Google has moved into philanthropy and, not surprisingly, the company is breaking new ground and killing a few sacred cows in the process.
Google has set up a philanthropy to fight poverty, disease and global warming. What's different here is that it will have to make a profit, reports The New York Times.
The new organisation Google.org, as opposed to com or biz, will have the freedom to form start-up companies and work with venture capitalists. And it will pay taxes.
Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, clearly believe that running a philanthropy for profit will give the agency more grunt,
Not a bad idea although there might be some obvious issues down the track. Like conflicts of interest between the philanthropy and the parent company. And can charity actually make a buck?
Still, Google's new venture shows how philanthropy is morphing into something else. It's something that emerged when Warren Buffett made his $31 billion gift to the Gates foundation and the growth of venture philanthropy. Clearly, the worlds of philanthropy and business are converging.
This isn’t really anything new, though Google doing it makes it seem new. Check in at Audeamus.com for all the news on social entrepreneurship and social enterprise. And yes, a nonprofit can make a profit. It is just bound by different rules. Also, it’s main motivation shouldn’t be profit, but social impact with profit as a way to leverage that social impact.
Is it true that the nascent Google Foundation is weighing investments in for-profit firms that also pursue worthy causes?. That’s a switch from mainstream philanthropy, where money goes to non-profit charities.