by Daniel Hanson on Monday, March 31, 2014

Copied from http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/03/31/smile-your-amazon-purchases-can-now-support-scouting/

As if you needed another excuse to shop at Amazon.com.

Now every purchase you make from the Earth’s biggest online store can support the charity of your choice, including Scouting.

Through its new AmazonSmile program, Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of the price of your eligible purchase to the 501(c)(3) public charitable organization of your choice.

Sure, half a percent isn’t much and won’t replace your Friends of Scouting contributions that help Scouting function in your community. But it adds up, costs you nothing and is a great additional way to support Scouting.

The one-time setup takes just a couple of seconds (instructions below), and you get the same prices, products and service you’re used to when shopping at Amazon. It doesn’t cost you any extra; the only difference is now you’re helping Scouting every time you buy.

The Boy Scouts of America’s National Council and its nearly 300 local councils all are eligible charities. Individual packs, troops, teams, posts, ships and crews aren’t eligible to earn money through AmazonSmile.

And if you make a purchase by 11:59 p.m. (PT) today, March 31, Amazon will donate an additional $5 to the charity you choose. Warm up those credit cards!

After the jump, find out how to set it up and begin helping Scouting each time you click that tantalizing purchase button.

Step 1: Go to smile.amazon.com

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You’ll use this link to register and for all your future Amazon shopping.

Even after you’ve signed up for AmazonSmile and selected a charity, shopping through the regular amazon.com won’t benefit that charity. You need to use the smile.amazon.com link from now on.

Step 2: Sign in using your normal Amazon.com login

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Step 3: Search for the “Boy Scouts of America”

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Step 4: Find your local council, or select the national council

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Some are listed by council name and others by headquarters city. That information comes from a national charity database, so any listing you find in there is legitimate.

Charitable organizations must go through a rigorous screening process to be listed here, so you can select with confidence that your purchases are actually supporting your council.

Step 5: Check the top-left corner and start shopping

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If you see AmazonSmile in the top left corner and the correct charity in the “Supporting: [Your charity here]” line, you’ve done it right.

Step 6: Double-check that the product you’re buying is eligible

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Most items sold by Amazon qualify, but confirm that on the product page. It’ll say “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation.” And this is a good time to triple-check that you see AmazonSmile and the proper charity at the top-left corner.

Step 7: Check out!

This part you should be used to.

Purchase the item(s), and smile. You’ve just done a Good Turn for your local council!

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