Valleywag
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failanthropy
Valley penthouse up for grabs in raffle
A team of sponsors lead by developer Barry Swenson are offering a penthouse in Swenson's City Heights high-rise housing development in San Jose as a prize in a raffle. A $150 ticket could win you the $1.2 million flat or $1 million in cash — if 15,000 tickets are sold. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for half the ticket takings. The raffle will reportedly benefit InnVision, which provides services to the homeless, but it's not clear how much. But then as the lucky winner you could live like an Objectivist, peering down at the impoverished masses and decrying the folly of altruism all you like. So there's that. -
failanthropy
Google touts charity-race win, ignore injured competitor, charity
Team Google, stocked with runners from company outposts across the country, finished third out 147 corporate teams in the Hood to Coast relay race sponsored by Nike. The course takes runners from Mount Hood to the Pacific Ocean through Oregon. Team Yahooligans? They finished 140th. Google proudly touted the efforts of the team on the official corporate blog. Fast, sure, but were the ultracompetitive Googlers good sports? More » -
failanthropy
How Eric Schmidt funds Wendy Schmidt, tax-free
We always wondered what, exactly, Wendy Schmidt saw in her husband Eric, the billionaire CEO of Google who sometimes prefers the company of other women. A review of the couple's charitable ventures makes things clearer. The Schmidt Family Foundation, which reported $84 million in assets in December 2006, has handed out some grants since its formation two years ago. But its biggest charitable project seems to be Wendy Schmidt herself. More » -
failanthropy
Gurbaksh Chahal to pretend to be poor, learn life lessons in new Fox reality show
Now we know why BlueLithium founder and short-time Yahoo employee Gurbaksh "G" Chahal decorated his $6.9 million penthouse with tacky animal skins and a cheap-looking chandelier. To look rich for middle America. Chalal is starring in a Fox "reality" show this fall called The Secret Millionaire. In it, G will live among poor people and pretend to be one of them. But before doing that, he'll have to convince Fox's audience at home he's used to living a fabulously wealthy lifestyle. Hence, the decorations, G's decorator tells us in an email defending his efforts. More » -
failanthropy
Google charity needs to abandon any pretense of altruism
Google's do-gooder arm, Google.org, is off in Washington holding a conference to lobby Beltway insiders on commercializing plug-in hybrid vehicles. Which makes sense from a self-interest standpoint, since Google is actively investing in companies and technologies that could benefit from subsidies and regulatory changes by the government. Google.org has also hired engineers tasked with researching the goal of creating renewable energy for less than the cost of coal. Which, again, could make Google orders of magnitude more money than it ever will selling text ads. So everyone really needs to stop referring to Google.org as any sort of philanthropic enterprise, and call it what it is — a venture-investment subsidiary. Just listen to Dan Reicher, Google.org director of energy initiatives, talk about exit strategies for some of the projects the organization has funded in the video after the jump. It's certainly a new approach compared to non-profit climate change preparation and prevention advocates. Just don't mistake it for altruism. More » -
craigslist
Jim Buckmaster's curious category system
It looked like an unassuming boast-post on the official Craigslist blog touting the site's fast page load times as computed by Alexa. But it's the post's category tags that caught my eye — Harassment and Philanthropy. Could be nothing, could be a subtle backhand to critics. You decide. -
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failanthropy
Gates Foundation refuses to help Bletchley Park
The legendary site in England where the Nazis' communication code was finally broken, Bletchley Park, has hit hard times. The land is being eyed by developers eager to build on the spot situated perfectly between Oxford and Cambridge. Among possible funders who turned the opportunity down was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — reportedly because it wasn't "Internet related." More » -
failanthropy
John Doerr gives daughter's private school $1 million
The Castilleja School, a posh private prep school for girls in Palo Alto with an annual tuition of $29,305, received a $1 million from the Benificus foundation, which lists John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins as president and his wife, Ann Howland Doerr, as vice president and secretary. The gift was part of the school's fundraising efforts, and granted the foundation the right to name the program chair of the math department after the couple. In what I'm sure is just a coincidence, the Doerr's daughter, Mary Doerr, is set to graduate with the class of 2009. Don't work too hard, young Mary — our tipster figures you'll do quite well on your report cards, as long as you don't take leadership lessons from Jimmy Wales, who recently lectured at the school. For parents a little harder on their luck, the cost to rename the computer lab is a mere $200,000. -
failanthropy
Schwaggin' Wagon donating tech tees
After years of going to tech networking events and trade shows, you end up with logo shirts and crappy hats. Unless you have the fashion sense of Robert Scoble, you wouldn't actually want to be seen wearing them in public. Which inspired consultants Michael Liskin and David Preciado to come up with The Schwaggin' Wagon, and BloggerReps CEO Marjorie Kase wrangled the van. They'll take your unwanted promotional goodies and turn them into support for InnerKids, a Southern California nonprofit committed to instilling Buddhist mindfulness in the young. The message on which our youth can meditate: That you care enough to give them something you got for free. (Photo by Andrew Mager) -
failanthropy
At Google, failed entrepreneur Larry Brilliant to save the world with entrepreneurialism
Rolling Stone's profile of Google.org director Larry Brilliant presents a man with an unimpeachable reputation in public health and a decidedly impeachable one in private business. Since Google.org is run more like a venture fund than a traditional philanthropic foundation, the company's supposedly humanitarian work is expected to serve pecuniary self-interest. The RE<C project to replace coal with renewable energy sources could certainly prove quite profitable. But Brilliant's expertise is in epidemiology, and as anyone in big pharma can tell you, there's very little money to be made in curing diseases, especially in the developing world. The piece does have an interesting sidenote — Steve Jobs ran into Brilliant on his way to meet guru Neem Karoli Baba. Which explains where Jobs learned what it takes to lead a cult. (Photo by Pierre Omidyar)
Failanthropy
San Francisco, 5:27 AM
Sun Nov 23
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