Linares is unsure of how they might fill the gap. He estimated the Smile program generated “several hundred dollars” for ThirdMill each year, and expects the program’s end will have some impact on the ministry. ThirdMill actively marketed the Amazon Smile program to its supporters, Linares said. “They felt encouraged by their ability to contribute through their Amazon qualified purchases,” he said. Lifeline is considering other grant opportunities from Amazon.Īmazon plans to continue giving to local groups “doing meaningful work in cities where our employees and their families live.”īiblical education ministry Third Millenium Ministries (ThirdMill) Executive Director Eric Linares told MinistryWatch some of its supporters have expressed disappointment at the Smile program closing. Lifeline promoted the program “here and there,” but it didn’t actively market it and doesn’t expect the closure to leave a large revenue hole. Lifeline, a group that helps local churches launch ministry initiatives, participated in Amazon Smile and received approximately $2,000 a year from it, according to Ben Simms, its president and CEO. It did not require much effort to generate. The revenue, while not a large part of the budget for the Christian ministries we talked to, was a passive revenue stream. While many nonprofits claim it will leave them with a funding hole to fill, the Christian ministries who responded to MinistryWatch’s inquiry are not dependent on Amazon Smile funding.

The program will officially end in February, but as a way to ease the transition for charities, Amazon will provide a “one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the program.” “They never got our input on how to make it more impactful.”Īmazon Smile launched in 2013 and contributed 0.5% of every qualifying purchase made by participating customers to the charity of their choosing.ĭonations totaled $449 million to various charities as of 2022.

“They certainly never listened to any of the emails that were sent or they never surveyed us,” Lauren Wagner, executive director of the Long Island Arts Alliance, told the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Now it has decided to shutter the program.Īccording to an email sent to participating charities, Amazon claimed its philanthropic efforts were “spread too thin” to have a meaningful impact. Nearly a decade ago, Amazon created its Smile program as a way for its customers to support their favorite charities.

Amazon smile for nonprofits