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How we can all donate $1,013,271 to OMF (Ron Davis) per year w/o spending an extra cent

Jesse2233

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
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Location
Southern California
How? By enrolling in Amazon Smile you can contribute 0.5% of your Amazon purchases (in the US) directly to the Open Medicine Foundation (Ron Davis et al) at no extra cost to you (it's a tax write off for Amazon).

Edit 1: you can also buy groceries on Amazon Smile!

Edit 2: Screenshot your Smile Account showing OMF as the recipient to encourage others to do the same! (But keep your personal details private)

Math explaining the $1,013,271 amount is at the bottom of this post

Here's how to do it:
  1. Start by going to http://smile.amazon.com and logging into your Amazon account

    upload_2017-5-2_12-35-45.png


  2. Then search for "Open Medicine Foundation" in the box below their spotlight charities

    upload_2017-5-2_12-37-35.png


  3. "Open Medicine Foundation" in "Agoura Hills, CA" should pop up.

    Click "Select"

    upload_2017-5-2_12-38-42.png


  4. Keep in mind that in order to have the donations go through you must use the address smile.amazon.com when you shop. All of the same items at the same prices will be there.

    Check "Yes" and click "Start Shopping"

    upload_2017-5-2_12-39-38.png


  5. And that's it! You should get a confirmation in your email

    upload_2017-5-2_12-40-39.png
Here's the math:
  • The average Amazon customer spends $700 / year (1)

    It's true that 75% of ME/CFS don't work and thus likely spend much less than the average person generally. But keep in mind patients don't shop at "brick and mortar" stores as often and buy a disproportionately large amount of supplements.

  • There are 2,226,969 unique viewers per year on this forum (according to 2013 data) (2)

  • Let's assume 65% are in the US (where Amazon Smile donations are eligible). That's a total of 1,447,530 unique viewers.

    And let's assume (using the 80/20 rule) that 20% are active viewers (3)

    That gives us 289,506 unique active viewers in the US (we know there are ~19,000 registered members but many more guests who regularly "lurk").

  • Using the figures above gives us a total of $202,654,200 spent by active unique viewers of the PR forum (289,506 unique active viewers x $700 spent a year on Amazon)

  • If we multiply $202,654,200 by the Amazon Smile donation share of 0.5% we get $1,013,271 per year in potential donations to OMF
 

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Gingergrrl

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
@Jesse2233 I joined Amazon Smile in Oct 2014 with all donations going to OMF. I use Amazon for literally everything (since I use wheelchair and do not drive) and have spent thousands on Amazon Smile since 2014 but it says that my total donation to OMF is $33.77. Could this possibly be correct?!!! It's better than nothing but I thought it would be a much higher percent going to OMF.
 
Jesse2233

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
1,942
Location
Southern California
Gingergrrl said:
@Jesse2233 I joined Amazon Smile in Oct 2014 with all donations going to OMF. I use Amazon for literally everything (since I use wheelchair and do not drive) and have spent thousands on Amazon Smile since 2014 but it says that my total donation to OMF is $33.77. Could this possibly be correct?!!! It's better than nothing but I thought it would be a much higher percent going to OMF.
Click to expand...

Hmm that would equal around $6k total spending so if that sounds right, then that's likely the donation amount. It may seem small but in aggregate with other people these things add up quickly!
 
Mary

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,372
Location
Southern California
One extra incentive for shopping on Amazon (including Amazon Smile) is that if you use an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card (NOT to be confused with the Amazon.com Store card! I've read a lot of negative reviews about the Amazon.com store card), you will get 5% back on each purchase made through Amazon.com, which can add up rather quickly. I just discovered this some months ago. I simply apply the 5% earned on prior purchases to future purchases. You do have to be a prime member to get the 5%.
 
Gingergrrl

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
Never Give Up said:
Buy your groceries from Amazon Fresh via Smile Amazon to get home delivery with a kick back to the OMF.
Click to expand...

@Never Give Up I am a member of Amazon Prime (with all purchases going to OMF through Amazon Smile) but I was not sure how Az Fresh or Az Pantry related to being a member of Prime (or if they were eligible for Az Smile)?

It sounds like they are eligible for Az Smile from your above post which is great to learn! How do you sign up for Amazon Fresh/Pantry for grocery delivery to make it link w/your existing Prime & Smile accounts? I'd actually love to get the grocery delivery if it is free shipping and can still have the %%% donated to OMF!
 
Never Give Up

Never Give Up

Collecting improvements, until there's a cure.
Messages
971
Gingergrrl said:
@Never Give Up I am a member of Amazon Prime (with all purchases going to OMF through Amazon Smile) but I was not sure how Az Fresh or Az Pantry related to being a member of Prime (or if they were eligible for Az Smile)?

It sounds like they are eligible for Az Smile from your above post which is great to learn! How do you sign up for Amazon Fresh/Pantry for grocery delivery to make it link w/your existing Prime & Smile accounts? I'd actually love to get the grocery delivery if it is free shipping and can still have the %%% donated to OMF!
Click to expand...
I think they give you a one month free trial, there is a monthly fee thereafter. The food and things like Q-tips are competitively priced. Here are the details:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201338210
 
Gingergrrl

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
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