Bad Apple

http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/nonprofits-upset-at-apples-decision-to-ban-charitable-donations-via-ios-apps-11772/

http://news.change.org/stories/the-600-billion-challenge-time-for-steve-jobs-to-start-donating

I find it interesting that if you Google Top 20 US companies, that Apple is always somewhere in the mix. However, if you ask Steve Jobs if he is willing to let non-profit organizations benefit from the popularity of his apple products, well, that function is out of service. While Steve Jobs definitely may have his consumers happy through his technological advancements and a brilliant marketing and public relations staff; non-profits are not happy. As one of the wealthiest businessman in America, there is no record or evidence of even one cent of his money that has been donated or given towards philanthropy. Yes folks, that’s right-one of the leading technological entrepreneurs of this day has NOT made A SINGLE donation to ANY cause.  In the second link, you will find an article in which Bill Gates and Warren Buffet invited 14 American billionaires to a private dinner in New York City asking them to donate a portion of their wealth to charity. Yet what is ironic, is that Steve Jobs has featured special edition products of many well-known philanthropists such as U2’s Bono and Oprah, and in this quote comes across as quite a philanthropist himself…well, not so much.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful … that’s what matters to me.” — Steve Jobs

Really Steve? Get with the program. Not a single cent donated to any charitable foundation yet you say you want to do something wonderful? Apparently only earning profits is the something wonderful part of that equation.

While Apple may have apps supporting the Red Cross and other well-known non-profits, they only direct the user to the organizations website to donate gifts. No gifts or donations are allowed to be made through Apple nor are users allowed to contribute to their favorite charity. Next time America wants to have the latest technology and donate to charity at the same time, they may want to consider the Bill Gates and Windows route rather than relying on an Apple App to do everything from locating the nearest restroom, or mixing up a fancy cocktail.

Social Entrepreneurship

During our class discussion last week about Social Entrepreneurship, and Venture Philanthropy, I became really intrigued. In the hand out given in class, I learned that social entrepreneurs “act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better.” After looking into the subject a little more, I began to really support the idea of NPO working towards finding a solution to the cause of a specific problem rather than temporarily providing some relief. I also liked how the focus was primarily to make changes in society rather than just slapping band-aids on things that are broke. I really liked the quote by Bill Drayton, which states, “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish, or teach how to fish. they will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry. ” Why just give a band-aid when you can potentially work towards preventing the scratch or fixing the problem. I believe if everyone supported this idea, many of society’s problems such as hunger and the homeless could potentially be eliminated. We just need to start focusing on the long-term goal and make changes, rather than simply providing a quick temporary solution.