Ozon Care programme brings together customers and marketplace sellers to benefit charities
Ozon is launching its own charity programme, Ozon Care, and invites its millions of users and tens of thousands of marketplace sellers to support non-profit organisations.
The Company is making it possible for anyone who uses its marketplace services to take part in the charity programme: sellers will be able to make charitable contributions to reliable non-profit organisations, and charities will be able to receive funds by selling charity gift cards and branded products through the Ozon marketplace.
Funds collected from the sale of products and gift cards will be given to verified charities participating in the Ozon Care programme. These include the following six charities: the Vera Hospice Charity Fund, Anton’s Right Here, the Leukaemia Foundation, the RAY foundation for homeless animals, the Upwards centre for equal opportunities and Movement Up foundation for children and adolescents. Ozon customers will be able to choose for themselves how to help these charities.
By joining the marketplace, charitable foundations will gain access to millions of users, who will now be able to combine charitable giving with shopping online. Charities will periodically share information on their social networks about the recipients of charitable assistance and how they were able to help them.
Sale of charity gift cards Ozon enables users to give funds to their favourite charity. Electronic gift cards can be purchased on the website in denominations of RUB 50, RUB 100, RUB 200, RUB 500, RUB 1,000 or RUB 2,000. Buying a gift card is as easy as buying any other electronic product on Ozon.
Sale of products with the Ozon Care label A percentage of the sales of certain products offered by the sellers will go towards participating charities. Ozon sellers can donate to a charity without having to think about choosing a trusted recipient. They simply choose a product to be included in the programme and set the percentage or amount of charitable contributions to be made. A special Ozon Care icon will make it easier for customers to find these products.
Sale of products by the charities themselves Users can now purchase branded goods – including sweatshirts, T-shirts, dishes, bags, umbrellas and bottles – from non-profit organisations on Ozon. Ozon customers can buy charity merchandise from anywhere in the world.
Making new friends Thousands of dogs and cats are looking for a home, and millions of people shop on Ozon. Ozon and the RAY foundation decided that this is a great opportunity to match up future pet owners with homeless animals. There will be applications available for cats and dogs. Anyone can request an interview to determine their compatibility with a pet by first sending a donation of RUB 200 – the cost of two meals for an adult dog at a shelter. For now, only shelters in Moscow and the Moscow region are taking part in this option.
Elena Chernina, Ozon’s head of social projects, commented: “As part of our charity programme, we decided to include a variety of social issues – from providing support for adult patients to helping animals. Like the Ozon marketplace, the Ozon Care programme will function as a platform that brings together customers, sellers and non-profits. Ozon customers can choose for themselves which charity to support, how much they would like to give and how they would like to help, and the charities can collect donations. Another source of pride is the involvement of sellers, who can make deductions from sales to verified charities. The result is that we truly are making charity a pleasant and convenient part of life for everyone."
Elena Filbert, Executive Director of the Anton’s Right Here charitable foundation, commented: “Our foundation’s participation in the Ozon Care programme is not only a resounding acknowledgement of the creativity of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but also an important public statement: inclusion is closer than it seems. At the same time, Ozon is a unique channel for obtaining financial support. Selling products enables the foundation to be more stable: we pay salaries to artists with ASD, and the remaining funds are used to help families in crisis situations. Ozon Care has brought together a variety of social issues and charities on one platform – this is a complex story that sheds light on the world of effective philanthropy for users.”
Ozon is a leading multi-category e-commerce platform and one of the largest Internet companies in Russia. The site features 27 million SKUs in 20 categories: from books and clothing to food and health products. Ozon is rapidly developing as an online platform – already more than 90% of the site’s product range is provided by marketplace partners. An extensive logistics infrastructure enables thousands of entrepreneurs to sell their products in 11 time zones across Russia, and gives 85 million Russians access to courier delivery or a pickup point within walking distance. Ozon is also developing a system of services that are complementary to its core business, including fintech products and the Ozon Express fast delivery service.
Information about Ozon Care charity programme participants
Since 2006, the Vera Hospice Charity Fund has been supporting hospices in Moscow and several other regions of Russia by providing targeted assistance to families with terminally ill children; training hospice staff; holding conferences, seminars and courses; and raising awareness. Vera is the only non-profit organisation in Russia that systematically supports hospices and is developing palliative care.
Since 2013, the Anton’s Right Here charitable foundation has been conducting programmes aimed at supporting inclusivity for people with autism in Russia, from early diagnosis and inclusive preschool education to assisted employment and leading an independent life in society. The foundation helps children, teens and adults with autism to exercise their rights, live their lives as part of society, and find work and friends.
Since 2014, the Leukaemia Foundation has been helping adults affected by blood cancer. The Foundation covers the costs of searching for and alerting donors, as well as the costs of drugs and laboratory tests not covered by compulsory medical insurance. The Foundation also purchases medical equipment and consumables for clinics, raises awareness about becoming a donor and publishes popular-science content about blood cancer.
Since 2015, the RAY foundation has been helping homeless animals and the shelters where they live. The foundation supports more than 40 shelters in Moscow and the Moscow region that are home to some 16,000 cats and dogs. RAY delivers food and medicine to the shelters, treats and neuters animals living in shelters and on the streets, transports them to veterinary clinics and helps them to find homes. The RAY foundation also carries out large-scale awareness-raising efforts: it conducts lessons in schools and other educational institutions on how to treat animals responsibly and organises free lectures for pet owners on how to care for their pets properly.
Since 2018, the Movement Up charitable foundation has been helping children with disabilities undergo vital rehabilitation. The foundation not only pays for children’s’ sessions with specialists at medical centres in Russia, but also helps with the purchase of equipment and devices for home-based rehabilitation.
Since 2010, the Upwards centre for equal opportunities has been providing assistance to children who are leaving orphanages, adolescents from foster families and families in difficult life situations, as well as young adults from boarding schools for people with neuropsychiatric disorders. The Upwards centre helps the recipients of its care prepare for exams, employment and education; offers distance learning; and organises internships and volunteer camps.
Only certified charities can participate in Ozon Care program. All charities included in the programme so far have been verification by Ozon, have operated for at least three years and have all relevant legal documents, and report on their activities on regular basis.