 |
Aren’t you sick of people asking, cajoling, even beseeching you (it’s better than besmirching you) to donate to their charity? I’m not going to do that today. Amazon.com, the online bookseller turned video streaming company turned PROVIDER OF ALL THINGS, is willing to donate for you.
The program is called Amazon Smile. You tell Amazon where you want your money to go, and they will donate 0.5% of all your qualifying purchases to that charity. Allow me to clarify. They are not charging you an extra 0.5% and then donating it. They’re taking 0.5% off their profits from your purchase and giving it to the charity you designate. Why in the world would you not take that deal?
Mitch, how do I take that deal?
I’m glad you asked.
1. Turn on your computer, tablet, or cell phone. If you can’t find the ON button, ask a small child.
2. Go to your internet browser and type in the following website name: smile.amazon.com
3. Enter your email address and Amazon password. If you can’t remember those items then ask the NSA. They have it on file, for your convenience.
4. Select a charity. I might suggest organizations that have the words “multiple sclerosis” in their name.
5. Instead of shopping from Amazon.com in the future, shop from smile.Amazon.com, and donations will be made automatically to your designated charity.
0.5% of your annual purchases may not seem like a significant amount of money, but 0.5% of Amazon.com’s sales for a year is a hugely significant amount of money. Whether or not you are a fan of Amazon.com, they are trying to do a good thing here. Let’s hold them to it.
Tell them Mitch sent you, and you’ll qualify for a free lifetime subscription to my new blog entitled “How the Fuck Did I End Up On This Ride Anyway?”
Sharing Mitch, thank you. As always a pleasure to read. Following your blog, as I do, I might be interested in reading your new book, 'HOW THE FUCK DID I GET ON THE RIDE?' The title entices me! 😉
Be well.
Spend and donate your money wisely, 80-90% of every charitable dollar given to most charities goes towards infrastructure costs rent, salaries and FUNDRAISING. It is common knowledge that the MS Society spends more on fundraising than on research!
Tami, do you think I can get mass-market appeal on a book with the F word in the title? It might be worth a try 🙂
Anonymous, I agree that we all need to spend and donate our money wisely. I used to feel the same way that you do about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, but I’ve changed my thinking, in large part due to a Ted talk by Dan Pallotta. Here is the description of the talk:
Activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend — not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). In this bold talk, he says: Let's change the way we think about changing the world.
Copy and paste this URL to watch the talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong
Mitch, think outside the box. If it's a good read I'm sure we can find a way. You may need to use an ingenious replacement that could not be construed as anything else…something like FU*% or F&CK or ?UCK. A little imagination goes a long way!
there is also the "igive" (http://www.igive.com/welcome/lp8/cr48.cfm) browser plug-in, that allows you to make donations when you shop almost anywhere online. works the same way as the amazon thing, but without having to support another evil empire.
Will be looking for your new book/blog with the shamey words in it.
My (least) favorite part of the charity collection is the people who stand outside a grocery store and ask you pointblank, "Do you want to help children with cancer?" If you decline, as most do, you are marked for life as a complete brute………Ginny