Correspondent Rita Braver reports on the new breed of high-tech corporate philanthropists. The Barksdales didn't have the big money very long before they decided to give it away. You can only spend so much on yourself before it just gets ridiculous. And in running the program, the Barksdales, like a growing number of high tech philanthropists, are applying business skills, drawing not only on goodness of their hearts, but also on the practices that made them so rich in the first place. You learn how to measure and make people accountable for it.
Accountability is the key.
This new style of giving even has a new name. If it doesn't work, then there was a noble effort, and we'll figure out something else to do. The Rockefellers and the Carnegies made their philanthropic mark at the start of the last century by funding institutions like universities and libraries that might bring about societal changes subtly. But these new philanthropists are more interested in designing specific programs aimed at eliminating the underlying causes of poverty and other social ills. Palmer says many of the new philanthropists also steer away from more established charities like the Salvation Army or the United Way.