In 2014, online megastore Amazon boasted nearly $90 billion in net sales. It currently hosts 54 million “Prime” shoppers subscribing for special deals and the coveted 2-day free shipping option. And now, using the AmazonSmile program, a percentage of those sales can go toward your nonprofit private-independent school.
The Program
AmazonSmile is a charitable effort spearheaded by Amazon to offer a small percentage of each eligible transaction to a shopper’s designated 501(c)(3) “public charitable organization,” which includes many private-independent schools across the country.
When shoppers first visit smile.amazon.com, they are prompted to select a charity from either the featured charities on the home screen—populated by popular “big name” charities like water.org or the ASPCA—or search for their preferred charities in the Guidestar-populated list of charities. (Only one charity may be selected per account.)
After they select their prefered charities, they’re returned to the home page which looks and acts exactly like the regular Amazon site—with the exception that every time they make qualifying purchases, a small percentage of the purchase price (0.5%) will go toward an online account to be claimed by the organization.
While these donations are not tax-deductible, as it’s Amazon that’s making the donation to your school and not the purchaser directly, the AmazonSmile program is an easy and simple way for your school's community to contribute.
How to Set It Up
According to Amazon’s FAQs for organizations in the program, there are two sides to the donation equation: the customer and the non-profit organization. Here’s how Amazon advises you to proceed on behalf of your private-independent school:
- Search for your school by name or EIN number, and then select the organization you represent. Be sure to confirm you are selecting your school, as many charitable organizations have similar names.
- Remember that only 501(c)(3) organizations are listed in Amazon’s database, so your school must have this tax designation in order to participate in the AmazonSmile program.
- Create an organization administrator account and accept the AmazonSmile Participation Agreement on behalf of your school.
- Verify your email address. (Amazon recommends that you use an email address that is associated with your school.)
- Submit your school’s bank account information.
- Upload a copy of a voided check or bank statement to verify your organization’s bank account information.
You’re set to go! To cut down on expenses, Amazon will only send you the donations via electronic statement and not by check. The money will be delivered about forty-five days after every quarter’s end, so expect a deposit about four times a year. Remember, too, that the school will only receive 0.5% of the purchase price of your donor’s order; wrapping fees, taxes, and shipping costs don’t count toward the donation total.
Getting Started
The first thing you need to do is sign up for the program! While potential donors can select your school from the nonprofit list already on Amazon without you having to “claim” your school as the “official representative,” no monies will be sent to your school until you provide your electronic banking information.
The next step is to tell your school community and donor pool that you’re now part of the AmazonSmile program and how to use it. Spreading the word on social media, school newsletters, and even a specially printed postcard will inform your donors about this low-cost investment that will make a difference to your fundraising efforts.
Finally, it’s important that donors make their purchases from smile.amazon.com, and not just the amazon.com main site. Otherwise, would-be donors will continue to shop, but no money will go toward your school. For those who won’t remember to “smile” before they proceed to Amazon, there are plugins available for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox desktop internet browsers that help automatically redirect base Amazon URLs to the smile extension.
Additional ISM resources:
The Source for Development Directors Vol. 13 No. 2 The Pros and Cons of Payment Methods
The Source for Development Directors Vol. 9 No. 4 Online Giving: A Tool to Maximize the Relationship
The Source for Development Directors Vol. 8 No. 8 Online Giving Is Growing--How Well Does Your School Communicate?
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 25 No. 3 Online Shopping Rebates: Balance Dollars and Drawbacks
I&P Vol. 36 No. 7 The Campaign Feasibility Study: A Map to Campaign Success
