Amazon shoppers who use the AmazonSmile offering to trigger charitable donations with spending have steered more than $215 million to nonprofits, the eCommerce giant announced Wednesday (Sept. 30).
The program, launched in 2013, has resulted in contributions to “hundreds of thousands” of charities, Amazon said in a news release. The company said donation recipients range “from global humanitarian efforts to local hospitals and school PTAs.”
Charities that focus on “animals, education, health, and disaster relief” are the most popular recipients designated by U.S. shoppers who use the program. Recipients in those categories constituted more than 50 percent of organizations receiving gifts, according to Amazon.
“Donations from AmazonSmile have resulted in hundreds of thousands of charities expanding their meaningful work across global communities making a difference in people’s lives,” Amazon Vice President of Consumer Engagement Llew Mason said in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled to have given over $215 million on behalf of customers to the causes they care about most.”
The cities whose citizens generated the most AmazonSmile giving per capita, according to the company, are Boulder, Colo.; Alexandria, Va.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Seattle; and Orlando, Fla.
Broken down further, shoppers in Alexandria, Boulder and Orlando were most generous toward charities that care for animals—the top category for AmazonSmile donations.
Boulder residents gave the most per capita toward education-related causes, which represent the program’s second most supported cause.
Nationwide, gifts toward charities that focus on civil rights and social activism benefited from a 70 percent surge in donations, Amazon said.
Matt Bershadker, president and chief executive of the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, said in a prepared statement: “Over the last five years, compassionate AmazonSmile customers have helped generate millions of dollars in donations to help us rescue and protect countless animals in need across the country. That support covers a range of animal welfare programs for dogs, cats, horses, and farm animals, and we’re grateful to Amazon and their customers for helping us provide vulnerable animals with the care they need and deserve.”
In another charitable initiative, Amazon in July said it had donated more than $100 million to fight poverty and hunger and to provide disaster relief.
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