Alexa Now Makes It Easy To Donate To Charity - Olmec Skip to main content

Alexa Now Makes It Easy To Donate To Charity

By April 11, 2018June 8th, 2022Technology News

Amazon has made a small but significant change to its Alexa service, which now makes it possible to donate to charity by issuing voice commands.

So far, there are 48 charities connected to the system, with more in the pipeline.  There are two ways you can make use of the new feature.  The first is to simply say, “Alexa, make a donation.”

Doing this will prompt Alexa to ask you which charity you want to donate to, and the dollar amount to be donated.

The second method is to say something like, “Alexa, donate $20 to the American Red Cross,” or one of the others currently tied into the donation system.  Alexa will use whatever payment information you have tied into your Amazon account (including Amazon Pay, if you use it).

This isn’t the first time Amazon has taken steps to make donations to charity easier.  Not long ago, the company collaborated with an organization called “Give Back Box,” which allows users to reuse Amazon boxes to ship donations to various charity groups.

The company’s motivations for making these changes are unclear, but it could be a bid to help their new Amazon Pay system gain more momentum.  Regardless of the reasoning, these are exciting changes indeed. Given Amazon’s global reach, it’s all but certain to be a boon to the charities tied into the program.  Even better, these changes may well prompt other tech giants to make similar moves.

If you own a business of any size and are in the habit of making donations as part of your firm’s goodwill and outreach, Amazon just made it easier to do that.  If not, then at the very least, when you opt to make a personal donation you now have a convenient way to do so.

Jason Manteiga

Jason J. Manteiga, Vice President of Olmec Systems, has been part of the company for over the past 20 years. He believes that having a great work environment and supportive team, is the ultimate key to success. Since being in the IT realm for over 25 years, Jason, along with Olmec Systems, has been on the Inc. 5000 “List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” and Channel Futures MSP 501 “Top Managed Service Providers in North America,” along with other awards and nominations. Jason earned his Bachelor Degree in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also holds certifications in Microsoft MCSE, VMWare VCP, and Cisco CCNA. In his spare time, Jason is a contributor for The Center for Social & Legal Research (Privacy Exchange) and a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies include cycling and kayaking. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two daughters and son.