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"To give or not to give?"
William Shakespeare might well have said, "That is NOT the question!"

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie held the philosophy that the affluent are custodians of the countries resources. As such, he believed that along with wealth comes the moral obligation to spend with wisdom and altruism. He saw giving to charity as most constructive when done directly by the person who accumulated the money.

Carnegie argued that merely "willing" wealth to charity at end of life isn't enough.
"The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced," he declared.

Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft also said in a March 24, 1999 editorial:

"Until fairly recently, my plan was to wait until later in my career to begin extensive giving, to allow time for a lot of focus. But I've accelerated my philanthropic plans. Melinda and I are convinced that there are certain kinds of gifts-investments in the future-that are better made sooner than later."

Quote and photo used with permission.

What about you?

• What are you passionate about?
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• How do you want to model conscious giving for your children, employees, and associates?
• What legacy do you want to leave later?

Learning New Lessons: Philanthropy
March 24, 1999

By Bill Gates

Writing a newspaper column is something I never imagined doing, but over the past four years it’s been my privilege to write 110 of them including this one--my last. Thanks for reading and for all the interesting questions. Your e-mail has made me think, and replying has been fun.

I’ve answered 174 questions, including most of the common ones. But at least one frequent inquiry has gone unanswered until now: What is my philosophy of charitable giving?

It’s a timely question because recently I’ve been getting an education in philanthropy. My wife and I are trying to learn how to give money to charitable organizations in the ways that will do the most good.

Distributing money effectively to charity is not nearly as easy as you might think. Discipline and a strategy are essential. Until fairly recently, my plan was to wait until later in my career to begin extensive giving, to allow time for a lot of focus.

But I’ve accelerated my philanthropic plans. Melinda and I are convinced that there are certain kinds of gifts—investments in the future—that are better made sooner than later.

I’m optimistic about the world. Technology is helping people meet a lot of challenges, including medical challenges, and the pace of progress will only increase. But my enthusiasm is tempered by impatience with how long it’s going to take for the rewards to reach everybody in need. My philanthropy will focus on spreading the benefits more quickly.

As many people as possible should share in the remarkable advances in education, technology and medicine that many of us take for granted. Children around the world, for example, should have the basics of modern medicine, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. School children, and older citizens too, should have access to computers and the Internet regardless of their economic circumstances.

It’s imperative to give wisely, which to us means focusing support on children and on helping people to help themselves. The ultimate way to help people help themselves is to provide them with medical treatment that allows them to live longer, more productive lives.

Ted Turner, the founder of Cable News Network, set an admirable example when he pledged $1 billion over 10 years to support United Nations programs aiding refugees and children, clearing mines and fighting diseases.

Like Andrew Carnegie, whose charitable giving a century ago made an enormous difference to a large number of people and communities, I believe in bringing the discipline of business to the art of giving. In practical terms, doing as much good as possible with every dollar means finding special opportunities and partnering with groups already doing excellent work.

Funding childhood vaccination programs in developing countries and giving personal computers to libraries are examples of programs we’re funding through two foundations. These and similar programs are intended to help people live healthier and more enriched lives, and they give great "bang for the buck." It can cost as little as $2 a year to give a child a vaccination that may save his or her life. Setting up a library with computers and software costs only several thousand dollars yet benefits an entire community.

It appears that we’re at a moment in history when certain kinds of focused charitable expenditures can make a disproportionate positive difference. The potential for development of effective medicines for diseases such as AIDS and malaria is much higher today than it was even five years ago, thanks to impressive advances in biotechnology. Within the next 20 years we may have treatments for many common diseases. One of the groups we’re proud to support is the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

The experience of the past quarter century shows how dramatically vaccines can improve public health. In the 1970s, few vaccines were available to most of the world’s children. The world infant-mortality was twice what it is now. The death rate has fallen because six important vaccines now reach 80 percent of the world’s children.

My wife and I recently established the Children’s Vaccine Program to speed the delivery of new and existing vaccines to kids in the poorest nations. It will work closely with experts from the United Nation, World Bank, World Health Organization, major pharmaceutical companies, and a group in Seattle called Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). The vaccination program’s first goal is to add the Hib, pneumococcus, rotavirus and hepatitis B vaccines to the list of those widely available. More than 2 million children die each year from respiratory, diarrheal and other diseases that these four vaccines could prevent. It’s hard to imagine a better use of private funds.

As the Internet becomes a fundamental tool for learning, Melinda and I are increasingly concerned about the gap between those who have access to it and those who don’t -- a gap that some call the "digital divide." Helping close that gap is the primary goal of the Gates Learning Foundation.

The foundation is helping make libraries a place where people come to get access to electronic information and the Internet when they don’t have machines at home. Public libraries have played that role for books. They can they do it for computers, too.

We’ve worked with more than 1,300 libraries in 28 states so far. Librarians report that people who otherwise might not visit libraries, especially young people, come in to take advantage of the computers and often start using other library services. Book circulation actually rises in many libraries that get new computers. We’re excited to make the program more global and to extend it beyond libraries.

Because of my support for libraries, parallels are sometimes drawn to Carnegie, whose charitable giving a century ago built more than 2,800 libraries—including many of the libraries we’re now equipping with computers. It’s a flattering and sobering comparison.

Carnegie believed that the wealthy are custodians of society’s resources and have a moral obligation to spend altruistically and wisely. Charitable funds are most constructive if spent by the person who earned them, Carnegie argued. Willing wealth to charity isn’t enough. "The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced," he declared.

Carnegie understood that books could help transform society, if all society had access to books. I feel the same way about medical and information technologies. Society stands on the brink of exceptional change, and I can hardly wait for people everywhere to share in the benefits.

I’m a steward of some of society’s resources, and take the responsibility seriously. It’s a privilege to be in this position—and at such a critical, hopeful time in human history.

© 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.

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