Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

Last month, Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild took advantage of a new way to raise funds by working with AmazonSmile.

AmazonSmile, or smile.amazon.com, is a shopping website run by Amazon that allows shoppers to designate a nonprofit charitable organization to receive .5 percent of the purchase price of the items they buy.

“It is Amazon, but with tying in with the greater community who order off them, Amazon has decided to contribute to charities,” said Sculpture in the Wild Artistic Director Kevin O’Dwyer. “They’ve already given about $80 million to various things.”

O’Dwyer sees it as a convenient way for the supporters of the sculpture park to donate when they shop online.

“I went and I looked at the two different websites, and Amazon and Smile are exactly the same,” he said.

O’Dwyer, who has been deeply involved in fundraising efforts for Sculpture in the Wild, said he looked into the reviews and feedback regarding AmazonSmile and found it to be a reputable program, without any price differences between it and the normal Amazon site.

“I felt good about it” he said. “It’s kind of their way of connecting with community, and also getting you to buy from them.”

Although the two sites have the same offerings, there are some items on AmazonSmile that don’t provide the half-percent donation. “It’s due to the companies they distribute with and if they want to be part of this,” O’Dwyer said.

Once you log on to smile.amazon.com, you have to enter the organizations name in the search window.

“It was really easy, I just typed in Blackfoot Pathways and the dang thing popped right up,” O’Dwyer said.

Since Sculpture in the Wild only joined AmazonSmile a few weeks ago, O’Dwyer said it’s too early to evaluate how effective it is as a fundraising tool, but he hopes anyone interested in supporting the sculpture park will use it to help benefit the project and, by extension, the community.