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Donating for a cause has become a tad easier with global e-commerce giant Amazon.in’s ‘Gift a Smile’ initiative. Consumers can easily choose and donate on the website to a cause they believe in and would like to support.
Amit Agarwal, VP and Country Manager, Amazon India said that the initiative has been build on the success of the company’s pilot project, “Light Up a Child’s Diwali” launched in October 2013.
The company has tied up with ten leading NGOs in the country that are working in the area of child development, education, health care and protection and women empowerment.
The NGOs, using the Amazon wish list technology, will create and continually update a list of items that they need from the over 15 million products available on the website. The seller fees accrued from these sales would go to the NGOs.
“We were very encouraged by the response that the NGOs received during our Diwali campaign. We believe that as an ecommerce platform, we have a very powerful technology at our disposal that can enable people to make meaningful contributions that could directly impact many lives positively,” Agarwal added.
The wish lists include but are not limited to products like educational toys, books, dictionaries, sports equipment, clothes, personal hygiene products, as well as items that will help NGOs provide vocational training (for example, beauty products for beautician courses targeting girls between 16-20 years) to help develop sustainable livelihoods.
All participating NGOs have been validated by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), a not-for-profit organization that offers support to corporate entities, individuals and PSUs to ensure greater impact of their philanthropic and CSR investments.
Meenakshi Batra, CEO, CAF India said, “This is a very unique opportunity for donors to directly support the needs of the community. Amazon has empowered a new generation of internet-savvy consumers with a new and innovative way to gift items thereby enhancing the giving experience for both donors and recipient organizations.”
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