Post by Slinger on Feb 2, 2023 23:28:03 GMT
Today we started sending the below email to AmazonSmile customers, and we want to share it here, too
Charities have told the BBC of their disappointment at Amazon closing its charity donation scheme by 20 February.
The BBC has spoken to several UK charities about the end of AmazonSmile, a scheme that allows customers to donate to a charity of their choice when purchasing items on Amazon.
The firm said the scheme had not had the impact it had wanted it to.
But charities have said they are sad to see it go, with one saying small charities will suffer the most.
In an email, the online retail giant said AmazonSmile had not "grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped", noting that the average donation to UK charities in 2022 was less than £137.
It said it will donate an amount to participating organisations equivalent to six months of what they earned from AmazonSmile in 2022.
The scheme was launched in 2013 and saw the corporation donating a small percentage of the sale price of items on its website to a charity chosen by the customer.
The decision comes weeks after Amazon announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs, the largest number in the firm's history, as it battles to save costs.
James Jackson, RSPCA head of corporate partnerships, said it was "disappointed" by the closure of AmazonSmile, through which it has raised £430,000 since 2017.
"While we're saddened to see AmazonSmile close, we note Amazon's commitment to prioritising other philanthropic projects instead," he said.
Amazon engages with other charitable causes, as well as having a product donation programme, which it says provided more than 15 million essential goods to those in need in 2022.
'Crazy' attitude
Vanessa Martin, the founder of the Childhood Tumour Trust, criticised Amazon for saying the scheme had not had the impact it hoped for.
"For tiny charities like ours that rely on fundraising to exist, the phrase 'every penny counts' couldn't be truer - particularly in the times we are living in," she said.
The charity she founded aims to help families with children who have been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumours to grow on nerves.
She said it had raised £2,000 through the scheme - enough money to send five children to a therapeutic camp.
"It's still a lot of money," she said. "Their attitude is crazy... when we are happy with a £10 donation, are they saying it's better to not give anything?
"No doubt, it will be the lesser-known [charities] that suffer."
The impact has been felt at charities worldwide, with the Global Sanctuary for Elephants saying it was "upset by this inconsiderate decision", and US-based SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary saying the donations it had received "meant the world".
Cheryl George, fundraising manager at Hope Rescue, which aims to save stray and abandoned dogs in South Wales, was also critical of Amazon for questioning the impact of its charity scheme.
"They haven't asked what the impact is," she said.
"They can ask us for an impact report, they can ask the charities out there - what impact is it making?"
She said the donations were not a one-way street.
Charities including Hope Rescue, and others the BBC spoke to, explained they would promote AmazonSmile when emailing patrons.
"They've had years and years of free marketing from small charities," she said. "It hasn't been all about goodwill, there have been benefits to them doing AmazonSmile as well.
"I think they have a social responsibility to give back."
Paul Howard, chief executive of Lupus UK, told the BBC the charity has received £14,500 as of November 2022, and the closure would result in "sorely missed income".
"Our income has been significantly hit since 2020," he said.
"We have vastly increased our spending on welfare grants for lupus patients to help them manage throughout the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis."
Amazon has urged charities to create their own wish lists on its site.
It also says it has launched a new section of its website where charitable organisations can open their own storefronts and keep all of the profits on sales.
Large charities such as Cancer Research UK, which raised £1.4m through AmazonSmile donations, told the BBC it was "looking forward" to working with Amazon on its upcoming store.
But Becky Rowson, corporate partnerships manager at Crohn's and Colitis UK, which helps people living with inflammatory bowel disease, said the charity simply was not able to open a store on Amazon.
"We, like many other charities, do not have a retail arm and building one would take us time," she said.
"The funds helped us support the 500,000 people living with Crohn's and Colitis.
"Every penny counts, so it is disappointing that this dependable source of income will come to an end, and we will now have to look at other ways to replace that vital funding."
SOURCE
As someone who has used it, and promoted it whenever I could, I'm deeply disappointed that, in these times of hardship and reduced direct donations, yet another revenue stream has been cut off for the small charities who need it the most.
Subject: Update on AmazonSmile
Dear customer,
Ten years ago, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favourite charities. However, since launch, the programme has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.
AmazonSmile represents a very small portion of the total charitable contributions made through our other programmes, which we estimate at more than £100 million in 2021.
We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other programmes that we know will have more impact—from providing support to families in need to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist communities impacted by natural disasters.
We recognise that these are difficult times for everyone, including charities, so we are providing an additional one-time donation to participating charities equivalent to six months of what they earned through the programme in 2022, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the programme officially closes in February. Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.
As a company, we will continue supporting a wide range of partnerships that help thousands of charities and communities across the UK. For example:
On top of this work, we will continue to invest in our capabilities to support communities in the UK and abroad every day and in times of crisis. So far, for example, we’ve partnered with Magic Breakfast to deliver more than 6.6 million free breakfasts to thousands of children across the country, and we delivered more than 7 million COVID-19 test kits across the UK during the pandemic. We have also been using our logistics capabilities to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Globally, we’ve provided more than $75 million in support including millions of critical relief items - from medical supplies to blankets, food, books and devices for refugees, working closely with charities such as Save The Children.
We’ll continue working to make a difference in many ways, but our long-term commitment to our communities remains the same: we are determined to help create a better world for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve across the country.
Thank you for being an Amazon customer.
SOURCE
Dear customer,
Ten years ago, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favourite charities. However, since launch, the programme has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.
AmazonSmile represents a very small portion of the total charitable contributions made through our other programmes, which we estimate at more than £100 million in 2021.
We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other programmes that we know will have more impact—from providing support to families in need to using our logistics infrastructure and technology to assist communities impacted by natural disasters.
