As a nonprofit professional, you’re probably always looking for easy, innovative fundraisers that engage your supporters and provide sustainable revenue to fund your mission. From 2013 onward, more than a million organizations found a solution by signing up for AmazonSmile. This program allowed shoppers to donate a portion of their purchase totals on Amazon.com to their favorite nonprofits at no additional cost. Now, many seek alternatives to AmazonSmile.
Although AmazonSmile had its disadvantages (particularly its low commission rates), nonprofits of all sizes relied on the program for ongoing fundraising between events and giving campaigns. However, all of this ended on January 18, 2023, when Amazon announced they would discontinue the Smile program a month later.
If AmazonSmile’s discontinuation impacted your organization, you’re probably in the process of figuring out how to replace that lost revenue stream in your budget. In this guide, we’ll look at five fundraising alternatives to AmazonSmile that your nonprofit can try:
- Online Shopping Fundraisers
- Branded Merchandise Sales
- Matching Gifts
- Volunteer Grants
- Shoe Drive Fundraisers
Remember that the best alternatives to AmazonSmile will provide your organization with unrestricted revenue that can be put toward any underfunded expenses. Also, look for fundraisers that are easy to set up and convenient for supporters to participate in. Let’s dive in!
1. Online Shopping Fundraisers
AmazonSmile wasn’t the only program that allowed supporters to give back to nonprofits while making everyday online purchases—other online shopping fundraiser platforms enable your organization to replace lost revenue in a similar way. Rather than being tied to a specific retailer like AmazonSmile was, these platforms operate within a wide network of e-commerce businesses, so supporters can contribute through many of their favorite sites.
ShopRaise’s guide to shopping for a cause explains that nonprofits like yours can launch an online shopping fundraiser in three easy steps:
- Sign up to use the platform. The platform’s fundraising experts will walk you through a simple onboarding process, answer any questions, and handle all necessary negotiations with retailers for you—all at no cost to your organization.
- Promote your fundraiser. When switching from AmazonSmile to a different online shopping fundraiser platform, you’ll need to make supporters aware of the change and instruct them on how to download the free app and browser extension they’ll use to contribute. The platform you partner with can help with this step by providing a landing page, email templates, flyers, and other marketing materials branded to your nonprofit.
- Track the results. You’ll be able to view real-time data on your fundraiser to see which supporters are shopping for your cause and how their contributions add up over time. To protect shoppers’ privacy, you won’t see exactly which items they purchased, but knowing their names and fundraising totals will allow you to thank your top supporters individually.
Besides access to a broader network of retailers, these online shopping fundraiser platforms provide other advantages over AmazonSmile. Commission rates are often higher. Your nonprofit can receive up to 10% of supporters’ purchase totals, compared to the 0.5% rate AmazonSmile offers.
2. Branded Merchandise Sales
Another option to fundraise through supporters’ purchases is creating an online store for your organization. Consider working with a graphic designer to create merchandise branded to your nonprofit, such as:
- Apparel such as t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, hats, and socks
- Accessories like jewelry, watch bands, tote bags, purses, cufflinks, and scarves
- Beverage containers such as water bottles, ceramic coffee cups, and insulated travel mugs
- Keepsake items like magnets, keychains, stickers, picture frames, and Christmas tree ornaments
- Other convenient and popular products such as pens, note cards, stick-on phone wallets, umbrellas, and towels
Offer a variety of different items so that there’s a product that appeals to everyone. Although supporters might not be actively looking for these products, they’ll appreciate that all of the profits from your online store will go directly toward your mission.
To encourage additional purchases, consider featuring different designs on different products. Be creative and go beyond your nonprofit’s standard logo to create visually appealing designs. You’ll also benefit from the increased brand recognition—when supporters wear or use products that feature your organization’s logo and color scheme, they’ll spread awareness of your nonprofit in their community.
