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AmazonSmile is a program that donates 0.5% of your purchases on Amazon to a charity of your choice.
All you need to do is start your shopping at smile.amazon.com.
The donation will be made at no extra cost and you can choose from nearly one million public charities.
AmazonSmile is a simple, automatic way to increase your charitable impact or support your favorite cause. By starting your Amazon shopping at smile.amazon.com, 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible Amazon purchases go to a charity of your choice. You shop as you normally would on the site, at no extra cost to you, and you don’t need to make a separate account.
Almost one million 501(c)(3) public charitable organizations participate in AmazonSmile, so your favorite charity is likely in its roster. Spotlight charities include the World Wildlife Fund, ASPCA, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but you can also search by location or specific name to choose the one you want. You can also change the charity recipient at any time.
Below we break down exactly how to shop using AmazonSmile.
Step 1: Navigate to smile.amazon.com
You’ll know you’re shopping through Amazon Smile when you see the Smile logo in the upper left corner and the charity you’re supporting under the search bar.
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On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to select a charity. Amazon will remember the charity that is associated with your account for future visits, but the charity can be changed at any time.
You’ll be able to tell you’re shopping from the correct page if you see the AmazonSmile logo in the corner of the page and “Supporting [charity of your choice]” below the search bar. When you hover over the name of the charity, you can see additional information about it and track the donation amount you’ve generated through your purchases.
Quick tip: You can also shop AmazonSmile through the Amazon app on your phone. Tap “AmazonSmile” within the Programs & Features menu or Settings and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll need to have the latest version of the app installed.
Step 2: Shop as you normally would
Look for the AmazonSmile logo on the product page to ensure your product is donation eligible.
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Tens of millions of products are eligible for donations — just look for “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the product detail page. At this time, Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals aren’t eligible for AmazonSmile.
Step 3: Check out as you normally would and Amazon will make the donation on your behalf
Since it is the AmazonSmile Foundation is directly making the donation for you, you won’t pay extra for anything when you use AmazonSmile. However, this also means you won’t receive a tax deduction.
The bottom line
0.5% is obviously not a large amount and you would need to spend a lot of money in order to generate a significant donation, but the program is still an easy way to supplement your existing charitable contributions to your favorite organization. If you’re already shopping on Amazon, it never hurts to start doing so from AmazonSmile so your charity of choice can reap some benefits.