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Google is to pay more attention to its social responsibilities in the wake of its public flotation.
The internet search engine company announced last month that it would give at least $1billion (£580million) over the next 20 years to initiatives that target poverty, the environment and energy use.
The founders of the San Francisco-based company, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, signalled before last year's $3.3bn flotation that they would bring in a community contributions programme. Much of the money will be channelled into 'pro-poor' initiatives that seek to increase the number of business start-ups in Africa. The first tranche is a $90m gift to the recently formed Google Foundation, some of which is for a programme to support entrepreneurship in western Africa.
A further $175m will be invested outside the foundation over the next three years as seed money for 'socially progressive' private companies and non-profit bodies in countries all over the world. Among the first to be supported by the fund is TechoServe, a US company that will sponsor a contest for entrepreneurs in Ghana, with the winners receiving start-up finance.
Google's initial $1bn pledge is based on donating three million of the company's shares, or one per cent of its stock, so its ultimate value remains unknown. However, Sheryl Sandberg, Google's vice president of operations, claimed that giving shares instead of money would maximize the benefits of the gift. 'It's not a lot of money in the face of the world's problems, so we want to make sure we get the most out of it,' she said.
The move by the seven-year-old company is a sign that some individuals in the new technology sector, which has been criticized for failing to embrace CSR, are now taking a greater interest in charitable giving. eBay recently set up a foundation that has contributed more than $8m to non-profit organizations and last month introduced a scheme allowing sellers to donate part of their proceeds to charity, with the money matched by eBay. The internet auction company estimates that up to £9bn could be raised for charity in this way.
The internet search engine company announced last month that it would give at least $1billion (£580million) over the next 20 years to initiatives that target poverty, the environment and energy use.
The founders of the San Francisco-based company, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, signalled before last year's $3.3bn flotation that they would bring in a community contributions programme. Much of the money will be channelled into 'pro-poor' initiatives that seek to increase the number of business start-ups in Africa. The first tranche is a $90m gift to the recently formed Google Foundation, some of which is for a programme to support entrepreneurship in western Africa.
A further $175m will be invested outside the foundation over the next three years as seed money for 'socially progressive' private companies and non-profit bodies in countries all over the world. Among the first to be supported by the fund is TechoServe, a US company that will sponsor a contest for entrepreneurs in Ghana, with the winners receiving start-up finance.
Google's initial $1bn pledge is based on donating three million of the company's shares, or one per cent of its stock, so its ultimate value remains unknown. However, Sheryl Sandberg, Google's vice president of operations, claimed that giving shares instead of money would maximize the benefits of the gift. 'It's not a lot of money in the face of the world's problems, so we want to make sure we get the most out of it,' she said.
The move by the seven-year-old company is a sign that some individuals in the new technology sector, which has been criticized for failing to embrace CSR, are now taking a greater interest in charitable giving. eBay recently set up a foundation that has contributed more than $8m to non-profit organizations and last month introduced a scheme allowing sellers to donate part of their proceeds to charity, with the money matched by eBay. The internet auction company estimates that up to £9bn could be raised for charity in this way.
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