The Inglorious Life and Sudden Death of AmazonSmile
Last week’s big news was that AmazonSmile is closing shop after ten years.
What can you say about AmazonSmile? What can you say about a corporate behemoth that undertakes an ill-conceived and manipulative plan to remake its image on the backs of the nonprofit sector; that then spends a decade overpromising, underdelivering, causing serious distractions for the causes it professed to support, and damaging small businesses; and that finally tosses the whole thing in the scrap heap? What can you say?
Well, give me a few minutes.
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Rose City Philanthropy
2 年I liked Amazon Smile we contributed over $400 in the time it existed to the rescue group we adopted our pups from. We considered it an additional venue for giveing; not a primary source
Nonprofit storyteller; writer, editor, community builder & global thinker.
2 年THIS: "Amazon says its motive for creating AmazonSmile was to support worthy nonprofits. But, of course, it wasn’t that at all. Amazon wanted to?look?like it was supporting the charitable sector. It wanted to paper over its reputation as a rapacious competitor and brutal employer with a charitable shimmer." I always hated it when board members wanted to include the program in communications when for many nonprofits, it resulted in mere pennies in donations. And, you're right that it distracted from so many other important ways for donors to give. So glad to see it gone! Thanks for covering it, Al.
CEO, Board Member, Foundation Trustee, Advisor, Bridging Philanthropy, Technology, Public & Private Sectors
2 年Put a fork in it. Perhaps well intentioned, but too many nonprofits would invest resources in AmazonSmile efforts with no real donation success, and the opportunity costs of not focusing on more effective engagement cost many small/medium nonprofits. Thanks, Al Cantor