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> when the charity doesn't deliver great results, they will feel like they are half-working for little results. What information do you have about their decisi

> when the charity doesn't deliver great results, they will feel like they are half-working for little results. What information do you have about their decision making process that makes you believe that they will select charities that don't deliver great results? What about success in venture capital, in your view, would prevent these individuals from successfully selecting/starting/advising philanthropic endeavors? I have a hunch, for example, that Marc Andreessen isn't going to roll up and pour a bag full of money out into the little jar the Salvation Army Santa runs outside of Macy's.

jcampbell1 15y ago
Getting results from charities is hard. Bill Gates quit his job to solely focus on this. Warren Buffet pledged all his money to Gates because he doesn't think he would be particularly good at it. My point is, why pledge earnings rather than wealth? I think pledging earnings is risky, and the world is better off because Warren Buffet did not do it.
- rdl 14y ago
  a16z isn't short on LP money. This is basically money which would traditionally be spent on consumption by GPs (since they can't invest outside the fund, and 50% of crazy upside is more than enough to buy their stakes in the next fund). Even if you view this as pure consumption, I respect Ben Horowitz more for a $100mm charity contribution than adding an extra $100mm extension to his house. Due to how the funds are structured, it is different for a VC to donate carry/management fees vs. someone like Warren Buffet to liquidate equity to donate to charity.
- pmarca 14y ago
  Sorry, we did not intend to draw that distinction. I described this in detail in another comment, but we made a commitment of half of lifetime earnings/wealth/whatever you want to call it from venture capital to nonprofits, over our lifetimes. So there's no presumption that each year we give half, as opposed to at some later date.

jcampbell1 15y ago

Getting results from charities is hard. Bill Gates quit his job to solely focus on this. Warren Buffet pledged all his money to Gates because he doesn't think he would be particularly good at it. My point is, why pledge earnings rather than wealth? I think pledging earnings is risky, and the world is better off because Warren Buffet did not do it.

rdl 14y ago
a16z isn't short on LP money. This is basically money which would traditionally be spent on consumption by GPs (since they can't invest outside the fund, and 50% of crazy upside is more than enough to buy their stakes in the next fund). Even if you view this as pure consumption, I respect Ben Horowitz more for a $100mm charity contribution than adding an extra $100mm extension to his house. Due to how the funds are structured, it is different for a VC to donate carry/management fees vs. someone like Warren Buffet to liquidate equity to donate to charity.
pmarca 14y ago
Sorry, we did not intend to draw that distinction. I described this in detail in another comment, but we made a commitment of half of lifetime earnings/wealth/whatever you want to call it from venture capital to nonprofits, over our lifetimes. So there's no presumption that each year we give half, as opposed to at some later date.