What You Can Learn from Tech’s Biggest Philanthropic Donors

Some of the brightest stars in the technology industry are doing more than creating new technologies that make our lives easier and more productive. They’re contributing in massive ways to make the world a better place for the most at-risk and disadvantaged populations. In 2014, the 50 most generous donors in America – the so-called Philanthropy 50 – experienced a dramatic increase in the number of tech entrepreneurs as a new generation of givers rises in the ranks.

Following the lead of tech titan Bill Gates, who donated $1.9 billion in Microsoft stock last year to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a new wave of tech entrepreneurs is giving generously. Today, a majority of America’s most charitable donors, six out of 10, have tech backgrounds. And last year, tech donors gave 47 percent of the $9.8 billion in donations made by the Philanthropy 50. Some examples:

• Nicholas and Jill Woodman, founders of the camera company GoPro, donated more than $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation;
• Sean Parker, former Facebook president and co-founder of Napster, contributed $550 million to his family foundation and a donor-advised fund to support medical research, among other initiatives.
• Salesforce.com Co-Founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne donated $100-million to San Francisco-area children’s hospitals.

The tech industry is a major driver of the U.S. economy. But the success of our industry is measured in more than dollars and cents. Consider the astounding number of new tech innovations that make our lives easier and more fulfilling – from smartphone apps that streamline our days and keep us connected to loved ones, to life-saving wearables that help us track and monitor diabetes.

Social media has broadened the boundaries of our communities, exposing us to life’s greatest injustices in our neighborhoods and around the world – from poverty and illness to education and inequality. Technology enables us to quickly and easily help alleviate those injustices – you can donate to virtually any cause anywhere in the world at any time, and target your giving not just to foundations or research centers but also to specific individuals working to solve problems. As Una Osili, a researcher who studies philanthropy, put it, “Younger donors know that talent matters, and they’re applying it to philanthropy. They’re bringing together talent to spur innovation.”

What matters is not the name on the front of the building, but the people who can bring results. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation last year to fight Ebola. The Tipping Point Community, supported by 41-year-old Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin, believes that “there is no one way to fight poverty.” Instead of one lump donation to a central organization, the foundation finds what groups are most effectively fighting poverty and funds them individually. Targeting what is already working spurs even more innovation.

Many young tech innovators are focusing their creative genius not just on what’s trending, but on what’s needed – eradicating poverty, curing disease and helping those who are struggling in other ways. And they are ensuring that their donations most efficiently reach the researchers and people on the ground closest to the problem. For me, it’s a privilege to see the next vanguard of our industry leading a revolution in optimism and selflessness.