We recognise that these are difficult times for everyone, including charities, so we are providing an additional one-time donation to participating charities equivalent to six months of what they earned through the programme in 2022, and they will also be able to accrue additional donations until the programme officially closes in February. Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.
As a company, we will continue supporting a wide range of partnerships that help thousands of charities and communities across the UK. For example:
- We are increasing our support for a charity coalition led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown that has donated essential products to more than 50,000 families in need.
- We recently announced a new partnership with Comic Relief that began with our support for the Comic Relief Cost of Living Appeal, which supports families across the UK and alleviates pressures caused by rising costs.
- Our product donation programmes continue to help people and families in need, providing more than 15 million essential goods in the last year alone. These include In Kind Direct, a partnership that supports more than 2,000 charities with donations that help more than 250,000 people every single week.
- We have also launched a new Amazon for Charity store which allows charities to raise money by selling products on Amazon and collecting 100% of profits. Today the store features Macmillan Cancer Support, Royal British Legion, the Natural History Museum, and Marie Curie, and we are adding more charities all of the time.
On top of this work, we will continue to invest in our capabilities to support communities in the UK and abroad every day and in times of crisis. So far, for example, we’ve partnered with Magic Breakfast to deliver more than 6.6 million free breakfasts to thousands of children across the country, and we delivered more than 7 million COVID-19 test kits across the UK during the pandemic. We have also been using our logistics capabilities to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Globally, we’ve provided more than $75 million in support including millions of critical relief items - from medical supplies to blankets, food, books and devices for refugees, working closely with charities such as Save The Children.
We’ll continue working to make a difference in many ways, but our long-term commitment to our communities remains the same: we are determined to help create a better world for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve across the country.
Thank you for being an Amazon customer.
SOURCE
Charities have told the BBC of their disappointment at Amazon closing its charity donation scheme by 20 February.
The BBC has spoken to several UK charities about the end of AmazonSmile, a scheme that allows customers to donate to a charity of their choice when purchasing items on Amazon.
The firm said the scheme had not had the impact it had wanted it to.
But charities have said they are sad to see it go, with one saying small charities will suffer the most.
In an email, the online retail giant said AmazonSmile had not "grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped", noting that the average donation to UK charities in 2022 was less than £137.
It said it will donate an amount to participating organisations equivalent to six months of what they earned from AmazonSmile in 2022.
The scheme was launched in 2013 and saw the corporation donating a small percentage of the sale price of items on its website to a charity chosen by the customer.
The decision comes weeks after Amazon announced plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs, the largest number in the firm's history, as it battles to save costs.
James Jackson, RSPCA head of corporate partnerships, said it was "disappointed" by the closure of AmazonSmile, through which it has raised £430,000 since 2017.
"While we're saddened to see AmazonSmile close, we note Amazon's commitment to prioritising other philanthropic projects instead," he said.
Amazon engages with other charitable causes, as well as having a product donation programme, which it says provided more than 15 million essential goods to those in need in 2022.
'Crazy' attitude
Vanessa Martin, the founder of the Childhood Tumour Trust, criticised Amazon for saying the scheme had not had the impact it hoped for.
"For tiny charities like ours that rely on fundraising to exist, the phrase 'every penny counts' couldn't be truer - particularly in the times we are living in," she said.
The charity she founded aims to help families with children who have been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumours to grow on nerves.
She said it had raised £2,000 through the scheme - enough money to send five children to a therapeutic camp.
"It's still a lot of money," she said. "Their attitude is crazy... when we are happy with a £10 donation, are they saying it's better to not give anything?
"No doubt, it will be the lesser-known [charities] that suffer."
The impact has been felt at charities worldwide, with the Global Sanctuary for Elephants saying it was "upset by this inconsiderate decision", and US-based SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary saying the donations it had received "meant the world".
Cheryl George, fundraising manager at Hope Rescue, which aims to save stray and abandoned dogs in South Wales, was also critical of Amazon for questioning the impact of its charity scheme.
"They haven't asked what the impact is," she said.
"They can ask us for an impact report, they can ask the charities out there - what impact is it making?"
She said the donations were not a one-way street.
Charities including Hope Rescue, and others the BBC spoke to, explained they would promote AmazonSmile when emailing patrons.
"They've had years and years of free marketing from small charities," she said. "It hasn't been all about goodwill, there have been benefits to them doing AmazonSmile as well.
"I think they have a social responsibility to give back."
Paul Howard, chief executive of Lupus UK, told the BBC the charity has received £14,500 as of November 2022, and the closure would result in "sorely missed income".
"Our income has been significantly hit since 2020," he said.
"We have vastly increased our spending on welfare grants for lupus patients to help them manage throughout the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis."
Amazon has urged charities to create their own wish lists on its site.
It also says it has launched a new section of its website where charitable organisations can open their own storefronts and keep all of the profits on sales.
Large charities such as Cancer Research UK, which raised £1.4m through AmazonSmile donations, told the BBC it was "looking forward" to working with Amazon on its upcoming store.
But Becky Rowson, corporate partnerships manager at Crohn's and Colitis UK, which helps people living with inflammatory bowel disease, said the charity simply was not able to open a store on Amazon.
"We, like many other charities, do not have a retail arm and building one would take us time," she said.
"The funds helped us support the 500,000 people living with Crohn's and Colitis.
"Every penny counts, so it is disappointing that this dependable source of income will come to an end, and we will now have to look at other ways to replace that vital funding."
SOURCE
As someone who has used it, and promoted it whenever I could, I'm deeply disappointed that, in these times of hardship and reduced direct donations, yet another revenue stream has been cut off for the small charities who need it the most.