Philanthrocapitalists in education
05/03/09 13:13
Wealthy philanthropists have been around for hundreds of years. There’s nothing new about the rich wanting to do good deeds with surplus wealth. But the emergence of the so-called ‘philanthrocapitalists’ is a new slant on an old idea; the likes of Bill Gates for example aren’t happy just to give funds to worthy charities via their own charitable foundation; Gates (and other ‘philanthrocapitalists like Warren Buffett) want to use their business skills to increase the effectiveness of their charitable dollars. They demand outcomes and accountability, and they’re prepared to hire the best people around to make the policy decisions in their charitable foundations (rather than attempt to be the experts themselves).
Big global companies like IBM promote themselves as ‘good corporate citizens’. It’s not just because they claim to see it as the moral and right thing to do (IBM support literacy programmes, and send IBM staff into schools). They also see it as ‘good business’.
They recognise that their own staff for example will only stay with IBM for a few years before they move on to work for another organisation. Job mobility is a reality. Rather than fight this trend, IBM have decided to embrace it. They invest in their staff, upskill them and train them - knowing that another company is likely to reap the benefits - but trusting that those other companies will do the same with their staff, and in an inter-connected global job market, IBM will pick up other quality staff. What goes around comes around.
So ‘philanthrocapitalists’ still do good deeds just like the Rochefellars and the Carnegies of yesterday, but for more complex.
And a mixture of compassion and enlightened self-interest can be a good thing.
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