American Express Launches Pilot with Philanthropi to Round Up Purchases
Credit: Getty Images by Yuthakarn Thaweepoon / EyeEm
American Express announced it is piloting Amex Round-Up, a new feature that makes it easier for Card Members to give back to the charities they care about. Starting today, and rolling out to select U.S. personal Card Members in the coming weeks, pilot participants can choose to round up their purchases to the nearest $1, $5 or $10 and contribute the extra funds to charities of their choice.
American Express has a long history of community giving and has contributed more than $1 billion to charitable causes around the world since 1954. We enable our Card Members to do the same - over the last decade, Card Members have contributed more than $110M to charities through donations using American Express Membership Rewards points. This effort expands the ways Card Members can give back using their American Express Cards.
According to Amex Trendex, giving back is a high priority for consumers with 79% of survey respondents feeling that it is important to support and donate to local charities, and 59% preferring to shop with brands that are socially conscious. During the initial 12-month pilot, select U.S. American Express Card Members can choose from nearly two million charities to direct their support, including those that align with American Express’ Environmental, Social and Governance strategy to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, build financial confidence and advance climate solutions.
“Amex Card Members have expressed wanting simple ways to make charitable contributions with their dollars and have always prioritized giving back, so we’re extremely excited to pilot the Amex Round-Up feature in partnership with Philanthropi,” said Lisa Yokoyama, Vice President and Head of Product for Amex Digital Labs. "We believe the Amex Round-Up program has the power to drive significant contributions to the charities our customers care about.”
To develop Amex Round-Up, American Express teamed up with Philanthropi, a portfolio company of Amex Ventures that is focused on leading the next generation of philanthropy through its innovative Giving as a Service platform, which democratizes giving for everyone. While donor advised funds have generally been available only to high net worth individuals, Philanthropi’s platform enables anyone to make giving a part of their daily lives and they recently expanded their platform for all consumers.
“Everyday givers are what drive the philanthropic ecosystem. Providing them with easy ways to give back is integral to helping them amplify their impact as well as sustain charitable giving over time. The new Amex Round-Up program is designed to do just that,” said Keith Leaphart, Founder & CEO, Philanthropi. “We are proud to collaborate with American Express on this initiative and are looking forward to what the future holds.”
American Express is currently piloting the Amex Round-Up Program by invitation to a select number of American Express Card Members in the United States and its territories. During the pilot, only Primary Card Members will be eligible to enroll in Amex Round-Up.
Card Members can see if they are eligible to enroll and can learn more about how to give back with Amex Round-Up and read full terms: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/banking/round-up/terms-of-service/
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.
