Amazon Shutters AmazonSmile Charity
Amazon is ending its AmazonSmile charity, saying it plans to focus on “other areas where it can make meaningful change.”
AmazonSmile debuted in 2013 as a way for customers to support their favorite charities. According to Amazon, however, the charity never reached the level of impact it hoped for. As a result, the company is ending the program, as it outlines in a blog post:
We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where we’ve seen we can make meaningful change—from building affordable housing to providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist broad communities impacted by natural disasters.
The company plans to make a one-time donation to each charity that has been part of the program, as something of a parting gift.
To help charities that have been a part of the AmazonSmile program with this transition, we will be providing them with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes in February. Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.
In lieu of its AmazonSmile program, Amazon will support a number of other charities, including Housing Equity Fund, Amazon Future Engineer, Community Delivery Program, and Amazon Disaster Relief. The company will also continue to support hundreds of local nonprofits in the cities and communities where its employees live and work.
