We all received an email in January letting us know that the online retailer that has helped many animal welfare projects raise passive funds has decided to focus its charitable initiatives on larger projects. Unfortunately, this has left many rescues and shelters in the lurch, as this income, while small for many of us, was significant. Not to mention some of the biggest projects that have attracted millions of supporters for their benefit, just look at some of the examples below!
I guess when you look at big numbers and dollars all day, it’s easy to get excited about the possibilities of doing more and giving more valuable donations, but when you’re an animal rescuer, the value is subjective. Someone’s old t-shirt is a kennel mop cloth, someone’s torn blanket is perfect bedding, and a child’s old teether is perfect cannon fodder for piranha pups. I know my personal contribution to the rescue I chose hasn’t exceeded $100 over the life of my account, but that’s at least 2 more pets microchipped! This makes 2 possible shelter diversions, 2 possible owner returns! It’s a difference we need to keep seeing.
Amazon may not have been the first company to provide local animal shelters and rescues with both an easy way to collect donations and a great way to promote your wishlist, but no one can deny that. , they are the ones who brought him some well-deserved attention. . And now ? How to compensate for a lost advantage? Well, we find an alternative. There are other services (some that have been around even longer than AmazonSmile) that you can use to promote yourself to your donors and engage them.
Opportunities to find:
🐾 I give is probably the oldest such platform. It also comes with a mobile app for convenience and a browser extension to remind online shoppers similar to AmazonSmile. Moreover, since the percentage return can vary between 0.6% and 26%, a single user can generate much more for the rescue of his favorite animal than he ever could with Smile. According to its founder, Rob Grosshandler, iGive has seen a 600% increase in users and new signups since Amazon dissolved its service.
🐾 CouponBirds Seedling Project is another great option as online shoppers are enticed to use it. Discount coupons! They can shop with coupons and you can collect quarterly donations. Plus, they have a referral program for nonprofit organizations for an added bonus!
Other options (as mentioned in a Forbes article) include:
🐾 GoodShop (which also offers coupons and an ongoing tax filing promotion)
🐾 Givebacks (Shoppers link their credit card to their Giveback account and any purchase made with that card at eligible stores earns donations for your rescue or animal shelter)
🐾 Shopraise (this app also engages supporters and gives them a way to contribute regardless of their earned percentage)
So who needs Amazon?!
There are many other places that understand the significant impact even one person can have. The options listed here are just a few of the AmazonSmile alternatives you can take advantage of for animal rescues, and if you’ve read our previous Muttric on fundraising in 2023you know that we are very attached to the community!
Contact your surrounding pet stores with a nice flyer containing items from your wish list. See if they would be willing to post this flyer in the store for generous customers to contribute to help homeless animals and assign a volunteer to go around collecting these contributions when the stores call. It won’t cost the pet store to promote your animal rescue, and it won’t cost you anything to get your community involved.
Ultimately, we know that value is less about dollar amount and more about consistency, so let’s continue to promote more services that make consistent donations to animal rescues and shelters possible!