As Butler County residents race to finish their holiday shopping, they may be greeted by a new way to spread the spirit, and donors do nothing more than link their Amazon accounts to the nonprofit of their choice.

The online shopping platform offers a program called Amazon Smile that donates .5 percent on the qualified purchases of its customers at no extra charge.

“I think it’s a great option because you don’t necessarily need extra funds to give back to the community,” Caitlyn Boland said. “You can help local organizations through your regular purchases.”

Boland, assistant director of the Butler Public Library, said the library has received the donations for the last few years. She said library staff found the program by frequently shopping on the site themselves for their own materials.

Boland said becoming a participant in the program was easy. Once added to the list, the library does not have to perform any other function to maintain its presence on the list. She said the program also is easy from a donor’s standpoint.

Customers first need to use www.smile.amazon.com instead of the main website. Then, customers with Amazon accounts can use Amazon Smile to purchase their product. At checkout, they will be prompted to select a charity. Their selection is saved with their account, so they don’t have to chose from the list every time. Customers without an account would have to select the nonprofit each time they check out.

Most local nonprofits have instructions or a direct link to their Amazon Smile page while others use the program as an afterthought.

Deana Turner, treasurer of the Karns City Scholastic Foundation, said the money they receive isn’t enough to justify focusing their attention on advertising. She said the foundation, which is a separate entity than the school district, began participating in the program in “September 2015 and raised $56 for the year.”

Turner said the small percentage donated doesn’t offer enough incentive to spend time and energy promoting the program.

“Due to the volume of online transactions it could be beneficial; however, with the rewards only being .5 (percent,) the volume would need to be significant,” she said. “The ease of use certainly makes it an attractive fundraiser, but the volume required to earn a significant reward is an issue.”

Turner said the district in general prefers that members of its community shop at local businesses rather than online, but the program does offer something for those who must shop online.

“If community members use online shopping, we would ask them to designate the Foundation,” Turner said.

Some nonprofits are seeing the program as a way to get money where otherwise they couldn’t.

The Moraine Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America added a brief statement in its November newsletter.

Greg Pistner said this is the first year the organization has used the program, and members are excited to see the results.

“I believe it’ll help,” he said. “It’s enough to help us out with some small things.”

Pistner said the program has a lot of potential, especially considering the trend of online shopping.

“Some people are using Amazon so much now, they’re even getting their groceries (online,)” he said.

Pistner said the program may be something the council emphasizes in the future, but even if it doesn’t receive large sums from the program, it will appreciate any amount it can generate.

“Every little bit that nonprofit organizations can get is beneficial,” he said.