How Your Non-Profit Can Use AmazonSmile to Receive Donations
All information below came straight from AmazonSmile. For full details or more information, please visit: https://smile.amazon.com/.
Get Started
- Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.
- AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.
How do I register and receive donations for my charitable organization?
Registering your organization is easy. In order to register and receive donations, you must be an official representative of an eligible organization, and then follow these easy steps:
- Search for your charitable organization by name or EIN number and then select the organization you represent. Be sure to confirm you are selecting the correct organization, as many charitable organizations have similar names.
- Create an organization administrator account and accept the AmazonSmile Participation Agreement on behalf of your organization.
- Verify your email address (we recommend that you use an email address that is associated with your charitable organization).
- Submit your organization’s bank account information.
- Upload a copy of a voided check or bank statement to verify your organization’s bank account information.
An organization administrator is an official representative of an organization that has authority to access and manage AmazonSmile program information on behalf of their charitable organization.
Why do you need an email address for my charitable organization?
We require a valid email address so that we can communicate important program information to each registered organization. From time to time we will send emails with information about your organization’s donation amounts and information about AmazonSmile program promotions.
Can you mail our organization a donation check instead of sending an electronic funds transfer?
We do not mail donation checks due to the expense of check processing and fulfillment. We distribute donations using electronic transfer to reduce operational expenses so we can donate 100% of the funds to eligible charitable organizations.
Will customers still be able to select my charitable organization if I don’t register?
Yes. As long as your organization is listed by GuideStar and meets our eligibility criteria, customers will be able to select your organization. However, no donations will be made to your organization until you complete your free registration. See "What happens if we do not register ..." under Receive Donations for more information on how donations are processed for organizations that do not register and provide bank account information.
What happens if another person has already registered my charitable organization and they were not authorized to do so?
If your organization has been registered by an unauthorized person please contact us.
All the AmazonSmile Program Details
Get Started
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile(smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the eligible charitable organization of your choice.
About Product Availability, Pricing and Services
AmazonSmile has the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as Amazon.com, including Amazon Prime member benefits.
Purchases Eligible for Donations
Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.
Managing your AmazonSmile Account
You can manage your purchases and other account information on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile using a single account. You can use your existing Amazon.com account on AmazonSmile if you have one, or create a new account if you don’t.
About Choosing a Charitable Organization to Support
On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation.
You can choose from almost one million 501(c)(3) public charitable organizations that are registered and in good standing with the IRS (as provided to Amazon by GuideStar USA, Inc.). See Eligible Charitable Organizations for more information regarding organization eligibility. In order to receive donations, each eligible charitable organization must register with the AmazonSmile program and provide the information necessary for us to send them donations. You can even select eligible charitable organizations that have not yet registered to receive donations from the AmazonSmile program and we will contact your chosen organization to ask them to register to receive donations from AmazonSmile. If your selected organization becomes ineligible or does not register for the AmazonSmile program, see our process regarding Charitable Organizations that Do Not Register.
Eligible Charitable Organizations
Organizations must be public charitable organizations that are registered and in good standing with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) to be eligible to participate. Eligible charitable organizations must also be located in one of the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia. Organizations that engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, hate, terrorism, violence, money laundering, or other illegal activities are not eligible to participate. Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which organizations fall into these groups. Charitable organizations must also adhere to the AmazonSmile Participation Agreement to maintain eligibility. Charitable organizations may choose not to participate in AmazonSmile at any time. Although we aim to include only charitable organizations that are in good standing and do not engage in any of the activities described above, we cannot guarantee the good standing and/or conduct of any charitable organization.
Spotlight Charities
From time to time we may highlight one or more charitable organizations from the total list of eligible organizations. We do this to make it easier for customers to choose an organization to support from the almost one million available, but we do not endorse any particular organization or the causes they support.
Changing Your Charitable Organization
You are welcome to change the charitable organization you want to support at any time. If you make a change, only AmazonSmile purchases after the change will accrue donations for your newly selected charitable organization. Your change will not affect AmazonSmile purchases made prior to the change. To change your charitable organization, sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser. From your desktop, simply select “Your Account” from the navigation at the top of any page, and then select the option to “Change your Charity”. From your mobile browser, select “Change your Charity” from the options at the bottom of the page.
Charitable Organizations that Do Not Register
If your selected charitable organization does not complete registration, the AmazonSmile Foundation will still track donations accrued in each calendar quarter for that organization. Once you make an eligible purchase at smile.amazon.com, your selected charitable organization has 8 full calendar quarters to complete registration. If the charitable organization does not complete registration by the end of the eighth full quarter after your first eligible smile.amazon.com purchase, you will be notified and asked to select a new charitable organization. You will have 30 days to select a new charitable organization and then Amazon will reallocate the donations based on your previous smile.amazon.com purchases to your new charitable organization. If you do not select a new charitable organization within 30 days, the donations based on your previous smile.amazon.com purchases will be reallocated proportionately to other registered charitable organizations in the next quarterly disbursement.
