{"id":20443,"date":"2019-02-18T00:01:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T05:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=20443"},"modified":"2019-02-08T13:56:31","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T18:56:31","slug":"amazonsmile-as-easy-fundraising-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2019\/02\/amazonsmile-as-easy-fundraising-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"AmazonSmile as Easy Fundraising Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like it or not, everyone is shopping at Amazon these days.<\/p>\n

Okay, not everyone. But you get the point. We might as well get used to it. Not only that, we might as well take advantage of it. At least, we might as well know our options.<\/p>\n

Libraries operate on increasingly tight budgets. And we advocate on a regular basis for greater funding. Sometimes, we get it. And even when we don\u2019t, we\u2019re increasingly clever with how we spend what we have to effectively reach all of our patrons.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re good at what we do. Still, a few extra bucks never hurts.<\/p>\n

Enter AmazonSmile. An easy way to earn a few cents on eligible purchases which, depending on supporter\u2019s purchasing habits, may add up to substantial donations. After all, as of October 2018, according to their site, AmazonSmile\u2019s charities have earned more than $105 billion.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to sign up, according to blog.aboutamazon.com<\/a>. Head to org.amazon.com<\/a> and click the yellow \u201cregister now\u201d button. Search for your organization and click register to follow the steps.<\/p>\n

How simple is that?!<\/p>\n

The Catch<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s one major catch. The organization appears to have to be a 501(c)3. Many libraries are not, and it can be expensive to become one. That said, if you have a Friends of the Library group or a related organization that is a 501c3, why not sign up today?<\/p>\n

Like everything else, AmazonSmile has its fair share of detractors. This article, https:\/\/nonprofitchronicles.com\/2017\/03\/28\/why-amazon-smile-doesnt-make-me-smile\/<\/a>, provides interesting perspective.<\/p>\n

Amy Gee, director of the Carthage (IL) Public Library District, suggests that all patrons shop local in her community. Even so, knowing that not only patrons, but her library uses Amazon for certain purchases, she says it was easy enough to implement. Adding to that, Gee says, \u201cfor program activity from Oct, 1, 2017 – Sept. 30, 2018 we received $201.89 with minimal to no effort on our part.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Wait…<\/h2>\n

Megan Grove from the Talcott Free Library describes another way to register for AmazonSmile. Grove explains, “I had to create an account on GuideStar for the library in order to be added. You can get a letter from the IRS that basically states that even though you are not a 501(c)3 you can be treated as such. It\u2019s called Letter 4076C and you can request it from the IRS. According to 170(c)(1) charitable contributions to governmental units are tax deductible if made for public purpose.”<\/p>\n

Nothing is perfect. Still, for the right organization, maybe AmazonSmile can raise a few extra bucks. It may be worth the effort.<\/p>\n

Joel Shoemaker is a member of the ALSC Advocacy and Legislation Committee. He currently resides in Metamora, IL and is the Library Director for the Illinois Prairie District Public Library.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: V. Outreach and Advocacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like it or not, everyone is shopping at Amazon these days. Okay, not everyone. But you get the point. We might as well get used to it. Not only that, we might as well take advantage of it. At least, we might as well know our options. Libraries operate on increasingly tight budgets. And we advocate on a regular basis for greater funding. Sometimes, we get it. And even when we don\u2019t, we\u2019re increasingly clever with how we spend what we have to effectively reach all of our patrons. We\u2019re good at what we do. Still, a few extra bucks never hurts. Enter AmazonSmile. An easy way to earn a few cents on eligible purchases which, depending on supporter\u2019s purchasing habits, may add up to substantial donations. After all, as of October 2018, according to their site, AmazonSmile\u2019s charities have earned more than $105 billion. Here\u2019s how to sign up,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-advocacy-and-legislation-committee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}