March 10, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amazon.com is one of the few U.S. businesses in good financial shape, but is that good news for charities?
In Slate magazine, Paul Collins, a writing teacher at Portland State University, writes that Amazon is notoriously quiet — or stingy — about its corporate philanthropy.
He suggests two possible scenarios.
“The first is that Amazon.com is exceedingly discreet — that it changes into superhero tights in a phone booth, then rockets off to provide clean water to poor villages, dole out blankets to shivering orphans, and phone in whopping anonymous grants during Car Talk pledge drives,” he writes. “The other is that there are lemonade stands that donate more to charity than Amazon.com does.”
Mr. Collins goes on to explore whether Amazon.com’s giving should concern consumers.
To be sure, the online retailer uses its technology to raise money for charities. In 2001, for example, it helped generate $5-million for the American Red Cross through its Web site within just 72 hours of the September 11 terrorism attacks.
In 2005 it held a contest to award a prize to innovative nonprofit groups. However, a company spokeswoman told The Chronicle in 2007 that managing the competition took too much time and employee effort so Amazon.com ended it after one year.
What do you think of Amazon.com’s philanthropic efforts?
