A Guide to Amazon’s Donation Program for Non-Profits

Amazon—well-known for its comprehensive offering of food, furniture, clothes, and home and personal care products through its multinational e-commerce site—but what donations can it offer your nonprofit organization?

We did the research for you, to help your nonprofit start receiving donations from Amazon. Learn more about Amazon’s donation program initiatives below.

I have a fundraiser coming up and would like to get product donations from Amazon. Where can I find Amazon’s donation request form?

Amazon doesn’t have their own in-kind donation program, but instead donates most of their surplus inventory to nonprofits through a program called Good360. Their surplus inventory consists of usable items that are overstocked, returned, cosmetically damaged, or near expiration.

To get donations from Amazon and other corporate donors through Good360, register your organization here. Registration is free, but be sure to keep in mind that the site charges a small administrative fee on donated products, which covers the shipping, handling and processing of the item. To register with Good360, note that your organization must be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt recognized public charity, a school, VOAD Member, church, newly developed organization or under a 501(c)(3) group exemption.

Currently, Good360 only serves organizations that are based in the United States and Canada. Amazon donates products to organizations in Europe through In Kind Direct International. For more information on Good360, check out their FAQs.

Does Amazon donate Amazon Fire products, such as Fire TV Sticks or Fire Tablets?

In 2020, Amazon has donated $5 million in Amazon electronics to healthcare workers and other communities affected by COVID-19. However, Amazon doesn’t have an open program specifically for requesting their Fire electronics.

Can I request an Amazon gift card donation?

Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t have an active gift card donation program, though they have donated gift cards in the past as a part of their Right Now Needs Fund, which partners with two nonprofits, Alliance for Education and Bellevue LifeSpring. The two nonprofits support the needs of students in underserved communities by funding meals, school supplies, shelter, and other basic needs. Read more about it here.

What companies similar to Amazon also donate?

If you are looking for product and gift card donations, the following companies also donate. Select any of the links below to be directed to the company's donation program information.

• Walmart Donation Request
• Target Donation Request
• CVS Donation Request
• Big Lots Donation Request
• Publix Donation Request

See our blog posts on Walmart's donation program, Publix's donation program, Costco's donation program and Target's donation program for more donation information

Outside of department stores, the following regional grocery and supermarket chains also donate:

• Meijer Donation Request
• Schnucks Donation Request
• Sprouts Farmers Market Donation Request
• Winn-Dixie Donation Request

Does Amazon donate through Whole Foods?

Yes, Whole Foods does donate to nonprofits. Their Community Giving program provides financial support to registered nonprofit organizations in the United States, Canada, and the UK. The program is primarily geared towards supporting organizations that work in areas of food access, environmental stewardship, or other closely-related needs. It's important to note that the organizations must align with Whole Foods Market's Core Values and use the donations to support programs in communities surrounding Whole Foods Market stores. However, the program does not offer in-kind or gift card donations. To learn more about this program, read our Whole Foods Donation Request blog post.

To kick-off Hunger Action Month, on September 1, 2020, Whole Foods launched a program called Nourishing Our Neighborhoods. This program entailed Whole Foods purchasing 19 refrigerated vans which will provide the receiving organizations with 20,000 pounds of food per week.

For more information on Whole Foods’ Nourishing Our Neighborhoods program, and a list of receiving organizations check out this blog post.

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile was a program where Amazon donated 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to charitable organizations selected by the customer at checkout, at no additional cost to the customer. Consumers could access this feature by shopping at smile.amazon.com or by enabling it in their mobile app. In 2020, AmazonSmile donated over $60 million to registered nonprofits.

Unfortunately, on February 20, 2023, Amazon sunsetted AmazonSmile after nearly a decade of its operation to refocus their philanthropic giving to make a greater impact. Read more about Amazon’s decision to close this program here.

What are the pros and cons to AmazonSmile?

It is important to keep in mind that 0.5% of every purchase made on AmazonSmile does not amount to very much. $1,000 spent on AmazonSmile would just accumulate to $5 earned for an organization, which means that AmazonSmile might not be a meaningful or time efficient method of fundraising.

On the other hand, obvious pros to Amazon’s giving program are that consumers can choose which charity they want to support through their purchases, and that it offers any U.S. charity in good standing the opportunity to accrue donations just by registering the charity and verifying its bank information.

What are other fundraising methods that allow nonprofits to passively make income like AmazonSmile?

• PayPal offers a similar service for nonprofits where users can first donate to a nonprofit, and set it as their favorite nonprofit to have the option to donate one dollar at checkout with each transaction.
• Amazon also has an Amazon Affiliates program that allows users to recommend products through affiliate links and earn up to 10% in commissions on products sold.
• Have donors reach out to their employers to see if they will match their donation.

Where can I find the aforementioned Amazon donation request information?

• AmazonSmile Org Central
• In Kind Direct International
• Product Donations
• Nonprofit - Good360
• Good360 | Marketplace
• Whole Foods Market Announces Nourishing our Neighborhoods, a Food Redistribution Program to Reduce Food Waste and Feed Communities

Cover photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash