Do you work at a 501(c)3 organization? Check.
Do your constituents shop on Amazon? Check.
Have you set up an AmazonSmile account for your organization? If not…
YOU ARE LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE! This is money that your alumni, parents, and friends are spending on Amazon anyway. If they can give to your cause without thinking twice, that’s a win.
I have the pleasure of working with St. Edward’s University in my capacity as director of customer experience at EverTrue. While speaking with them, I noticed this post on their Facebook page:
I needed to know more. I use AmazonSmile for all my purchases (Amazon will send 0.5% of the proceeds to the organization of your choosing), but have always had my donations go to Boston Children’s Hospital. It never crossed my mind that you could also direct your donations to a school.
I talked with Sara Hoover, director of annual and individual giving at St. Edward’s, to learn more about how they’ve navigated the program. Here’s what she had to say:
- To start the process and claim your organization’s Smile account, head here.
- You’ll get a customized URL for your Smile account that you can use for promotion.
- Amazon’s promotional guidelines are strict, and the marketing materials are not great. For instance, you cannot promote the Smile account using offline platforms.
- Payouts come quarterly and only if you have more than $10 accrued.
- Amazon pays your organization 0.5% of the total eligible purchases made by a constituent. These gifts are nameless and come in as unrestricted.
- Get creative and have fun!
Is your organization using and promoting AmazonSmile? Let me know so we can highlight examples here.
Happy shopping (for a good cause)!
Want even more ideas on how to fundraise? Watch our webinar University Of Virginia: Mobilizing Gift Officers to learn more.