Facebook creator donates to New Jersey schools

The latest article I read from the Chronicle of Philanthropy is this article by Maria Di Mento about a donation made by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg:

http://philanthropy.com/article/Facebook-s-CEO-Gives/124580/

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, will donate $100 million of his Facebook stock holdings to improve the Newark, New Jersey public school system. The author of the article points out that the donation may be in response to negative criticism Zuckerberg has received lately. Apparently the new movie "The Social Network" which will portray the founding of Facebook does not cast favorable light on Zuckerberg. Likewise, comments made by Zuckerberg about the effectiveness of companies versus nonprofits in solving society's problems were also not well received. The donation seems admirable but one must question the CEO's motives. Is Zuckerberg genuinely interested in investing in public education, or is he simply attempting to create a more postive image for himself?

I chose this article because I am a self-admitted Facebook addict. Normally I only log into the website to keep track of friends and post things relevant to my own personal life. I do not spend too much time worrying about Facebook's creator or what the company is doing other than changing the website's layout for the millionth time. When I am given information, though, about the inner workings of Facebook, I often find it surprising. I can spend hours on this website without caring about what sort of company I am indirectly supporting. The same goes for stores, restaurants and other companies I do business with regularly. I may get that warm fuzzy feeling when I hear that my favorite restaurant is donating money to a local hospital by selling one dollar pieces of paper to hang on the wall with my name on it, but I do think now that a little further investigation is necessary in some cases. Does this company truly care about this cause, or do they just need to fix a bad reputation? As someone who has an interest in nonprofits and many different causes, I do not want to be blindsighted into donating money simply to help improve a company's image. I am curious to find out what exactly Mark Zuckerberg's motives are.

For my latest article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, I chose this article titled "Mothers and Young People Are Most Likely to Buy Products Tied to a Cause."

http://philanthropy.com/blogPost/MothersYoung-People-Are/26986/

The article reports the findings of a survey done by a marketing firm in Boston which concluded that the people most likely to buy products that benefit a cause are mothers and young adults ages 18 to 24. The survey also asked which causes consumers would most like to support, what other information they would like to learn about the cause when buying the product and whether or not their giving habits changed as a result of buying cause-related products.

I chose this article because I personally buy a lot of cause-related products. If I'm shopping for something such as contact solution, toilet paper or toothpaste, and I see a particular brand offering a pink version of the product, with some of my money benefitting breast cancer research, I am more likely to buy that brand instead of the one I normally purchase, especially if they are the same price. Products supporting breast cancer research are usually the ones that attract me most because I think it's a great cause and I'm a sucker for anything pink, but I'm likely to switch brands for just about any cause. Since I fall in the 18-24 year old range, it makes sense to me that other consumers my age probably have similar buying habits.

I also think it makes sense that donations do not usually decrease when a cause gains support from a product. Most people who give to charities usually have an amount set aside for that in their budget, as well money set aside for shopping. Since the price of the product often doesn't change much when the company supports a cause, the consumer is able to spend their regular amount on shopping, in addition to givng their regular donation.

When a company decides to support a cause through a product, everyone essentially wins. The cause supported receives additional financial support. The company receives new customers. A long-term commitment to a cause may drive consumers to replace their old brand with the new one that supports the cause. The company then gains additional regular customers. In addition, the consumer gains a sense of personal satisfaction.

OK, here goes! :)

For my first assignment, I searched through The Chronicle of Philanthropy's website, looking for an article that caught my attention. It was kind of overwhelming. I looked at several articles and wondered if each was too old or too short. The longer articles, which looked the most relevant, were all only available through a subscription. I might have to look into a subscription, if it's free, but for the mean time, I chose this article by Holly Hall on how the MDA's Labor Day telethon might be an indicator for other nonprofits on how much they can expect to raise this fall.

Here's the link:
http://philanthropy.com/blogPost/Labor-Day-Telethon-Offers/26753/

I'm hoping that it's not too short!

The title of the article is what jumped out at me. "Labor Day Telethon" immediately brought to mind Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I've always loved the MDA ever since I saw Mattie Stepanek on TV for the first time. In years past, I've actually sat down and watched the telethon, hours at a time.

The author says that some fundraisers use the event to forecast the "crucial fund-raising season" which is about to start. I didn't know that there wa a crucial period for fund-raising. I guess it is logical, though, that nonprofits would want to focus on fund-raising in the months before the winter holidays, when people have less money to give away.

Seeing the overall amount of donations to the MDA decrease from last year's amount is a little disheartening, but after all, there is a recession going on. I know that the organization had trouble in the past, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The telethon took place shortly after the hurricane, and donations to the MDA sort of took a backseat to relief efforts that year.

I hope that this doesn't affect contributions to some of my favorite charities too negatively. I am a big fan of many different charities, and, even when I can't contribute financially myself, I always try to encourage others to. Hopefully the economy will pick up soon so that charities will not miss out on important donations.



(I'll update the layout and colors of this old blog and make it prettier soon!)