7/5/06

Tech Firms and Charitable Giving

As Bill Gates takes a step back from Microsoft Corp. to set a new standard for social responsibility, other technology companies are aiming to find new types of corporate giving for the Internet age.

Yahoo Inc. announced a partnership with One.org, an organization that fights AIDS and poverty. Through a 6-month-old program called Yahoo for Good Scrum, the company allowed employees to take time off from their day jobs to revamp the One.org Web site. The program aims to take on five similar projects a year to apply technology to charitable causes.

Similarly, Hewlett Packard Co. runs a project called Digital Villages, where employees try to infuse technology into central city communities. International Business Machines Corp. runs a Transition to Teaching program that helps teachers become accredited in math and science.

[Excerpt of article by Kim Hart, The Washington Post]

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