Amazon announced the end of AmazonSmile shocking the nonprofit world. Since 2013 Amazon has raised over $449 million for more than 1 million different nonprofits. While representatives state “[their] ability to have an impact was often spread too thin,” this is a blow for many nonprofits who relied on these funds. With the end of AmazonSmile, many are asking what options they have for shop-for-good programs.
Whether you’re new or old to using shop-for-good platforms, here are 5 alternatives to AmazonSmile that you may not know about:
ShopRaise is the program most like AmazonSmile. First Customers shop with the ShopRaise app or web extension. Then ShopRaise passes a percentage on to the nonprofit. Because retailers pay a small fee for ShopRaise to send traffic to their stores, there is no cost to either the nonprofit or its supporters.
ShopRaise provides marketing materials for emails, social media and web banners, which are customized for your cause. ShopRaise, also, easily integrates with donor management systems!
Whether it’s shopping for daily essentials, buying home goods, or booking a trip, the ShopRaise app lets you support a mission while shopping online all at no additional cost!
RaiseRight is a scrip gift card fundraising platform. Scrip fundraising is a no-selling program. While donors are buying gift cards through RaiseRight, the money spent can still be used for everyday expenditures meaning the purchase isn’t impacting your budget. They offer gift cards to hundreds of popular companies, so you don’t have to change where you typically shop to be able to raise funds. Customers receive their gift cards immediately through email. Then RaiseRight passes on a percentage to the consumers' nonprofit of choice.
If you’re hoping to both shop at Amazon and raise funds for a nonprofit, you can even purchase an Amazon gift card. The giving rates are even better than with AmazonSmile. The average earning is 6% but can go as high as 20%. They also provide online reporting tools to help you keep track of donations.
All at no additional cost! If a customer buys a $50 gift card, they have $50 to spend.
Samarity’s vision is to align nonprofit goals with corporate objectives to open up more opportunities for corporate philanthropy and charitable giving. Samarity understands how much people care about their favorite nonprofits and uses that passion to gather important consumer insights. By pinpointing nonprofits that align with a company's target audience, Samarity helps charities receive donations when their supporters complete surveys.
Samarity creates surveys in your nonprofit’s branding, which are sent to you for approval. If everything looks good, you share the surveys with your constituents. For each survey completed, you’ll receive a flat rate donation.
All data is aggregated, so your donors’ information is secure and remains private. The data is used for market research - think Gallup polls. But, your nonprofit also gets the survey results. So on top of getting donations for the survey, you’ll also gain valuable research to help your nonprofit understand your donor base!
As of July 1, 2022, Target has raised $19.2M and affected 3,500 nonprofits through their Target Circle Community Giving program. Target circle users earn votes by shopping with the Target website, app, or using their RedCard. Grants are then given based on the number of votes a nonprofit receives.
This program is unique from the others in that it’s a vote-based system. The money spent on a purchase goes towards directing funds, not towards increasing funds. Because the money donated is a grant, there is no added cost to the nonprofit or consumer. While Target’s Community Giving initiative is significantly different from AmazonSmile, the fact that it is a larger corporation makes it easily available to a wide range of people.
Target works with in/PACT and Simple Generosity to research and select the nonprofits they partner with.
The Spark Good Nonprofit Portal is Walmart’s hub for nonprofits to manage their fundraising efforts with Walmart. The Spark Good Portal has a lot to offer. Once verified, Nonprofits can use the customer-facing registry, Spark Good Round Up, community grants, a space request tool, and more.
All nonprofits are first verified by FrontDoor, which is powered by CyberGrants. A nonprofit must be in good standing and the person applying must be an authorized user of that organization.
While Amazon’s decision to end AmazonSmile hits hard for many nonprofits, many consumers have been rethinking ethical shopping and how to best use their dollars to support causes they care about. This announcement has many people looking for better options to have a positive impact on their community. Before, Amazon had the market on shop-for-good, but now, you can show those in your circle there are other options out there!
No matter what direction you choose to go with to replace AmazonSmile, it’s important that your nonprofit track the gifts you receive. With DonorDock, your nonprofit not only gets donations instantly uploaded into your donor management software, but you can also take tasks off your plate by automating thank you notes and receipts.
Navigating complex software or multiple spreadsheets takes valuable time away from all of your other priorities. Donor management should be simple and straightforward so that you can focus on your mission.
To find out if DonorDock is the right solution for your small- to mid-sized nonprofit’s complex donor management needs, check out this video demo now or schedule a call with our team.
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