The best alternatives to AmazonSmile

Amazon has announced that it’s closing AmazonSmile on 20 February 2023 to focus on giving to programmes with greater impact. AmazonSmile was a way for people to shop on Amazon and support their favourite charity at the same time.

 

In correspondence to AmazonSmile customers, the e-commerce conglomerate said: “In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favorite charities. However, after almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped. With so many eligible organizations – more than 1 million globally – our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.”

 

The letter went on to say that the company would be focusing on investing in areas where they have seen that they can make meaningful change. They cited examples such as building affordable housing and assisting communities impacted by natural disasters.

 

While this is commendable and will most likely make a greater impact on the whole, it leaves many charities, particularly small ones, without a source of passive income.

 

 

Eight alternatives to AmazonSmile

 

AmazonSmile may not have been a huge source of income for charities, however it was a fairly easy source of passive income. For small and micro charities, in particular, it contributed to their annual fundraising revenue without much effort on their part.

 

So what are the alternatives that charities should consider to help plug the fundraising gap left by the closure of AmazonSmile?

 

 

Pennies

 

Pennies is a charity that aims to protect and grow micro-donations, and promote the importance of charitable giving. Their vision is that whenever someone pays for something digitally, they are given the opportunity to donate or round-up a few pence for charity.

 

Since 2010, Pennies has raised over £40,500,000 for more than 800 charities through more than 164,000,000 micro-donations. Find out how your charity can sign up to Pennies.

 

 

easyfundraising

 

easyfundraising is the UK’s biggest charity shopping site. Established in 2005, over two million people have raised more than £42 million for thousands of UK charities.

 

When supporters make a purchase from one of the 7,000 brands that easyfundraising partners with, from easyfundraising’s website or App, the commission is turned into a donation for charity. Charities receive the donations raised each quarter.

 

 

Give as you Live

 

Give as you Live is a free fundraising platform, which has raised over £24 million for UK charities, big, small, and micro. One of their products is Give as you Live Online, which allows supporters to shop at over 6,000 stores, generating a ‘thank you’ donation to the charity from the brand when a purchase is made.

 

 

Charitable Travel

 

Set up in 2020, Charitable Travel is a social enterprise that supports UK-based charities. When customers book a holiday through Charitable Travel, they can donate 5% of the cost of their holiday (at no extra cost to them) to a charity or social enterprise of their choice. 

 

 

Ripples

 

Ripples allows supporters to round-up their transactions – from 10p to £1 per transaction  – and donate them to causes they care about. They safely and securely integrate with your online banking or credit card provider and calculate your round-ups as you spend.

 

When the round-up accumulates to £5, that donation is sent to the cause of your choice. Supporters can set a weekly cap so they can manage the amount they wish to donate.

 

 

ThinkDonate

 

Looking for a way to drive donations through social media? ThinkDonate is a free fundraising platform that harnesses social media to drive donations to good causes by using the power of hashtags on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

How does it work? Choose your own bespoke fundraising hashtag or simply use #Donate and promote it on your Twitter account or LinkedIn page.

 

Supporters who reply to your tweet or post, using the hashtag, will receive an instant automated reply with a link to your donation page.

 

 

CharitableBookings

 

CharitableBookings is a travel and lifestyle platform with a social purpose. It’s free for members to join and they earn cashback on their travel bookings, whilst the charity of their choice receives 30% of the commission from the booking.

 

This equates to around £5 per £250 booking transaction. It’s free for charities to sign up and the charitable donation is at no cost to members.

 

 

Savoo

 

Savoo is a retail website that offers voucher codes and deals to thousands of UK retailers. Every time a supporter uses a code or deal, Savoo donates up to 50% of their affiliate commission from the retailer to their chosen charity. It’s free for charities to sign up and free for supporters too.

 

Supporters can create an account and see how much money they have raised for good causes on their account dashboard. They can also choose to support multiple charities.