Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007 - (Page 18)

Social networking technologies—things like MySpace and Facebook—are enormously popular and changing both business and our society. What impact will these so-called Web 2.0 technologies have in the world of philanthropy? Most community-based organizations are composed of people who come together because of common interests, a common passion—a love of the environment, a focus on a particular issue like education or health care, for instance. These Web 2.0 technologies offer the ability for people who have common interests to collaborate, to share points of “It’s just amazing the impact technology has, not just on the educational process but on our ability to participate in the global marketplace. The downstream consequences of that are truly profound.” view, to extend the reach of the organization well beyond its physical or geographic base. So I think you’ll see a lot of small philanthropic organizations begin to project a much bigger image and extend their base more fully and more freely using these technologies. We see a lot of business leaders becoming increasingly interested in the world of philanthropy. What has spurred the change? At Symantec, for instance, we have an obligation to not just be an effective software company and serve the needs of our customers, but we have to serve the needs of the communities where our employees live. If we do that, we become a more valued employer to the people that make up our team. So we encourage our employees to participate in community-based programs and we fund some of that participation for them. There is a sense of pride that employees have in their company if it is involved in the community. As companies come to terms with that, they also recognize that it can be one of the differentiators of them versus some other competitors in the marketplace. Which philanthropic issues particularly resonate with you? I have a real passion about children and public education. I think if we don’t do something to arrest the problems of the public education system in our country, we set ourselves up to be a second-rate country 50 to 100 years from now. Look at what is possible in some of the developing nations around the world and what simple technology like wireless connectivity can do. Holy smokes. It’s just amazing the impact technology has, not just on the educational process but on our ability to participate in the global marketplace. The downstream consequences of that are truly profound. My wife is also very much involved in environmental issues. We care a great deal about that and so the two of us spend our time and our money in those two areas. Let’s follow up on that. Right now, in East Palo Alto, there is something like a 67 percent dropout rate at the high school level. At the same time, I read about tech companies creating laptop programs in foreign countries. That’s wonderful for those kids, but how do we create that same sense of imperative right here—that there are conditions locally worth focusing on? We are a global company with a global footprint, and so we not only have to worry about the issues in East Palo Alto, but we have to worry about the opportunities that might exist in other parts of the world. So we’re balancing our spending and our investments on a global basis, which is critically important. So for our company, and me personally certainly, we believe that what’s going on in East Palo Alto has to be addressed. That’s why we’re helping to build a wonderful facility to create a sense of community there. But, by the same token, the opportunity in a place like Africa is enormous. Is there anything that our government or society could do to encourage more people to engage in this sort of social philanthropy? I don’t think people engage in philanthropy programs because somebody in Washington tells them it’s a good thing. They either feel it and believe it, or not. And so I am not convinced that government has a particularly 18 o n e innovation through philanthropy www.siliconvalleycf.org http://www.siliconvalleycf.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007

From Emmett D. Carson Home Run Back From the Brink Checking In on Corporate Giving Central Valley Air Gets a Breather Why I Give Five Minutes With ... Full Faith and Credit Giving and Receiving What If?

Silicon Valley One - Fall 2007

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