Marc Benioff Takes Swipe at Zuckerberg-Style Giving

Bay Area philanthropist Marc Benioff took a critical view of fellow Internet mogul Mark Zuckerberg’s giving approach in an interview with San Francisco magazine, questioning the impact of the Facebook co-founder’s billion-dollar stock gift to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The interview centers primarily on Mr. Benioff’s SF Gives initiative to harvest donations from prosperous Bay Area tech firms and channel them to local anti-poverty and social-service programs. Asked about other giving avenues such as the Silicon Valley foundation, the Salesforce.com CEO termed that organization “a bunch of DAFs: donor-advised funds.”

“You give your money to SVCF and you get your tax write-off for the year, but [the foundation] has no obligation to administer that money,” he said. “Where’s it gone? What good is it doing now? I’m sure [Mr. Zuckerberg’s] intentions are positive, but we need to see that money get distributed. What are his targets? What are his philanthropic interests?”

Mr. Benioff also addressed why he believes some tech CEOs are reluctant to participate in SF Gives as well as the effort’s role in combating criticism that tech wealth has widened income inequality in San Francisco and fueled evictions due to skyrocketing property prices.

Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article about the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.