Charitable Organizations that Become Ineligible
These occurrences are relatively rare. If your selected charitable organization becomes ineligible due to a change in IRS standing or another violation of the program participation agreement, you will be notified and asked to select a new charitable organization. For changes in IRS standing, we provide organizations with a grace period to continue to accrue donations while they re-establish their tax status; for all other violations of the Participation Agreement, you will be notified no later than the quarter after such disqualification. You will have 30 days to select a new charitable organization and then Amazon will reallocate the undisbursed donations based on your previous smile.amazon.com purchases to your new charitable organization. If you do not select a new charitable organization within 30 days, the undisbursed donations based on your previous smile.amazon.com purchases will be reallocated proportionately to other registered charitable organizations in the next quarterly disbursement.
Charitable Organizations that Request to be Removed from the Program
Charities that opt out of participation in the program are treated as ineligible organization for reallocation purposes.
For Representatives of Charitable Organizations
If you represent a charitable organization, go to org.amazon.com to learn more about registering your organization to receive donations.
No Cost to Customers or Charitable Organizations
There is no cost to charitable organizations or to AmazonSmile customers. Customers will have access to the same products, features, services, and great low prices as on Amazon.com. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from eligible AmazonSmile purchases to charitable organizations selected by customers.
About the Donation Amount
The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the eligible charitable organization of your choice. The purchase price for each item is the sale price, excluding shipping, handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, and service charges, and less any rebates, returns, and bad debt.
AmazonSmile Donations to Charitable Organizations
100% of the donation amount generated from your eligible purchase on AmazonSmile will be donated. The donation amounts generated by your purchases are combined with the donation amounts from all other customers that selected the same organization, and each quarter the AmazonSmile Foundation makes donations to registered charitable organizations by electronic funds transfer. Donations are generally transferred approximately 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter.
Donations are not made for products that are returned.
The amount that the AmazonSmile Foundation donates as a result of your AmazonSmile purchase is not tax deductible by you. If you have any questions about your tax situation, you should contact your tax advisor.
About the AmazonSmile Foundation
The AmazonSmile Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) foundation created by Amazon to administer the AmazonSmile program. All donation amounts generated by the AmazonSmile Program are remitted to the AmazonSmile Foundation. In turn, the AmazonSmile Foundation donates those amount to the charitable organizations selected by our customers. Amazon pays all expenses of the AmazonSmile Foundation; they are not deducted from the donation amounts generated by your purchases on AmazonSmile. You may not make a direct donation to the AmazonSmile Foundation. The only way to support your charitable organization through the AmazonSmile Foundation is to shop on AmazonSmile.
About Shopping on AmazonSmile
If you shop on smile.amazon.com using an internet browser on your desktop or laptop computer, your mobile phone, or your tablet, then your purchases of eligible products (marked “eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the detail pages) will result in donations. Purchases that are not made using an internet browser (for instance, using the Amazon Shopping App, Kindle Store, FireTV, Amazon Dash, or Amazon Echo) are not currently eligible for donations.
About Wish Lists and Registries on AmazonSmile
Your Wish Lists are the same on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile and work in the same manner. Items you add to your Amazon.com Wish Lists will appear on your AmazonSmile Wish Lists, and vice versa.
When you create a registry on Amazon.com it will appear on AmazonSmile and vice versa. In other words, your registries are the same on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile and work in the same manner. However, only registry purchases made on AmazonSmile will generate donations. For example, if you create your registry on AmazonSmile, but your guests make their purchases on Amazon.com, those purchases will not generate donations. If your guests make their purchases on AmazonSmile, those purchases will generate donations based on the guest’s selected charitable organization, not your selected charitable organization. Any purchases made on either Amazon.com or AmazonSmile will update the registry that appears on both sites.
About Payment Methods to use on AmazonSmile
All payment methods available on Amazon.com, including Shop with Points, are available for use on AmazonSmile. Note that if you choose to Shop with Points, we will calculate donation amounts based on the price of the item (not the amount of points redeemed).
Privacy Information
Amazon will not share individual customer information with charitable organizations even if you select to support them through your shopping on AmazonSmile. Please see the Amazon.com Privacy Notice for more information regarding our sharing information with third parties.
Questions? Learn more about AmazonSmile
Not interested? Shop at www.amazon.com instead
Represent a charitable organization? Visit org.amazon.com
All information above came straight from AmazonSmile. For full details or more information, please visit: https://smile.amazon.com/.