Pierre Omidyar Donates $269 Million in eBay Shares
An eBay regulatory filing this week disclosed that Mr. Omidyar, a co-founder of the company, gave away one-tenth of his stock last month, according to EcommerceBytes, a news site that covers the online-auction industry. The causes that will benefit from the stock gift valued at nearly $270 million are not known.
Network for Good Releases Free Giving Tuesday Tools
The online gift-processing platform is offering guides and webinars for nonprofits to prepare for the increasingly popular post-Thanksgiving annual event.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Aid Groups Say Silicon Valley Is Sitting Out Refugee Crisis
Tech companies that have recently touted their efforts to help victims of natural disasters such as the Nepal earthquakes are declining to offer similar programs for hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking refuge in Europe, according to The Washington Post.
$13-Million Funding Round Backs Anti-Poverty Software Firm
A group of investors led by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is backing a startup that is developing software for nonprofits and government bodies running anti-poverty programs in developing countries, Bloomberg writes.
Fraud Alert: Criminals Test Stolen Credit-Card Numbers on Charity Websites
Poorly protected donation pages are a favorite testing ground for cyber thieves, experts say. Credit-card companies put the burden on nonprofits to recoup the costs.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
On Colbert Show, Tim Cook Explains Apple’s Shift on Giving
Appearing on the CBS late-night talk show, the Apple CEO linked the firm’s rising philanthropic profile with his coming out as gay last year, CNN Money writes.
Fla. Private Eye Charged With Cyberattack on Global Charity
Prosecutors said a private investigator who allegedly tried to infiltrate a New York-based international charity’s computer network said he was doing research to determine if nonprofits were unknowingly funding Middle Eastern charities taken over by jihadist groups, Reuters reports.
Google-Backed San Francisco Charity Turns Buses Into Showers for Poor
The Guardian profiles Lava Mae, a Google-supported San Francisco charity that outfits decommissioned city buses with showers and toilets for the homeless, an article that also looks at the tech company’s growing social-service giving.
Crowdfunding Site Fundly Merges With Charity-Software Firm
Software provider NonProfitEasy has acquired Fundly, a crowdfunding platform popular with charities, Forbes reports, terming the union a signal of “the maturing of the crowdfunding industry.”
Intel Drops $6 Million Sponsorship of Youth Science Contest
After 17 years funding the Science Talent Search, a prestigious math and science competition for U.S. high-school students, the computer-chip giant Intel is ending its support of the contest, The New York Times reports.
Facebook Teams With Charter Group on Free School Software
The Silicon Valley giant announced a partnership Thursday with a nonprofit charter-school network to build educational software that will be offered to public schools at no charge, USA Today and The New York Times write.
Heritage Foundation Donor Data Possibly Taken in Hack Attack
The conservative think tank was hit this week with a data breach that it said may have compromised donor information, Politico reports.
Tech Mogul Tries New Model to Draw Silicon Valley Giving
Tech entrepreneur Alexandre Mars and his Epic Foundation aim to reshape Silicon Valley philanthropy by steering donations to the kind of small social-service charities typically overlooked by the tech set, the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
Opinion: Tech Giants Don’t Extend Innovation to Education
Despite a remarkable record of innovation in areas ranging from space travel to urban transit, Silicon Valley billionaires have failed to apply that disruptive energy to their education giving, to the potential detriment of their industry, according to a TechCrunch opinion piece.
In a Second Go-Around, Response to ‘Ice-Bucket Challenge’ Is Muted
The ALS Association has received $500,000 in donations this month, less than 1 percent of the contributions it reaped from the social-media-fueled campaign a year ago.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
Salesforce Charts Its Own Course in Tech Giving for Schools
CEO Marc Benioff is taking a different philanthropic tack than other tech moguls in backing public education, TechCrunch and Business Insider write in reporting on the company’s latest, $6-million donation to the San Francisco school district.