3. Matching Gifts
In addition to being a year-round opportunity to bring in unrestricted revenue, matching gifts are one of the most lucrative nonprofit fundraisers. When a supporter whose employer has a matching gift program gives to your nonprofit and submits a match request, their employer will also contribute, usually matching the original donation amount at a 1:1 ratio.
To tap into this incredible fundraising opportunity, market matching gifts on your nonprofit’s website, social media, email newsletters, and other communication channels. A strong marketing strategy is crucial, as the main challenge for this form of employee giving is that many eligible donors aren’t aware that their employers will match their contributions. In fact, 78% of donors are unaware of whether their employer offers a matching gift program.
This lack of awareness leads many nonprofits to miss out on extra donation revenue. Check out these statistics that indicate how critical matching gifts can be to nonprofit fundraising:
- Over 26 million individuals work for companies that offer matching gifts.
- These companies contribute $2-$3 billion per year in matching gift funds.
- 84% of donors indicate that they would be more likely to donate if they knew their employer would match their donation.
- 1 in 3 donors claim they would give a larger gift if they knew it was being matched.
- A Forbes survey of 250 multi-billion-dollar companies found that 92% of them offer a form of matching gift program.
- When nonprofits mention matching gifts in their fundraising appeals, they typically see a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average donation amount.
Another way to encourage matching gifts is by using matching gift software. By embedding a matching gift tool into your online donation form, you can make it easy for supporters to check their eligibility and get their contributions matched.
4. Volunteer Grants
While matching gifts occur when employers match their employees’ donations, volunteer grants consist of funds employers contribute to nonprofits for every hour their employees volunteer with certain organizations.
Companies use volunteer grants to advance their corporate philanthropy initiatives and give back to the causes their employees care about. As a result, nonprofits get volunteer work from these employees and additional donation revenue.
Just as many donors are unaware of matching gifts, the same is true for volunteers and volunteer grants. However, when you promote these opportunities to your volunteers, you can earn substantially more for your cause. Take a look at these volunteer grant statistics that demonstrate the potential of volunteer grants:
- 85% of the top matching gift companies offer volunteer grant programs as well.
- 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
- 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs offer $8-$15 per hour volunteered.
- On average, 33% of the workplace volunteers at nonprofits.
- Microsoft is the largest contributor of matching gift and volunteer grant funds, donating $7.7 million as a result of 456,000 volunteer hours logged by their employees.
While you can let your volunteers know about volunteer grant opportunities using traditional marketing tactics, some matching gift software will also provide information about volunteer grants. Look for a tool with both matching gift and volunteer grant information to maximize your fundraising.
5. Shoe Drive Fundraiser
If you’re looking for a creative and unique fundraising alternative to AmazonSmile, consider hosting a shoe drive fundraiser! This option is completely free and engaging for supporters. Launch this fundraiser in three easy steps:
- Partner with a shoe drive provider that will provide supplies and support for your fundraiser.
- Collect gently worn, used, and new shoes from your supporters either by designating community drop-off sites or scheduling pick-ups with them directly.
- Collect your check from your provider after they pick up the donated shoes.
This type of fundraiser is especially well-suited for educational nonprofits or nonprofits that work with children. That’s because children are more likely to outgrow their shoes than wear them into disrepair, resulting in more high-quality shoe donations that can benefit your nonprofit.
However, if your nonprofit doesn’t work with children, that doesn’t mean that shoe drive fundraisers aren’t a valuable opportunity. When it comes to appealing to your supporters, emphasize that shoe drives help them dispose of their old shoes in an environmentally friendly way. Frame it as a win-win—your nonprofit gets the funds you need to power your purpose, and your supporters can clean out their closets guilt-free! It’s one of the great alternatives to AmazonSmile.
The ideas in this guide are just five of the many possible fundraisers your organization could implement as alternatives to AmazonSmile. As you narrow down your options, remember to revisit your operating budget to ensure you can earn at least as much from the new initiatives you launch as you estimated you would have received from AmazonSmile this year. Happy fundraising!
