The Bezos Commitment: How Nonprofits and Others See It

I would also invite @JeffBezos to ask, “Where’s the bad in the world, and how can we stop it?”

Spreading what’s good is a useful method in business.

But a savagely unequal society is a crime scene, and we must do more than scale up good. We must stop the crime and seek justice.

— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) September 13, 2018

The lack of affordable housing is a crisis we must all deal with. Glad to see @JeffBezos engage on this issue.

Too whom much is given, much more is ….. https://t.co/g7uEqsBGH2

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) September 13, 2018

Any details/guesses on what the Bezos “Fund” is? Private Foundation, Donor-Advised Fund, or LLC?

— Brian Mittendorf (@CountingCharity) September 13, 2018

Pros:
-It’s real-world poverty instead of space travel
-Goes to existing non-profits, rather than re-inventing the wheel

Cons:
-$2B sounds like a lot in philanthropic terms but it’s small relative to the needs of 550K homeless people in America
-Not publicly accountable https://t.co/BZkSpfUXhu

— Kim-Mai Cutler (@kimmaicutler) September 13, 2018

1: Maybe it was the unprecedented run up, but Bezos’ philanthropy announcement has left me underwhelmed. Yes, homelessness & pre-k are worthy causes & $2 billion is a lot of $$. But not in the context of a $160B fortune (& this is a pledge, not a gift, right?).

— Benjamin Soskis (@BenSoskis) September 13, 2018

1/ On Bezos’s $2B announcement of gifts to pre-K and combatting homelessness, I have usual reaction: big philanthropy is an exercise of power, and power in a democratic society deserves our scrutiny, not our gratitude.https://t.co/RQ42zcWwmc

— Rob Reich (@robreich) September 14, 2018

The world has never been better, but not everyone has reaped the benefits. So it’s great to see Mackenzie & @JeffBezos are launching two bold initiatives to help some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. I can’t wait to see the difference their work makes. https://t.co/uh9e9fGIDq

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) September 14, 2018

Why does @Bezos need to explain anything to philanthropy experts? To give/or not & to who/when is his choice. Self-important “experts” trying to pontificate. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s new $2 billion philanthropic fund faces many unanswered questions https://t.co/cNbU4f9Vgj

— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) September 16, 2018

Jeff Bezos is about to *disrupt* early childhood education because the future – tho apparently still disinterested in disrupting adult poverty of Amazon workers https://t.co/gUiBF8KUep

— Jennifer Berkshire (@BisforBerkshire) September 13, 2018

-pay your employees a living wage
-let them use the bathroom when they need to
-let them go to the hospital when they’re bleeding profusely
-stop trying to take over every single industry

— marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) September 13, 2018

He can start by fixing working conditions in his empire, but he won’t, because he only appears to give a damn when it suits his purposes. Give workers a raise and stop turning your own employees into chum to make your shark tank workplace more “competitive.” Then we can talk.

— Rebecca R Kovar (@RRKovar) September 13, 2018

The issue about Amazon is not just that the wealthiest person on earth, Jeff Bezos, is paying workers unlivable wages. It’s about the “new economy” and the degradation of the human spirit—breaking down people, spitting them out and simply replacing them with new bodies.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 7, 2018