Amazon to Shut Down Charity Donation Program AmazonSmile

From CNET: Amazon said Wednesday it plans to shut down AmazonSmile, its charity donation program, by next month, as it looks for ways to cuts costs.

The program, launched in 2013, doled out a percentage of shoppers' purchases to eligible charities, donating more than $377 million globally since its inception, Amazon said. The company now plans to close AmazonSmile by Feb. 20, it said in a company blog post.

"After almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped," the company said. "With so many eligible organizations -- more than 1 million globally -- our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin."

Amazon went on to say it will continue to invest in areas where it can "make meaningful change," assisting communities impacted by natural disasters, building affordable housing and providing access to computer science education for students in underserved communities.

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