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FOCUSED ON GIVING
Jeffrey Skoll
Vice President of Strategic Planning & Analysis, eBay Inc.
Three years ago, Jeffrey Skoll, then still paying off his
college loans, was living off his credit cards after leaving
a full-time job to help found and build eBay, an online auction
company in San Jose, California, and one of the best-known
Internet success stories to date.
With his newfound prosperity, Mr. Skoll, now 35 years old
and the vice president of strategic planning and analysis
for eBay, set up a $50-million charitable foundation to help
others. (Separately, he also helped eBay establish a $40 million
foundation.)
As a young boy in Montreal, he learned that helping others
can also bring personal satisfaction. Each year when the river
overflowed in his neighborhood, he pitched in to help with
sandbagging efforts. "I've always been involved in the
community in some way," he says, but major-league philanthropy
is new to him: "Everybody goes through life wishing they
could change things, and sometimes they say, 'If I ever make
it, I'll come back and change it.' Even so, a lot of them
who make it never do return. I feel blessed to have the opportunity
to make an impact on some of the things I've addressed through
my life."
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WORDS
OF ADVICE
| "In
Silicon Valley, there are a lot of younger people
who have done very well. But they are working 80-
to 100-hour weeks, and they just don't have the
time to give." He recommends they use a local
community foundation. When he started out, he says,
he received a lot of help from the Community Foundation
Silicon Valley. Now an employee at the community
foundation helps him administer his philanthropic
activities. |
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The mission of his foundation is empowering people with the
tools to improve their own lives. He makes it a point to focus
on both local community needs, such as schools, and global
needs. The Internet isn't constrained by geography, and neither
is he. Among those who benefit from his philanthropy are indigenous
people around the world who participate in People Link, an
organization that helps native artisans sell their products
online, increasing their control over their markets and profits
and reducing the cost of middlemen. In addition to helping
fund the organization, Mr.Skoll helped set up its Web
site.
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