Comment Articles

E-philanthropy: More than meets the eye?

Mary Jo Foley AnchorDesk

Published: 26 Jan 2001 10:58 GMT

High-tech entities seemingly are giving back like never before, by creating foundations, pouring part of their profits into charitable organisations and boosting volunteerism among their employees. More and more charitable and fundraising malls are setting up portals on the Web, a trend some have characterised as e-philanthropy. (Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more ridiculous new e-words...)

On the surface, I heartily applaud these companies and CEOs, especially because many of them are funding causes near and dear to my heart. How can you bash a company -- even Microsoft -- for making a multi-million-dollar donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help combat the Digital Divide? Chairman Gates is slated to announce its Digital Divide gift, which the company is calling one of the biggest corporate donations in Microsoft's history, on Monday.

But being the cynical journalist I am, I can't help but wonder whether some companies are hiding behind their philanthropic efforts. Could high-tech firms be using good causes to deflect attention from other potential trouble spots in their bottom lines and/or business strategies?

It's tough to speculate on, much less to prove, what motivates companies to step up their charitable giving. Which came first: The increasingly generous grants made in the areas of education and health by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or the increasing number of bad press clips generated by the Department of Justice vs. Microsoft antitrust trial?

Microsoft's not the only target of my rant. A number of high-tech companies' press releases on the emergence of their corporate consciences stray blatantly into the land of one-upsmanship.