Comment Articles

E-philanthropy: More than meets the eye?

Mary Jo Foley AnchorDesk

Published: 26 Jan 2001 10:58 GMT

In mid-October, for example, streaming-media vendor RealNetworks announced that its newly minted foundation plans to donate five percent of profits per quarter to various philanthropic projects. RealNetworks crowed that this amount would catapult the company to a slot near the top of all American corporations in terms of corporate giving.

Salesforce-automation vendor Salesforce.com created its philanthropic foundation a year ago. To mark the occasion of the launch of the foundation, company officials stated that "Salesforce.com is the first Internet company of its kind to institutionalise philanthropy by donating a percentage of shares to a foundation dedicated to closing the digital divide."

Other high-tech entities have been more blatant in seeking positive coverage. E-commerce software vendor Propel Software, for example, received a slew of press coverage, all focusing on the company's promised commitment to philanthropy, since its founder, former Infoseek CEO Steve Kirsch, launched the company a year ago. But to date, the company refuses to go public with any details on what it will sell or when it will sell it.

There are some words of wisdom on Propel's Website: "In the new economy, companies will be evaluated not only on the execution of their business plan but also on their ability to build a sustainable and meaningful venture," which will focus on giving back to the community.

As more high-tech companies publicly divvy up, many good organisations and causes stand to benefit. But we shouldn't allow companies' donations to deter us from continuing to ask the hard questions about their products and businesses.

What's your take? Are high-tech companies putting their money in the right places? TalkBack below and let me know what you think.

To have your say online click on TalkBack and go to the ZDNet forums.