5 ms·

That's nice, but why not just give $10k per employee to charity?

by josscrowcroft 15y ago

alexbell 15y ago
I would be curious to know if any companies do actually do this?
chc 15y ago
That wouldn't encourage others to get into giving?
latch 15y ago
sigh...seriously? First, simple math. $20K > $10K. If you have 100 employees, and they donate $10 and you donate $10..that's $2K. If only you donate $10, that's $1K. In other words, if you are gonna ask this silly question, it should at least be "why not just give $20K per employee". Secondly, Apple already donates to charities (google it). At what point does a company donate enough that people stop asking "why don't they donate more?" (especially keeping in mind that Apple's priority is to its shareholders). Thirdly, this is an opportunity for employees to donate money to a cause they believe in and have it essentially doubled. I'm not even sure how else to explain this, except to assume you've never donated money in your life before. For some people, this is a very personal thing (maybe their wife died of cancer)...they want to donate and this is just an little bit extra goodness. Having the company just write a cheque isn't even close to the same thing. Finally, this makes donating (not just money either, but time and other services) a culture aspect of the company now. The impact of engaging and involving employees can be considerably more significant than just a cash lump sum payment.
- 51Cards 15y ago
  His comment is not without merit. Your view assumes that a high percentage of employees are inclined to donate. Perhaps they are not. If only 10% of employees partake then that's a far smaller amount going to charity. What would be best is to say "Apple will donate $10k to the charity of every employee's choice and we encourage our employees to add to those donations as well". Then you get a donation even for those who won't donate of their own accord, they still pick the charities, and those who wish to donate still have the chance to do so as well for personal reasons. I'm just playing devil's advocate here but if you're looking for guaranteed highest donations generated that would be it. Not that I've ever seen any company do that so it's mostly a mute point.
  - boredguy8 15y ago
    http://www.one-step-forward.net/2008/05/making-moot-point-moot-versus-mute.html http://www.one-step-forward.net/2008/05/making-moot-point-mo... just FYI. And, btw, it rhymes with "newt" not "cute".
    - stan_rogers 15y ago
      Bad selection of terms -- where I come from, "newt" and "cute" rhyme. Perhaps "boot"?
- rumpelstiltskin 15y ago
  Actually, the math is not simple. Why are you assuming all 100 employees will donate $10? What if only 5 out of the 100 donate $10? In which case, the company donating $10 for every employee it has, regardless of whether they donated or not, will result in a higher amount. Save the mock exasperation for elsewhere. P.S. I agree with your 'Secondly,...' point.
sammcd 15y ago
I bet they end up spending a lot less than 10k per employee with the current plan. The current plan means that people who are already donating, the people who would care about this 10K get it, and Apple saves money on the people who don't care.
patio11 15y ago
$10k per employee costs $10k per employee, but matching grants cost ~$50 per employee, given typical participation rates. Do we all have to pretend to be shocked, shocked that Apple is a for-profit corporation which is good at PR?

That's nice, but why not just give $10k per employee to charity?

alexbell 15y ago

I would be curious to know if any companies do actually do this?

chc 15y ago

That wouldn't encourage others to get into giving?

latch 15y ago

sigh...seriously? First, simple math. $20K > $10K. If you have 100 employees, and they donate $10 and you donate $10..that's $2K. If only you donate $10, that's $1K. In other words, if you are gonna ask this silly question, it should at least be "why not just give $20K per employee". Secondly, Apple already donates to charities (google it). At what point does a company donate enough that people stop asking "why don't they donate more?" (especially keeping in mind that Apple's priority is to its shareholders). Thirdly, this is an opportunity for employees to donate money to a cause they believe in and have it essentially doubled. I'm not even sure how else to explain this, except to assume you've never donated money in your life before. For some people, this is a very personal thing (maybe their wife died of cancer)...they want to donate and this is just an little bit extra goodness. Having the company just write a cheque isn't even close to the same thing. Finally, this makes donating (not just money either, but time and other services) a culture aspect of the company now. The impact of engaging and involving employees can be considerably more significant than just a cash lump sum payment.

51Cards 15y ago
His comment is not without merit. Your view assumes that a high percentage of employees are inclined to donate. Perhaps they are not. If only 10% of employees partake then that's a far smaller amount going to charity. What would be best is to say "Apple will donate $10k to the charity of every employee's choice and we encourage our employees to add to those donations as well". Then you get a donation even for those who won't donate of their own accord, they still pick the charities, and those who wish to donate still have the chance to do so as well for personal reasons. I'm just playing devil's advocate here but if you're looking for guaranteed highest donations generated that would be it. Not that I've ever seen any company do that so it's mostly a mute point.
- boredguy8 15y ago
  http://www.one-step-forward.net/2008/05/making-moot-point-moot-versus-mute.html http://www.one-step-forward.net/2008/05/making-moot-point-mo... just FYI. And, btw, it rhymes with "newt" not "cute".
  - stan_rogers 15y ago
    Bad selection of terms -- where I come from, "newt" and "cute" rhyme. Perhaps "boot"?
rumpelstiltskin 15y ago
Actually, the math is not simple. Why are you assuming all 100 employees will donate $10? What if only 5 out of the 100 donate $10? In which case, the company donating $10 for every employee it has, regardless of whether they donated or not, will result in a higher amount. Save the mock exasperation for elsewhere. P.S. I agree with your 'Secondly,...' point.

sammcd 15y ago

I bet they end up spending a lot less than 10k per employee with the current plan. The current plan means that people who are already donating, the people who would care about this 10K get it, and Apple saves money on the people who don't care.

patio11 15y ago

$10k per employee costs $10k per employee, but matching grants cost ~$50 per employee, given typical participation rates. Do we all have to pretend to be shocked, shocked that Apple is a for-profit corporation which is good at PR?