Ok, Amazon Smile Wasn’t Created for Charitable Reasons
— Im not surprised to learn that Smile, Amazon’s charity arm, was created purely out of business interests so they don’t have to pay Google for search traffic. Companies at that scale don’t operate for charitable reasons; when they give away money it’s generally because it furthers their business interests or to whitewash the brand.
That said, even though the motives to create the charity weren’t necessarily ethical, cynical even, its charitable effects are nevertheless positive. I have worked for small not-for-profit organisations. Most are notoriously tight for money and grants are usually tied to specific project and outcomes. They need any additional non-restricted funds to cover any overhead. Although the funds coming from source like Amazon Smile are negligible in the overall budget, even that of small organisations.