Since 2013, more than one million nonprofits across the globe have benefited from donations through AmazonSmile, Amazon’s successful shop and donate program. With the company’s recent announcement that they will shut down the program, iGive is stepping up to fill the void for charities and philanthropic shoppers alike, helping both give and get more donations than with AmazonSmile.
A pioneer of e-Philanthropy, Rob Grosshandler designed the online charity mall model and launched iGive.com in 1997. The advent of AmazonSmile slowed the expansion of iGive even though its retailers offer a far greater percentage of money given back (up to 26%) creating a meaningful difference for participating nonprofits. To date, shoppers using iGive have donated more than $10 million with its proprietary shop-to-give software.
In an effort to ease some of the financial burden charities are facing with the AmazonSmile shutdown, 2000+ retailers on iGive are offering at least double the donation rate than those found on AmazonSmile through March 31, 2023. iGive shoppers can make a purchase from great retailers like Walmart, Chewy, Kohl’s, and Expedia, and choose from over 100,000 small and large nonprofits to which to donate. iGive shoppers have chosen to support tens of thousands of charities from pets to social services, religious institutions to schools and many others.
“More than one million charities will lose a key funding source next month, and the iGive team is already seeing the scramble for financial stability,” said Rob Grosshandler, iGive CEO. “Their concerns turned into a 600% increase in consumers using and signing up with iGive in the first hours after the AmazonSmile shutdown was announced. It’s small, hyper local charities that are hurt the most when funding dries up, so we’re eagerly racing to ease the donation transition for our more than 100,000 charity partners.”
Shoppers who use iGive will have a greater impact than those who used AmazonSmile. iGive donations range from .6 to 26 percent of the total purchase price, depending on the retailer. That’s compared to AmazonSmile’s flat donation rate of only .5 percent. With iGive, a $50 online purchase can generate $1.25 more in charity donation compared to using AmazonSmile. Over time, this adds up faster, creating a greater impact for small nonprofits.
To start donating with iGive, simply create a free account on iGive.com and begin browsing your favorite retailers and charities. On the iGive account dashboard, shoppers can save their favorite stores, see how much iGive shoppers have donated to their favorite causes, and view their total donation amount to-date.
Downloading the iGive browser extension or mobile app for free, makes searching, buying and donating to a cause even easier by allowing consumers to shop for what they want and automatically see which retailers are iGive participants and the percentage they give back.
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.